Sustainable Living
Although there are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint and live more mindfully, we believe that one of the most important and overlooked is your home’s design. A new house with well-designed infrastructure can eliminate almost two-thirds of your carbon footprint. The evidence is clear: your home’s design is key to living a net-zero life.
A net-zero home is not only eco-friendly, but also healthier and quieter than a standard home. Superb indoor air quality minimizes allergens and pathogens and improves sleep quality. Rooftop solar preserves open land.
Everything in the home is electrified and combustion is eliminated. The home also offers an excellent return on investment over a typical 30-year mortgage in energy and fuel savings.
Net-zero living is a lofty goal, but it's both
essential and achievable.
It’s characterized by a home that:
- Produces more energy than it uses (sometimes called net positive)
- Produces zero carbon emissions (sometimes called net negative when the home produces more energy than it uses)
- Is built with materials with minimal carbon footprint (sometimes called net negative embodied carbon if the materials sequester carbon)
Outside of the home, other sustainable net-zero living tactics include:
- Using electric vehicles instead of gas or diesel
- Procuring electricity (if needed) from a net zero energy company
- Buying goods from companies with net zero processes
- Eating food grown and processed using net zero practices
- Traveling with companies that use net zero systems
Qualities of a
Net Zero Home
Although all net-zero homes are unique, here’s a list of innovations we incorporate.
Home Certifications
Michigan Net Zero seeks Phius Zero Certification for all of our homes. This assures the buyer that the house is super insulated, super airtight, properly ventilated, and produces as much energy as it uses. In fact, it will produce much more energy than it uses; enough to charge two electric vehicles, too. Phius Zero is currently the strictest home standard for operational carbon, requiring that the house produces no carbon emissions over its operational lifetime.
Our homes are also certified Zero Energy Ready by the Department of Energy (DOE ZERH). We partner with the GreenHome Institute and seek GreenStar certification for our homes. Additionally, our homes are LEED Platinum Certified, Energy Star Certified, and have received EPA Indoor airPLUS and WaterSense certification.
Our Partners
Michigan Net Zero relies on a network of partnerships to concept, design, and construct our homes. Below are some of the organizations we work with most frequently.
