Introduction: The Case for Zero Energy Houses
Learning from the Passive House Movement
The Diversity of Framing Practices
Attic and Roofing Systems
Insulation Choices and Strategies
Case Study: A Butterfly Home in the City
Case Study: Outside-in Retrofit
Passive Solar in the 1970s
Principles of Passive Solar Design
Case Study: PassivHaus Retrofit
Case Study: Bringing 1887 into the 21st Century
Case Study: Target Zero House in Taos
From Sunlight Alone, Clean Electricity
Harnessing the Power of the Wind
Making Hot Water with the Sun
Sizing a Renewable Energy System
Look at All the Renewable Energy Options
Case Study: The Good Life in Vermont
Case Study: The Next West House
Case Study: High-End Lakeside Retrofit
4. Heating, Cooling, and Ventilation
Heat Pumps Provide Both Heating and Cooling
Electric-Resistance Heat Can Work in a Net Zero House
Wood and Other Forms of Biomass
Getting Heat Around the House
Ventilation for a Healthy House
Case Study: A Solar Jewel in Boulder
Case Study: Reinventing the High Rise
Case Study: All-Electric House: $1.16 a Day
5. Living a Zero Energy Life
It's Just Not Low Energy Bills
Gaining a New Appreciation for Energy
Mechanical Systems are More Complicated
Fighting the Perceptions of High Cost
Marketing the Zero Energy House
A House That's Also a Classroom
Case Study: Affordable Housing Meets Zero Energy
Appendix 1. Energy Modeling Software
Appendix 2. Air Changes per Hour: 50 Pascals of Pressure
