Stamp it! - Zero Carbon Housing

Advantages

• isolation for building owners from future energy price increases
• increased comfort due to more-uniform interior temperatures (this can be demonstrated with comparative isotherm maps)
• reduced requirement for energy austerity
• reduced total cost of ownership due to improved energy efficiency
• reduced total net monthly cost of living
• improved reliability - photovoltaic systems have 25-year warranties - seldom fail during weather problems - the 1982 photovoltaic systems on the Walt Disney World EPCOT Energy Pavilion are still working fine today, after going through 3 recent hurricanes
• extra cost is minimized for new construction compared to an afterthought retrofit
• higher resale value as potential owners demand more ZEBs than available supply
• the value of a ZEB building relative to similar conventional building should increase every time energy costs increase
• future legislative restrictions, and carbon emission taxes/penalties may force expensive retrofits to inefficient buildings

A zero-energy building, also known as a zero net energy (ZNE) building, Net-Zero Energy Building (NZEB), or Net Zero Building, is a popular term to describe a building with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually.^[1] Zero energy buildings can be independent from the energy grid supply. Energy can be harvested on-site—usually through a combination of energy producing technologies like Solar and Wind—while reducing the overall use of energy with extremely efficient HVAC and Lighting technologies. The zero-energy design principle is becoming more practical to adopt due to the increasing costs of traditional fossil fuels and their negative impact on the planet's climate and ecological balance.

The zero net energy consumption principle is gaining considerable interest as renewable energy harvesting is a means to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Traditional building consumes 40% of the total fossil energy in the US and European Union.^[2][3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-energy_building

New homes to be 'zero emission'

A quarter of UK emissions come from homes The majority of newly built homes in the UK should be "zero-carbon" by 2016, according to the pre-Budget report.The government aims to achieve this target by exempting such homes from stamp duty for a limited period of time, starting next year. At present, more than a quarter of carbon emissions come from households, adding greatly to global warming. But the report did not say how this ambition will be achieved, with details not expected until the next Budget. Critics say the cost of making a home "zero-carbon" will push up property prices, outweighing any tax exemption. See a zero-emission house The ambitious move was announced within the pre-Budget report, which also saw increased taxes on flights and a greater commitment to energy efficiency. Households account for more than a quarter of UK energy consumption. 'Greater incentives' "Within 10 years, every new home will be a zero-carbon home and we will be the first country ever to make this commitment," said Chancellor Gordon Brown during his pre-Budget speech. "For a time-limited period, the vast majority of new zero-carbon homes will be exempted from stamp duty." But the proposals provide no details on how the government will ensure that new properties meet such standards, nor does it give a definition of a zero-carbon house. "The plans for an exemption from stamp duty for these properties will be welcomed, but first we need some clear definitions about what a zero-carbon home is," said Adam Bainbridge, head of corporate tax at KPMG. As a result, the proposal has met with reservation, at best - and at worst, criticism from those who say it lacks substance. Kevin Griffin, tax director at Ernst & Young argues that the stamp duty exemption will create, on average, savings of 1-3% of the price for the buyer. But the additional construction costs to meet a zero-carbon standard will be "far greater than this", while property developers and builders are likely to factor those costs into the price of the home. "It is likely that substantially greater incentives will have to be offered to persuade the construction industry to make the necessary changes." Others asked whether enough was being done to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes. "If the test of an effective environmental tax is that it changes behaviour, it is questionable whether today's announcements will achieve this end," said John Manning, UK head of the environmental tax and regulation network of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The plans for zero-carbon homes come in advance of an announcement by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly on new policies regarding building rules, meant to guarantee that homes are energy-efficient and sustainable. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6214434.stm