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It's actually possible that we'll see many zero energy homes in our near future - and if not our future, hopefully our children's.

What is the Zero Energy Home (ZEH)?:

A ZEH is a home (or it could be any structure) that produces more energy than it uses. So, not only does the home sustain itself, but it makes enough extra energy for another use, or to save, as well. There are ZEHs around, but they're not common; not yet.

A ZEH is able to cancel it's own energy out - which is very cool. To get this sort of innovative home, you need to combine completely energy efficient construction with one or more renewable energy systems, such as solar water heating and wind generated electricity or any of the other systems available. With smart green design you'll end up with a house that consumes zero energy from the utility gird.

According to the U.S Department of Energy, a Zero Energy Homes optimizes and includes the following design features:

• Climate-specific design
• Passive solar heating and cooling
• Energy-efficient construction
• Energy-efficient appliances and lighting
• Solar water heating system
• Small solar electric system.

Few prototype ZEHs have been constructed and researched up to now, but you don't need more research to know what a great idea these homes are. Zero energy homes are not unheard of. There are already people achieving this by being efficient and using alternative energy sources.

To learn more about ZEHs, read Seven Important Steps to a Successful ZEH.