3609 Gradyville Road (Left) and 3607 Gradyville Road (right)

 

Custom Home Features

Add NZE to extraordinary custom designs with

  • 10’ High first floor ceilings

  • Elevator and wheelchair accessibility

  • Dedicated home office(s)

  • Geothermal Heating, cooling, and hot water

  • State-of-the-art kitchens with walk in pantry

Understanding the advantages to a buyer can be summarized by this simple abbreviation

What is Net Zero Energy

The many faceted benefits of owning an living in a Net Zero Energy home can be summarized with a simple acronym you already know:  E = MC²

E = M C ²

See what they can mean for you: Click the “+” signs below

  • ENERGY is the future.    

    These NZE homes are decades ahead of their time:   Our national and local building codes are inching their way towards NZE standards, hoping to make NZE  standard within twenty years.   

    These are the only NZE homes for sale in the tri-state area [a] so we aren;t surprised that we are introducing NZE for the first time to buyers.   


    A TRUE FOREVER-HOME

    An opportunity for a future-proof forever-home: buyers can secure their energy future against   an aging energy grid stressed by new uses like electric cars and AI facilities using so much energy that Microsoft just purchased the Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power their private use.  Not to mention normal inflation of energy prices, cost of energy grid improvements rolled into your energy bill and the uncertainty of weather related outages.  


  • TAX SAVINGS   

    These homes come with a tremendous financial incentive: up to $82,000 in newly introduced income tax credits.    (IRS Form 5695)

    ENERGY SAVINGS: 

    These homes are as much as 95% more energy efficient than even a home built to current building code:   that would be ALL of the new construction on the market today.    

    NET FUTURE VALUE of the energy savings is up to $10,500 per year over the average US home.  Future value of that savings over 20 years is $450,000 over 20 years.  (at 7.5% with just 1%/year energy inflation)

    MORE PURCHASING POWER:  

    Under new federal regulations, lenders can look at PIE (Principal + Interest + Energy) costs of ownership.  Appraisers can increase the value of a Net Zero Energy home significantly compared to comps.   This qualifies buyers to purchase an NZE home of up to $135,000 more than the cost of a comparable code-built new home.


  • HEALTHFUL FRESH AIR:    

    Homes built to current building codes rely on air leaking into the home to supply fresh air and remove moisture and stale air.    This is called air infiltration and it’s the second largest energy loss in a home next to loss through the walls and ceilings.    Because they are so well sealed, our NZE homes have a special fresh air make-up that takes stale air out and brings in constant supply of fresh air which filters that fresh air that filters particles as small as one micron, which is about the size of a bacterial cell. The air that is exhausted also pre-heats or cools the incoming air, so the outside air is not a source of heat loss.   Our NZE homes are healthy homes

    QUIET & INSULATION

    Continuous filtered fresh air:   

    NZE homes are so super-insulated and super-sealed that they leak fresh air though walls and windows.   This results in energy savings and significant noise reduction from the outside


  • A home with a conscience

    Forward looking home buyers would love to be part of a better energy and environmental future.   They see the problems of the energy grid being more and more taxed by growth, by additional load from electrical vehicles and by inflation.  Energy use is soaring.   Microsoft just purchased the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor JUST to power their AI facility.   Homes use 21% of all energy in the US.  

     The Carbon Footprint per year of these items = This many tons of CO2 per year:  

    • This NZE new home = ZERO CARBON FOOTPRINT

    • Existing older house of 3500 SF = 10-12 metric tons of CO2

    • Average newer home = 7-8 metric tons of CO2

    • Newer car driving 15k miles per year =  3.8 metric tons of CO2

    • An electric car, 15k Miles per year = 1.5 - 2 metric tons of CO2



    Living in the comfort and quality of a Net Zero Energy, Net Zero Impact home makes a homeowner part of a better energy future, for themselves, the community and their world.   

NZE homes combine advanced design and superior building systems with energy efficiency,solar panels & storage, and smart-home controls to produce a better home. NZE homes are ultra-comfortable, healthy, quiet, sustainable homes that are affordable to live in. They are simple to live in with no special considerations.

Intelligent buyers have made plans for their futures and are fulfilling them They’d like an intelligent home with a plan for the future too. A Net Zero Energy home combines extraordinary financial benefits with principled convictions. They may be concerned about the health of our environment. They are surely aware of the uncertainty of our energy future. They want a great home that makes great sense financially.

