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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 68,400 68,400
2012 112,000 80,336 192,336
2013 132,900 72,924 205,824
2014 16,800 235,220 252,020
2015 142,295 194,500 336,795
2016 154,897 211,565 366,462
2017 450,588 218,635 669,223
2018 259,523 110,282 369,805
2019 60,905 546,545 607,450
2020 564,754 319,846 884,600
2021 1,169,687 453,963 1,623,650
2022 1,189,161 1,765,623 2,954,784
2023 2,546,879 1,948,441 4,495,320
2024 7,269,089 4,273,060 11,542,149
2025 10,254,960 3,834,391 14,089,351
2026 7,191,093 3,737,650 10,928,743
2027 9,038,965 2,905,118 11,944,083
2028 10,551,255 2,619,747 13,171,002
2029 7,623,001 4,228,454 11,851,455
2030 8,367,851 1,674,953 10,042,804
2031 1,435,376 595,000 2,030,376

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-12 106
Education: Higher Ed 36
Food Sales & Service 0
Healthcare 10
Laboratory / Tech / Science 53
Lodging 29
Manufacturing / Industrial 1
Mixed Use 61
Office 31
Public Assembly / Entertainment 26
Public Services 23
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 173
Residential: Multi-family 143
Retail 2
Senior Living 51
Warehouse / Storage 1
Total 746

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% 61
1.1% to 3% 9
3.1% to 5% 4
5.1% to 8% 12
8.1% to 10% 2
10.1% to 12% 0
>12% 1
Not calculated 87
Total 178

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 526
Exhaust-source Heat Pump 8
Ground-source Heat Pump 155
Water-source Heat Pump 6
Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) 102
Total 797

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 11 18 0 0 65 106
Education: Higher Ed 3 0 3 2 0 0 28 36
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 28 49
Lodging 9 1 6 2 0 0 8 26
Manufacturing / Industrial 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Mixed Use 28 1 5 2 0 0 24 60
Office 5 2 2 1 0 0 20 30
Public Assembly / Entertainment 6 3 1 2 0 0 13 25
Public Services 3 0 3 1 0 0 16 23
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 67 6 10 2 4 0 41 130
Residential: Multi-family 44 6 18 3 0 1 49 121
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 202 31 72 38 5 2 302 652

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 8.578 0.720 0.000 9.298
Education: Higher Ed 1.344 0.804 0.275 2.423
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 0.135 0.871
Manufacturing / Industrial 0.050 0.000 0.000 0.050
Mixed Use 2.415 1.130 0.553 4.098
Office 1.394 0.425 2.946 4.765
Public Assembly / Entertainment 0.210 0.080 1.669 1.959
Public Services 0.894 1.159 0.000 2.053
Residential: Affordable Multi Family 5.163 0.271 0.282 5.716
Residential: Multi-family 3.054 1.238 0.705 4.997
Retail 0.022 0.000 0.000 0.022
Senior Living 1.465 0.329 0.000 1.794
Warehouse / Storage 0.100 0.000 0.000 0.100
Total 29.582 7.117 11.104 47.803