Glenn Moore’s South Austin home looks like any other simple wood frame home. You can tell it’s newly built to look like an older structure, with a fresh goat of sage green paint and ivory trim.
But it's what's on the inside that makes this house stand out. Austin Energy's Green Building Program awarded it five stars for its zero energy design. It may have cost a little extra, but makes up for it in low utility costs.
"The house is easy to maintain, the concrete floors easy to clean up. Someone is building a house across the street. It's just part of the concrete walls and stuff that I knew was there but never really thought about until I moved in and that is that this house if very quiet," Moore said.
Architect Joe Bennett said he's been getting a lot of calls to design zero energy homes, or energy efficient homes. Zero energy capable uses a combination of different energy-efficient methods; for example, ceiling fans instead of air conditioning or windows for sunlight instead of artificial light.
"It's really kind of exciting because it's just using all of the technology that is used today and combining it with energy efficient construction,” Bennett said.
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Energy-efficient homes
Austin is looking to ante up the importance it places on building energy-efficient homes.
 
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A zero energy capable home is approximately 60 percent more efficient than homes built to code today.
"We like to select energy star appliances and very energy efficient appliances that actually the city of Austin gives you rebates on," Bennett said.
That includes dishwashers, refrigerators and washers and dryers. Moore’s home also uses polyurethane spray foam insulation in the attic to keep it cool.
"What we've done is blown it onto the ceiling so that it actually encompasses all of the HVAC system and all the duct work is included in that insulated envelope.It just makes it a highly efficient attic. You can actually walk up there in the middle of summer and feel completely comfortable," Bennett said.
On Thursday, Aug. 10, Austin Mayor Will Wynn and the city council will look at creating and appointing a task force to study a change to the city ordinance so that all newly built single family homes are zero energy capable by 2015.
The task force would consist of homebuilders, architects, designers, contractors, affordable housing advocates, and representatives from the City’s Resource Management Commission and energy efficiency and renewable energy advocates.
The strategies the task force comes up with will be piloted through the city's Green Building Program. If those ideas are both energy efficient and cost effective, Austin would incorporate them into the city's energy code, beginning with the adoption of the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) already under way.
The city of Austin is also now part of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy’s National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency.
Action Plan highlights include
• Recognizing energy efficiency as a high-priority energy resource.
• Making a strong, long-term commitment to implement cost-effective energy efficiency as a resource.
• Broadly communicating the benefits of and opportunities for energy efficiency.
• Promoting sufficient, timely, and stable program funding to deliver energy efficiency where cost-effective.
• Modifying policies to align utility incentives with the delivery of cost-effective energy efficiency and modifying ratemaking practices to promote energy efficiency investments.
