NET ZERO ENERGY HOMES

Our brand new second generation Net Zero Energy Home is now open and available for viewing in Armory Park del Sol at 459 S. 3rd Avenue. For directions, click here.

The new Net Zero Energy Home's May Grand Opening was an incredible success! Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano even presented John Wesley Miller Companies with her Arizona Innovation Award. To see photos, click here.

Net Zero Energy Home
Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Net Zero Energy Home?
Net Zero Energy Homes combine energy-efficient construction, equipment, lighting and appliances with commercially available renewable energy systems to provide homeowners with annual net-zero energy consumption.

With its reduced energy needs and solar energy systems, a Net Zero Energy Home can return as much energy as it takes from the utility company on an annual basis.

Armory Park del Sol's first Net Zero Energy Home

Who is involved with this program?
The John Wesley Miller Companies built the first Net Zero Energy Home in their Armory Park del Sol community with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center providing consulting and sponsorship. All of the homes in the community incorporate thermal mass solid concrete block walls, energy-saving appliances and mechanical equipment, high-performance windows, and solar water heating systems. The standard construction methods in Armory Park del Sol already exceed the Model Energy Code by 50 percent, which is the Department of Energy's definition of a "Zero Energy Home". The Net Zero Energy Home goes above and beyond that 50% increase in energy efficiency, hence the John Wesley Miller Companies-given title of Net Zero Energy Home.

With the assistance of architects form Devereaux and Associates of McLean, Va., the John Wesley Miller team and engineers at the NAHB Research Center have analyzed many additional energy-efficient and energy-producing measures. The final home is designed to provide the comfort of the Armory Park del Sol homes, while consuming net-zero energy over the course of a year. In partnership, Tucson Electric Power has agreed to run the home's meter backward and credit homeowners when they feed power back to the utility!

This Tucson Net ZEH is one of four homes that comprise a 2003 national initiative administered by the U.S. Department of Energy through its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Researchers at NREL are working with the four home building teams to introduce the Net ZEH concept into the single-family, new home construction industry.

How does the Net ZEH differ from the other homes in the community?
Standard homes in Armory Park del Sol are designed to use about 7 kWh per square foot per year. The Net Zero Energy Home is designed to use about 4 kWh per square foot per year.

All Armory Park del Sol homes are now built with a solar electric system of at least 1.5 kWh (earlier homes were built with a 1 kWh solar electric system) and a passive solar water heater that meets approximately half of a family's water heating needs. The Net ZEH has a 4.2 kW solar electric system and an active solar hot water system that is designed to provide almost all of a family's water and home heating needs.

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