
Palo Duro Homes built this 2,215 square-foot home in Sante Fe, New Mexico to the performance criteria of the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program. The project won a 2015 DOE Housing Innovation Award.
Photo courtesy Palo Duro Homes
Are you ready for a home that lives, works, and lasts better? The home of the future—a better home—is available today. Zero energy ready homes can transform your home ownership experience, using energy efficiency as a springboard to improve a home’s overall comfort, health, and value. These highly-efficient homes are popping up across the U.S. Our Zero Energy Ready Home program has certified over 1,000 homes that meet its superior energy efficiency criteria.
Through this program, DOE partners with some of the nation’s leading homebuilders, helping them apply the newest technologies into their construction projects, and then recognizing them with the prestigious Zero Energy Ready Home label. Each zero energy ready home must meet rigorous specifications—signifying it’s 40-50% more efficient than a typical new home and certified by a third party. This ensures potential homebuyers can trust the energy savings and quality of the home. But don’t take our word for it—hear directly from zero energy ready homeowners below on what they love best about their homes.
Comfort
Zero Energy Ready Homes provide comfort throughout your home with superior insulation, windows, air sealing and spacing conditioning systems. The technologies and specifications of ZERH provide you with even temperatures, low-humidity, and quite in every room on every floor.
Health
Zero Energy Ready Homes have a comprehensive package of measures to minimize dangerous pollutants, provide continuous fresh air, and effectively filter the air you breathe. Zero Energy Ready Homes are built to provide you with a safe and healthy living environment for years to come.
Savings
A Zero Energy Ready Home is ultra-efficient and ultra-durable, which means a homeowner spends significantly less money on energy bills and home maintenance projects. In fact, the monthly utility bill savings often far exceed the slightly larger mortgage payments. And costs for these homes continue to drop as highly efficient technologies and construction practices become more widespread.
Visit the DOE Tour of Zero to learn more about these award-winning homes that are independently certified to meet DOE Zero Energy Ready Home guidelines and constructed by a select group of top builders.