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.
| Year | Net Zero Ready GSF | Net Zero GSF | Total GSF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0 | 143,510 | 143,510 |
| 2003 | 19,200 | 0 | 19,200 |
| 2010 | 93,833 | 0 | 93,833 |
| 2011 | 60,000 | 0 | 60,000 |
| 2012 | 24,000 | 3,500 | 27,500 |
| 2013 | 924 | 0 | 924 |
| 2014 | 45,000 | 0 | 45,000 |
| 2015 | 285,017 | 0 | 285,017 |
| 2016 | 237,520 | 61,315 | 298,835 |
| 2017 | 15,400 | 0 | 15,400 |
| 2018 | 339,223 | 3,000 | 342,223 |
| 2019 | 18,945 | 282,000 | 300,945 |
| 2020 | 106,700 | 118,231 | 224,931 |
| 2021 | 482,527 | 70,000 | 552,527 |
| 2022 | 1,334,970 | 740,151 | 2,075,121 |
| 2023 | 3,477,901 | 324,660 | 3,802,561 |
| 2024 | 7,032,884 | 1,247,700 | 8,280,584 |
| 2025 | 9,420,363 | 1,284,966 | 10,705,329 |
| 2026 | 5,327,266 | 1,399,204 | 6,726,470 |
| 2027 | 3,143,320 | 1,362,118 | 4,505,438 |
| 2028 | 3,517,224 | 378,747 | 3,895,971 |
| 2029 | 0 | 618,638 | 618,638 |
| 2030 | 6,617,285 | 0 | 6,617,285 |
| 2031 | 3,287,000 | 0 | 3,287,000 |
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.
| Building Types | Number of Projects |
|---|---|
| Assembly | 10 |
| Aviation | 0 |
| Education K-12 | 57 |
| Education: Higher Ed | 17 |
| Food Sales & Service | 0 |
| Healthcare | 6 |
| Industrial / Warehouse | 0 |
| Laboratory / Tech / Science | 39 |
| Lodging | 7 |
| Mixed Use | 37 |
| Office | 12 |
| Residential: Affordable Multi Family | 59 |
| Residential: Multi-family | 64 |
| Restaurant | 0 |
| Retail | 1 |
| Senior Living | 21 |
| Total | 330 |
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.
| Cost Range | Number of projects |
|---|---|
| <-11% | 2 |
| -11% to -6.1% | 0 |
| -6% to -3.1% | 4 |
| -3% to -1.1% | 0 |
| -1% to 1% | 59 |
| 1.1% to 3% | 9 |
| 3.1% to 5% | 2 |
| 5.1% to 8% | 11 |
| 8.1% to 10% | 1 |
| 10.1% to 12% | 0 |
| >12% | 0 |
| Not calculated | 50 |
| Total | 138 |
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.
| Heat Sources | Number of Projects |
|---|---|
| Air-source Heat Pump | 258 |
| Exhaust-source Heat Pump | 5 |
| Ground-source Heat Pump | 89 |
| Water-source Heat Pump | 0 |
| Total | 352 |
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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assembly | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| Aviation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Education K-12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 57 |
| Education: Higher Ed | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 17 |
| Food Sales & Service | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Healthcare | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Industrial / Warehouse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Laboratory / Tech / Science | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 37 |
| Lodging | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Mixed Use | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 37 |
| Office | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Residential: Affordable Multi Family | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 54 |
| Residential: Multi-family | 11 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 61 |
| Restaurant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Retail | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Senior Living | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
| Total | 74 | 8 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 203 | 317 |
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.
| Project Type | On-site Only | Both | Off-site Only | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assembly | 0.119 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.119 |
| Aviation | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Education K-12 | 4.698 | 0.639 | 0.000 | 5.337 |
| Education: Higher Ed | 0.607 | 0.435 | 0.275 | 1.317 |
| Food Sales & Service | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Healthcare | 0.451 | 0.236 | 0.000 | 0.687 |
| Industrial / Warehouse | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Laboratory / Tech / Science | 3.003 | 0.460 | 1.749 | 5.211 |
| Lodging | 0.591 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.591 |
| Mixed Use | 1.319 | 0.160 | 0.553 | 2.032 |
| Office | 0.168 | 0.016 | 0.441 | 0.625 |
| Residential: Affordable Multi Family | 5.041 | 0.100 | 0.124 | 5.266 |
| Residential: Multi-family | 0.916 | 0.582 | 0.396 | 1.895 |
| Restaurant | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Retail | 0.008 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.008 |
| Senior Living | 0.397 | 0.097 | 0.000 | 0.493 |
| Total | 17.318 | 2.725 | 3.538 | 23.581 |
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