Despite popular belief, building a net-zero home doesn’t cost a fortune. On the contrary, you wind up saving more than you spend if you consider the money saved on utility bills.
Plus, living off-grid allows your house to function without disruption during a power outage. These advantages add to the cost-effective benefits of living in an energy-efficient house.
But, how much exactly does it cost to build a net-zero home?
This article will compare housing prices in multiple states and provide tips for reducing the cost of building a net-zero house.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Net-Zero Home?
A Rocky Mountain Institute report reveals that building a net-zero home costs 1-8% more than constructing standard residences. However, various factors can affect the final upfront costs. Variables include geo-location, property size, architectural design features, and your home appliances installed.
Now let’s look at an overview of net-zero homes and their construction.
The Premise: What Is a Net-Zero Home?
A Net-zero or Zero Energy Ready home (ZE) is a residential property designation attained when a structure generates enough renewable energy to meet its consumption needs. These buildings rely on clean energy like solar panels and grids to run home systems like HVAC units, washers, water heaters, etc.
Besides using renewable energy resources, they conserve energy through strategic construction techniques and appliance use.
Some examples include:
- Insulation & air-tightness – superior home insulation placements and airtight exit points stop heat (or energy) from escaping your home. These include roofs, walls, and windows. These additions keep your house warm during winter and prevent the HVAC unit from overworking.
- Air-tightness – you can install triple-glazed windows to maintain a consistent temperature inside your house.
- Natural light – strategic window placement and home design can ensure that your rooms receive lots of natural light. This way, you won’t have to use your lamps and lights during the daytime.
- Appliances – energy-efficient and environmentally-safe appliances maximize energy conservation inside your house.
As a result, net-zero homes manage to produce as much clean energy as they utilize throughout the year. The high energy efficiency can prove cost-effective through the years.
Breaking Down Net-Zero Home Construction Costs
The cost of building net-zero homes can vary from state to state. In addition, design elements can impact cost estimates if you decide to splurge on aesthetics over energy efficiency.
One CNBC article states that single-family net-zero homes can cost an estimated $9,500 more than the average cost of real estate properties in California.
Property owners can save $19,000 or more down the line. It typically takes five to ten years and sometimes three decades to cover the initial cost of building a net-zero home. After that, you might save thousands of dollars because solar energy usage doesn’t appear on utility bills.
What’s more?
You can also save upfront costs through government-approved tax incentives for eco-friendly housing. For example, homeowners can subtract 22-26% of the installation costs for solar panels or other renewable energy sources for US properties.
Different states and municipalities follow specific rules and regulations to make this work. They might provide extra incentives depending on your zip code. You can calculate the exact amount by running those numbers through an official database.
Standard vs. Net-Zero Homes: How Much Does Each Cost?
Whether you want to upgrade or retrofit your house or invest in one from the ground up, you should know how pricing works.
In most cases, net-zero homes can cost 1-8% more than a traditional home that doesn’t use solar power or energy-efficient appliances.
We will use an 8% increment as the reference point when comparing state prices for practical purposes. For example, that means a property that costs approximately $240,000 will cost around $259,200 if you build a net-zero home of the same size.
The formula for net-zero home costs will look like this:
Average construction cost of a home in your area + 8% = cost of building a net-zero home.
Please note that the formula above is a tentative solution for finding construction costs of clean energy homes in your area. The final pricing can vary according to project requirements.
Therefore, ask your local contractor to share a complete home assessment and quote before enlisting their services. You can use this information to create a design strategy that reduces upfront costs for your environmentally-inclined venture.
How Much Does Building a Net-Zero Home Cost in Your State?
As mentioned, property size and location can impact the price. That means the construction cost in Hawaii will be significantly more than building homes in New York or California. Limited resources, lack of trained staff, and disinterest in sustainable living by citizens can impact pricing plans.
Let’s look at the various price points to compare and calculate the cost of building a net-zero home in the following table.
State | Average Cost to Build a Home | Estimated Cost of Building a Net-Zero Energy Home |
Texas | $176,045 | $ 190,128 |
Tennessee | $184,355 | $199,103 |
Florida | $208,825 | $225,531 |
Arizona | $209,341 | $226,088 |
Maryland | $206,687 | $223,221 |
New York | $233,202 | $251,858 |
Alaska | $228,064 | $246,309 |
Washington | $238,898 | $258,009 |
California | $259,726 | $280,504 |
Hawaii | $288,066 | $311,111 |
The table above shows that Hawaii might be the most expensive state to live in, as it costs over $300,000 to build an eco-centric house there. Alternatively, Texas requires $190,128 upfront for construction.
Hence, your residential area significantly impacts how much money you’ll need to build your net-zero energy home.
When comparing the standard home vs. net-zero energy home prices, the slight increase in initial costs doesn’t give away the benefits of living in a sustainable home.
