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The future is now. Hundreds of Net Zero and Net Zero Ready buildings are on this site, and more are coming online every day.

Net Zero buildings are all-electric and produce or procure renewable energy to cover their operational emissions. Net Zero Ready buildings are electrified and efficient enough to run on renewable energy as soon as sources are available.

Net Zero and Net Zero Ready Projects by Year (GSF)
Year Net Zero Ready GSF Net Zero GSF Total GSF
2003 0 19,200 19,200
2009 0 16,800 16,800
2010 0 93,833 93,833
2011 0 60,000 60,000
2012 24,000 58,625 82,625
2013 132,900 924 133,824
2014 16,800 49,000 65,800
2015 142,295 194,500 336,795
2016 154,897 161,565 316,462
2017 125,831 0 125,831
2018 259,523 104,700 364,223
2019 60,905 354,945 415,850
2020 503,080 157,777 660,857
2021 1,207,901 243,963 1,451,864
2022 950,947 1,635,266 2,586,213
2023 2,476,879 1,501,785 3,978,664
2024 4,999,896 3,576,030 8,575,926
2025 6,863,137 3,114,256 9,977,393
2026 6,376,074 4,173,149 10,549,223
2027 7,938,528 2,886,118 10,824,646
2028 9,416,322 2,619,747 12,036,069
2029 6,692,121 2,790,885 9,483,006
2030 8,367,851 1,464,953 9,832,804
2031 353,198 595,000 948,198

This trend stretches across every industry.

From multifamily housing and K-12 schools to labs and healthcare, projects across a wide range of industries are achieving high-performance building standards, proof that achieving Net Zero is possible regardless of project type.

Net Zero Building Types
Building Types Number of Projects
Education K-12 91
Education: Higher Ed 24
Food Sales & Service 0
Healthcare 10
Laboratory / Tech / Science 54
Lodging 24
Manufacturing / Industrial 0
Mixed Use 57
Office 17
Public Assembly / Entertainment 17
Public Services 16
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 160
Residential: Multi-family 131
Retail 2
Senior Living 50
Warehouse / Storage 1
Total 654

Net zero buildings are being built at the same cost as conventional buildings.

Of the projects that reported cost data, many Net Zero and Net Zero Ready buildings have less than a 1% construction cost premium compared to conventional buildings. High-performing buildings also significantly reduce operating costs, which can offset any upfront premiums in a matter of years.

Projects by Construction Cost Range
Cost Range Number of projects
<-11% 2
-11% to -6.1% 0
-6% to -3.1% 0
-3% to -1.1% 0
-1% to 1% 62
1.1% to 3% 9
3.1% to 5% 4
5.1% to 8% 11
8.1% to 10% 2
10.1% to 12% 0
>12% 1
Not calculated 83
Total 174

Net Zero buildings employ a range of heating options to achieve electrification.

The majority of Net Zero and Net Zero Ready projects employ heat pumps to electrify their heating and cooling operations. There are many options available to design teams, made easy by low overall energy demand in ultra-efficient projects.

Projects by Heat Source
Heat Sources Number of Projects
Air-source Heat Pump 480
Exhaust-source Heat Pump 7
Ground-source Heat Pump 122
Water-source Heat Pump 1
Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) 90
Total 700

Electrification of domestic hot water is possible for large scale buildings across a variety of industries.

Many projects use electrified domestic hot water systems, deploying a range of strategies with proven performance across multifamily, education K-12, and lab projects, just to name a few.

Hot Water Heating Source by Project Type
Project Type Air-source heat pump Electric resistance instantaneous Electric resistance storage Ground-source heat pump Heat recovery heat pump District heating electric Unspecified Total
Education K-12 5 7 9 16 0 0 54 91
Education: Higher Ed 2 0 2 0 0 0 20 24
Food Sales & Service 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Healthcare 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 8
Laboratory / Tech / Science 4 5 8 2 1 1 29 50
Lodging 6 1 6 1 0 0 7 21
Manufacturing / Industrial 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mixed Use 26 1 5 1 0 0 23 56
Office 2 2 2 0 0 0 10 16
Public Assembly / Entertainment 5 3 0 1 0 0 7 16
Public Services 2 0 2 0 0 0 12 16
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 60 6 8 0 4 0 40 118
Residential: Multi-family 39 6 15 2 0 1 46 109
Retail 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2
Senior Living 26 0 2 1 0 0 5 34
Warehouse / Storage 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Total 179 31 62 26 5 2 257 562

Projects are achieving Net Zero through on-site and off-site renewable energy procurement.

There are many procurement methods for renewable energy, which can greatly reduce operating costs and strain on the grid. This is happening across project types, powering buildings of all sizes.

On and Off-site Renewable Energy for Net Zero Buildings by Project Type
Project Type On-site Only Both Off-site Only Total
Education K-12 7.088 0.720 0.000 7.807
Education: Higher Ed 0.882 0.435 0.275 1.592
Food Sales & Service 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Healthcare 0.451 0.236 0.595 1.282
Laboratory / Tech / Science 3.971 0.460 3.944 8.376
Lodging 0.471 0.265 0.000 0.736
Manufacturing / Industrial 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Mixed Use 2.227 1.130 0.553 3.910
Office 0.325 0.016 0.446 0.786
Public Assembly / Entertainment 0.083 0.000 0.077 0.159
Public Services 0.573 0.077 0.000 0.650
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 4.871 0.271 0.250 5.392
Residential: Multi-family 2.824 0.912 0.355 4.090
Retail 0.022 0.000 0.000 0.022
Senior Living 1.403 0.329 0.000 1.732
Warehouse / Storage 0.090 0.000 0.000 0.090
Total 25.281 4.851 6.495 36.627