Zero Energy Buildings in Massachusetts: Saving Money from the Start

In May of 2018, USGBC MA, in partnership with Massachusetts Climate Action Network, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, held a Zero Net Energy Municipal Summit at Roxbury Community College during which we asked participants: What are the barriers to building ZE buildings? The number one cited obstacle was cost, followed by regulations. This report seeks to understand whether the notion that additional first costs for ZE buildings is an outdated perception or a reality, and to identify policy and regulatory changes to make building ZE the standard.This report highlights only a sampling of the work done by the amazing practitioners we have here in the Commonwealth, practitioners who work each day toward zero energy buildings. With the combined efforts of our building industry professionals, the researchers at our great colleges and universities, our citizen advocates, our elected leaders, our state agencies, and the innovative businesses in Massachusetts, we will transform the way we build. Massachusetts is already a national leader and is uniquely positioned to take the next step and show the world how ZE buildings can reduce carbon emissions all while having a thriving economy