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Executive Summary
Texas can
reduce its dependence on dirty, dangerous and expensive fossil fuels by
adopting new, high performance home designs. Using energy-efficient technology
and smallscale solar energy systems, homes can be built to generate as much
energy as they use, achieving “net-zero energy” performance.
Given
anticipated population growth, Texas will likely build nearly 2.2 million additional
single-family homes from 2010 to 2030. These homes represent an enormous energy
opportunity. If all new homes are built for net-zero energy performance by
2020, then by 2030 the state would avoid the need to build seven new large
power plants, reduce annual global warming pollution by an amount equivalent to
eliminating emissions from more than 3 million Texas cars and trucks, and
reduce homeowners’ energy bills by more than $5 billion – benefiting all
Texans.
With
incentive programs available now, a net-zero energy home could cost about $40
per month less to own than a standard home. In the future, potential homeowner
savings are poised to grow.
The
technology necessary to build net-zero energy homes is ready and available
today. However, it is not yet in widespread use, because of a variety of market
barriers, including lack of familiarity and up-front cost. To unlock the potential
of high-performance homes, Texas and federal officials should work to overcome
these market barriers and encourage the spread of efficient home designs and
small-scale renewable energy technologies such as solar energy systems.
Net-zero energy homes can help Texas become less dependent on fossil
fuels.
• If all new
single-family homes in Texas achieved net-zero energy performance by the year
2020, Texas would save more than 15 billion kWh of electricity per year by
2030. At current consumption patterns, that amount of electricity could power
all the residences in the greater metropolitan areas of San Antonio,
Austin, and Corpus Christi combined (or 1.1 million Texas homes).
• At the same
time, solar energy systems on those homes would generate another 10 billion kWh
of electricity per year by 2030 – equivalent to nearly 3 percent of current
statewide annual electricity consumption.
• In total,
these homes would generate or save more than 25 billion kWh of electricity per
year and 500 million therms of natural gas per year by 2030. That amount of
electrical energy would eliminate the need to build 7 large (500 MW) coal-fired
power plants, and that amount of gas could meet the annual needs of more than 1
million Texas homes.
Net-zero energy homes prevent pollution, protecting public health
and Texas’ environment.
• By
displacing fossil fuels, in the year 2030 net-zero energy homes could annually
prevent 18 million metric tons of global warming pollution, 7.5 million pounds
of smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions, and nearly 400 pounds of highly toxic
mercury pollution.
• In terms of
global warming pollution, this impact would be roughly equivalent to making one
out of every six
cars and trucks in the state pollution-free (more than 3 million vehicles).
• In
addition, deploying net-zero energy homes could save nearly 10 billion gallons
of water in 2030, water which would otherwise be used to generate steam in
fossil-fired power plants. That much water could meet the domestic needs of a
city of more than 400,000 people.
Net- zero energy homes can save society and individual homeowners
money.
• Net-zero
energy homes deliver many benefits which save all Texans money. Net-zero energy
homes reduce the need for expensive power lines and power plants to meet peak
demand for electricity. They reduce demand for – and thus the price of –
electricity and natural gas. And net-zero energy homes prevent air pollution, reducing
costs to public health and Texas’ environment.
• To
compensate builders and buyers of net-zero energy home technology for providing
these benefits to society as a
whole, federal and state government offers a variety of incentives and rebates
to reduce the initial purchase price of a net-zero energy home. With currently
available incentives, a net-zero energy home would save a homeowner $40 per month
in total home ownership costs compared to a standard home.
• Because
net-zero energy homes generate as much energy as they consume, they can greatly
reduce monthly
utility bills. For example, a Houston-area homeowner would pay $2,400 less per
year for utility service in a net-zero energy home compared to a standard home.
Savings on energy bills offset the initial price premium of a net-zero energy
home of about $10 per square foot (after incentives).