How to Reduce the Cost of Your Net-Zero Home
If you think net-zero homes can add to your quality of life, don’t hesitate to invest in these eco-centric projects. Here are a few tricks and tips for making these residential collaborations more affordable.
Reduce Your Property Area’s Square Footage
You can save construction costs by opting for small and compact homes instead of investing in the “whole nine yards.” It’s a budget-friendly step for small families that don’t require over 24,000 square feet of living space.
Building smaller homes can help you save $150-$200 per square foot. First, you need to figure out the right property size for your real estate project. Then, opt for a size that accommodates your unique needs. These specs include aesthetic goals, feasibility, and living standards.
On average, most homeowners cut down at least 300-400 square feet to save a significant amount of money.
Consult your contractor for advice. If it gives you the green light, reduce the property size to build your affordable net-zero house. A good builder will develop a customized strategy to ensure everything you need fits into your smaller space.
Aside from being affordable, small spaces are easy to maintain. You won’t have to spend as much money installing light fixtures, plumbing systems, and HVAC units. Insulation and internal temperature regulation are other aspects that can improve when there’s less space.
Plus, repairs and upgrades are often minor and equally cost-effective for smaller homes. This quality gives you a massive advantage in the future as the savings begin the moment construction starts.
Investing in Energy-Efficient Construction
Energy modeling techniques can reduce construction expenses of net-zero energy houses. The key lies in surveying the market for the most budget-friendly and feasible construction materials.
Cost and energy efficiency of home appliances and systems are also viable factors for consideration.
Here’s a checklist that you can use by asking questions about your ongoing construction project:
1.) What Type of Construction Materials Will You Use?
Are your construction materials energy-efficient? Homeowners and contractors should pay attention to the materials used for building net-zero energy homes. You need materials that are reliable and aesthetically aligned, and long-lasting.
Aside from this, your construction plan must focus on the following:
- How many solar panels will you need for your home?
- Are you working on hybrid grid systems or going off the grid entirely?
- Will your house get good natural lighting? Will you use solar lamps or LED lighting systems?
- Are you using good-quality insulation materials and techniques to trap heat and air?
- How do you plan to use temperature regulation systems during seasonal changes?
- Finally, what add-ons can you integrate into your residential property areas?
These questions ensure that your energy modeling process addresses every aspect of energy conservation.
Also, keep local weather and climate in mind. Only make modifications that can withstand environmental elements. Otherwise, you will risk frequent maintenance and repairs and construction costs.
Energy-efficient building materials also lower the carbon emissions released from your home, helping to reduce your carbon footprint to a significant degree.
2.) How Effective Is Your Ventilation System?
Net-zero homes aren’t only about saving energy. You need to consider the importance of ventilation systems for sustainable homes. Good ventilation improves indoor air quality and prevents your house from feeling stuffy and hot.
Moreover, ventilation saves energy by promoting good air circulation. Consequently, these characteristics help optimize insulation. Adding windows and ensuring no obstructions inside the vent can help maximize good air quality.
3.) How Many Electric Appliances Do You Have? Are They Energy-Efficient?
Net-zero homes go beyond architectural concepts and details. It would help to consider the energy input and output of independent kitchen and houseware appliances.
Intelligent systems that monitor energy efficiency are the right choice for these houses.
Likewise, low flow and energy-sufficient water systems ensure that your family doesn’t consume excessive energy while using washers, dryers, cookers, air conditioners, heaters, and water heaters.
Anything that doesn’t fit the basic requirements or fulfill a purpose in the house should be ditched for high-functioning products. You should also develop a regular maintenance schedule for appliances. Your due diligence can prevent them from malfunctioning and discharging energy when not in use.
Answering these questions will allow well-structured, goal-oriented construction of a sustainable, eco-friendly home.
Modeling methods empathize with maximizing energy-efficiency levels through minor alterations within the home design. We recommend that you focus on the energy output of home systems and appliances, conservation, and costs.
Most tips and techniques related to cost-efficiency are tested before using them for residential properties.
In this way, your new and improved residential layout meets the standard requirements for building a net-zero home. You also save sufficient money by ensuring that your house maintains a green, clean environment.
Final Word: Is Net-Zero Construction Worth the Price?
Building a net-zero home can appear costly when comparing upfront costs to a conventional home. Yet, you will receive a substantial amount of money back through energy and utility savings in the long run.
That’s why net-zero homes are worth every penny you spend. We recommend using smart architectural designs to conserve even more energy than traditional builds.
Building a smaller home can reduce construction costs per square footage. In addition, a few other choice changes can lessen the financial load of your real estate project.
Once you move into the new space, you’ll enjoy yearly energy savings and its positive impact on our environment.
In this case, it’s a win-win-win situation!