Wednesday, August 15, 2012

ZNE Makes Its Big Apple Debut

The Delta in Brooklyn (credit: Voltaire Solaire) 

If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. So we're excited to report that New York City has its first ever zero net building. The Delta, as it's called, is a retrofit of a 2,700 square foot building using both solar and wind power for energy needs and generating its own electricity, water and heat. Even with its unique triangular shape and lack of southern exposure, the five-story building located in Brooklyn uses enough renewables to offset its annual energy use.

The building is a triplex residence, studio residence, retail location and restaurant all in one, and includes solar panels, a solar skin, a special window treatment and a rooftop wind turbine, to make it ZNE.

The developer, Voltaire Solaire, partnered with IKEA, Samsung, Sharp and others to make the project come to life, and is now working on a second multifamily project.

Read more about the New York project here. 





 

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Project ABC Green Home (And ZNE Blog Series) In Full Swing

Foundation poured at ABC Green Home at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. 

On the heels of ABC Green Home's recent groundbreaking, the project reached yet another major milestone last week -- the setting of the home's foundation slab. What started as an idea by Green Home Builder magazine's publisher and SCE to build an affordable, environmentally friendly home, is now becoming a reality.

Next on the fast-paced construction agenda is building the framing for the house, starting this week. As the project is set to be completed in just 70-80 days, we'll be chronicling the step-by-step process of the build with a series of construction updates and videos on the ZNE blog.  

For more information about the project, check out the June issue of Green Home Builder magazine, which includes a feature story on ABC Green Home's groundbreaking. And stay tuned here for more exciting updates.