• The
potential for net-zero energy homes to deliver homeowner savings will grow over
time. For example, by 2015, analysts at the U.S. Department of Energy predict
that the installed cost of solar PV will decline by 50 percent. When this
milestone is achieved, a net-zero energy home will cost the same amount per
month as a standard home, without incentives.
• If all new
homes in Texas achieved net-zero energy performance by 2020, Texas homeowners
would save an estimated $5.4 billion on utility bills in the year 2030. Over
the entire 20 year period of analysis, net total home ownership savings would
be in the range of $1.1 billion (2009 dollars).
Incorporating energy-efficient features during construction
can allow homes to use two-thirds less energy than a typical home. For example:
• Improved
insulation, tight construction, high-efficiency windows, and light colored “cool
roofs” can drastically improve the thermal efficiency of a home and enable the
use of smaller cooling and heating equipment. Together, these measures can cut
the energy needed for cooling and heating by more than 75 percent.
• Efficient
lighting and appliances can deliver the same convenience and comfort that
homeowners are used to while using far less electricity. For example, using
compact fluorescent or LED bulbs in place of traditional incandescent versions
can reduce lighting energy use by more than 70 percent. Similarly, efficient clothes
washers, dishwashers, dryers and refrigerators can cut electricity use by more
than 50 percent compared to standard versions.
Solar energy systems can generate electricity and hot water to
offset the remaining home energy use.
• A 5 kW home
solar photovoltaic system could produce 5,800 kWh per year in a hot and humid
location near the
Gulf, such as Houston, and up to 7,000 kWh per year in a hot and dry climate
like that of Midland or Odessa. In comparison, an energy-efficient home uses
about 5,000 kWh of electricity per year.
• An
efficient hot water heater, supplemented by a roof-mounted solar hot water
system, could cut the amount of
natural gas needed to supply hot water for a typical home by about two-thirds.
• Other
sources of renewable energy can deliver cooling, heating and electricity for
Texas homes, including geothermal heat pumps and small-scale wind turbines.
Net-zero energy homes will be a key tool for breaking our dependence
on fossil fuels. Texas, and the United States as a whole, should encourage
energy efficient home construction and the use of solar energy systems.
• President
Obama has announced an ambitious but achievable goal for all new buildings to
achieve net-zero energy performance by 2030. Texas should embrace this goal and
lay out a plan to achieve this benchmark for new homes by 2020.
• As a first
step, Texas should require local jurisdictions to strengthen building energy
codes, ensuring that all new homes across the state meet or exceed the 2009
International Energy Conservation Code.
• Texas
should provide financial incentives and technical assistance to encourage high
performance new construction
and the deployment of solar energy systems. For example:
• Texas
should establish a statewide solar rebate program so that all Texans are able
to take advantage of solar
incentives.
• Cities
should help residents install solar energy systems by offering loans that can
be paid back via property
taxes, as authorized by House Bill 1937.
• Texas
should require true “net metering,” removing limits on the ability of
homeowners to be fairly
compensated by their utility for any excess electricity they feed into the
power grid.
• Texas
utilities should add to and expand incentive programs to encourage the
construction of net-zero
energy homes.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies can
benefit all sectors of the Texas economy. To fully capture these resources,
• Texas
should require electric utilities to increase their investment in energy
efficiency programs, such as rebates
for Energy Star homes, such that 1 percent of the state’s electricity
consumption is offset with efficiency
annually by 2015 and 2 percent annually by 2020 and thereafter.
• Federal
leaders should adopt national energy efficiency and renewable energy
requirements, including:
• A national
energy efficiency resource standard, requiring that utilities reduce
electricity consumption by at least 10 percent by 2020;
• Enforceable
national lighting and building energy efficiency codes for new residential and commercial
buildings, requiring a 50 percent reduction over current practice by 2015 and a
75 percent reduction in energy use by 2030; and
• A building
retrofit program, to ensure existing buildings use energy efficiently.
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