Take a look inside a $1.1 million ‘zero emissions’ home

Real estate is one key puzzle piece in achieving U.S. climate goals, federal officials said.

Residential and commercial buildings account for 31% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, after taking into account “indirect” emissions such as electricity use, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That is more than in other economic sectors such as transport and agriculture.

The Biden administration has adopted several policies to reduce residential emissions.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which took effect in 2022, provides financial benefits, including tax breaks and rebates, to homeowners who, for example, make their homes more energy efficient. The White House recently too guidelines drawn up for buildings to qualify”zero emissions,” meaning they are “energy efficient, free of on-site emissions from energy consumption and powered exclusively by clean energy,” according to the Department of Energy.

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Morgan Wojciechowski, 33, is one of the first homeowners to receive the federal “zero emissions” designation. (This rating was provided by the third party company Pearl Certification.)

Wojciechowski, her husband Casey and their three dogs – Dixie, Bo and Charlie – moved into the newly built home in Williamsburg, Virginia, in August 2023.

Wojciechowski, who is also president of Healthy Communities, a local real estate developer focused on sustainable construction, spoke to CNBC about her new home, its financial benefits and how consumers can best upgrade their homes to be more efficient.

The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Greg Iacurci: What does it mean if your home is considered ‘zero emissions’?

Morgan Wojciechowski: It is a very, very, very efficient house that is completely electric. Those are roughly the first two points of the White House definition.

The third part is that we are part of the green energy program [our power provider] Dominion. I don’t just produce solar energy [energy] and any surplus goes back into the grid, but the power from the grid that comes into my home is clean and sustainable. It costs me about $10 extra per month to get that clean energy.

GI: How much did it cost to build your house?

MW: Like $1.1 million.

GI: And how big is the house?

MW: 5,400 square meters.

It’s a big house. But mine isn’t what everyone else does. My house was my personal project because I believe in sustainability and wanted to do this in a house that would be my forever home. But one that’s more replicable would be something like what [Healthy Communities] builds up Walnut farmwhich amounts to 1,500 square meters. We’re selling it for $433,000.

GI: Can you break down your home’s estimated savings?

MW: Our utility bills are expected to be approximately $917 per year [solar] panels, or about $80 per month.

The annual savings is $7,226 [relative to an average U.S. home, according to rater TopBuild Home Services]. That’s just because of the home’s efficiency with solar energy.

If you took away solar production, I would save $5,431 annually. The solar energy compensates for this.

GI: What do you mean solar compensates for this?

MW: You create energy. Your home uses that energy and sends excess energy back to Dominion. These credits are stored in an account and then these credits are offset with your invoice. This is called net metering.

GI: So the power company pays you that money?

MW: These credits will be applied to your next billing cycle. They offset your total energy bill, and that’s where your savings come in.

Solar panels only make sense if you build an energy-efficient house that is really fully electric.

GI: Why is that?

MW: You should have a home that is built or retrofitted to be energy efficient enough (by replacing your windows with higher quality ones and adding insulation) so that you need fewer panels on your roof and you get a quicker return on your investment. Solar energy only makes sense if you recoup your investment within a few years.

GI: Does that make solar energy more attractive?

MW: If you are not making energy efficient upgrades to a pre-existing home or if you are not building a home that is energy efficient enough, you will need to add more panels to make up for the lack of energy efficiency. And when that number gets too big, it turns people upside down.

Solar energy has to make sense for the house you’re putting it on, or else don’t do it. Maybe you can just upgrade your windows, add insulation, condition your crawl space, upgrade your mechanical systems.

There are many things consumers can do. You don’t have to do it all at once. You don’t have to have a solar-powered home to have zero emissions; you must have an energy efficient home that is all electric, and you must purchase renewable energy from your utility company.

That is extremely approachable. Many people can do that. Everyone can participate at his or her sustainability level.

GI: How do you recommend people get started?

MW: I would say to a consumer: why don’t you start with windows and doors. That’s very easy. Do that and see how it affects you [efficiency] changes.

In many older homes, the windows are very old and leak. Air comes in and out. If you think about it, a house is like an envelope. You want to seal the inside of your home as well as possible.

I would press insulation next.

Many older homes have HVAC systems and ductwork in their attics. Insulate it so that it’s a conditioned space, so those building systems don’t have to work in overdrive to keep up with really high or really cold temperatures. That keeps it more energy efficient.

And there are tax incentives [available] for energy efficient upgrades to your home. Consumers can get them and write them off, so that is also attractive to people.

GI: When you’re a renter, there are certain things you have no control over. I guess you can ask your landlord about that.

MW: Depending on what your rental situation is. I feel like it’s a little intimidating to change someone else’s mind. Once you get to your own home, you ultimately have more say in what you can do.

Until then, you can pay close attention to the energy you use. Turn off the lights. I mean, that’s real. People don’t turn off the lights. I mean, even though I have a very efficient house, I have timers for things because I don’t want to waste energy. That’s an easy task that anyone could do.

Correction: The house is 5,400 square feet. An earlier version displayed the figure incorrectly.