Zero Net Buildings Lack Momentum

California needs to create awareness of and demand for zero net energy buildings to meet its 2020 requirement that all new homes create as much energy as they use over a year, according to energy policy makers and regulators.

“There are tons of opportunities to optimize” net zero energy buildings, particularly at the time of construction, California Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister said at a May 18 workshop on zero net energy buildings. “But we also have to make sure that we don’t let regulatory barriers get in the way of doing the right thing for the customer, the owner, the occupant of the building.”

Missing in action is the alignment of regulations, policies, incentives and building codes to help streamline the zero net energy construction process.

The state not only has fallen short of building consumer awareness of zero net energy but also inadequately quantified its value and supported its financing. Also missing are steps to ensure its affordability, and accompanying improvements in infrastructure and technology, said Cathleen Fogel of the California Public Utilities Commission’s energy efficiency branch.

In its New Residential Zero Net Energy Action Plan, which covers the years 2014-2020, the Public Utilities Commission has set a 2017 goal to create a systematic way to value zero net energy homes in order to enable underwriters, appraisers and financial institutions to support financing and foster a strong and affordable zero net housing market.

Current activities toward that goal include development of a national zero net energy appraisal standard for California within the next two years; establishment of a statewide third-party verification program this year to quantify the value of zero net energy and facilitate appraisals and lending; and creating, by 2018, new zero net energy incentives and tax credits for homeowners and builders.

California law mandates that all new residential construction be zero net energy by 2020 and that all new commercial construction energy demand and supply balance out over a 12-month period by 2030. Also, half of all existing commercial buildings are required to be retrofitted to zero net energy by 2030.

All new state buildings and major renovations to such buildings are to be zero-net starting in 2025 and 50 percent of all existing state-owned buildings are also required to be zero net by 2025.

Currently, there are only about 1,100 “zero net type” homes in California, Fogel said, referring to houses with energy demand and supply being close but not on par. Only 16 homes in the state are fully zero net energy, she said.

More than 50 builders have pursued construction of zero net energy homes in 130 California cities, mostly in Napa, Sacramento and Sonoma Counties, according to the data. Regarding non-residential structures, only 213 zero net energy commercial buildings are known to exist throughout the United States, with California accounting for 40 percent of the total.

Since the establishment of the zero net energy goals in its 2007 Integrated Energy Policy Report, the Energy Commission has worked to make each successive update of its Building Energy Efficiency Standards—in 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019—closer to accomplishing the 2020 goal.

The 2016 update of the building standards is scheduled to be adopted during the Energy Commission’s June 10 business meeting, according to Farakh Nasim of the efficiency division within the commission’s Building Standards Office. —Mark Edward Nero