These are extraordinary designed home with features that buyers are looking for

 
 

  • 10’ High first floor ceilings

  • Elevator option and 100% wheelchair accessibility

  • Dedicated home offices

  • True clear-span open plan

  • Geothermal Heating, cooling, and hot water

  • State-of-the-art kitchen with huge walk in pantry

  • Separate Courtyard Studio Suite option

    Courtyard Garden option

  • 5 bedrooms, all with private bathrooms

 

A True “Forever Home”

 

In addition to the quality, comfort, energy security for the future, the health benefits of full-time filtered fresh air, and the satisfaction of net-zero living, there are tremendous FINANCIAL benefits to these NZE homes. The savvy homebuyer understands that NZE adds about to the cost of the home which pays for itself immediately and benefits for a lifetime, making these true “forever homes” for a forward-looking buyer.

 

Benefits of Net Zero Energy

GREEN ENERGY + Option

Sale Price $1,770,240. $14,789 in IRS tax credits.

3607 Gradyville Road, GREEN ENERGY PLUS OPTION, price $1,795,348 with a fantastic $14,789 in Green Energy Tax Deductions and a Net Effective Price (same payments) as comp new home at $110,348 less, with zero tax credits 

3607, NET ZERO ENERGY Option

Sale Price: $1,850,194 $69,389 in Tax Credits

3607 Gradyville, NET ZERO ENERGY OPTION, price $1,875,302 with an amazing $69,389 in Green Energy tax deductions, at only $223 more per month than a comp new home at $190,302 less, with zero tax credits.  Percs of Green Energy! 

Only with a Home Energy Rating Certificate, (linked here >>>) is a home designed, and tested to be energy efficient beyond the current statewide building code. Homes that advertise “Energy Star” are referring to appliances and equipment ratings and minimal insulation ratings.

Click to enlarge. Certified energy analysis.

3609 Gradyville

OPTIONS

3609 Gradyville, GREEN ENERGY PLUS OPTION, price  $1,705,581 with a fantastic $14,049 in Green Energy Tax Deductions and a  Net Effective Price (same payments) as comp new home at $115,581 less!     

3609 Gradyville, NET ZERO ENERGY OPTION, price $1,781,537 with an amazing $65,919 in Green Energy tax deductions, at only $187 more per month than a comp new home at $191,537 less!    Percs of Green Energy!

One of a Kind

These two wonderful homes are the only two NET ZERO ENERGY single family detached homes for sale within 50 miles of Philadelphia.

The benefits and savings will only get better, as energy costs continue to rise to increase 50% each of the next two decades

Projected Energy Costs. Click to enlarge

Verified Energy Performance

HERS Index explained. Click to enlarge

HERS - the “Home Energy Rating System”

It’s the nationally recognized system of rating a home’s energy efficiency, newly incorporated into our 2018 Residential Building Code. The lower the HERS Index score the better.

Our NZE HOMES are at least a decade ahead of the building and energy code requirements. Learn more about HERS Index ratings here.

A perfect HERS Index Score of 0

HERS index analyzes the building envelope for insulation value, infiltration, window and door efficiency, HVAC efficiency, and alternative energy sources like Solar and GeoThermal.

  • HERS 130 to 150: Existing homes

  • HERS 100 to 130: A standard existing new home in the US has a

  • HERS 60 TO 65: A new “energy efficient” home built (every new home on the market) has a HERS score of about 60-65 (the blue arrow). Actual HERS certification is not currently required, only a pass-fail energy inspection, no quality assurance oversight, and no inspection by a HERS-rated inspector.

  • HERS 0: Our Net Zero Energy homes have a perfect gold-standard HERS Rating score of ZERO. True Net Zero Energy. highest standard quality assurance, inspection, and certification

FAQs

Smart buyers have questions

Is a Net Zero Energy (NZE) home complicated to live in?

An NZE home is SIMPLER to live in! Its HVAC system has fewer moving parts and lasts longer than a standard HVAC system It has no special controls or maintenance. It is just better!

Is Net Zero Energy new and untested?

Does Net Zero Energy cost more than a standard new home?

The upgrades are an initial additional cost, yes. Unlike other upgrades, our energy upgrades pay the homeowner back. In monthly costs,

  • Our “High Performance Energy” option actually costs $100 LESS per month and yields a $14,789 tax credit.

  • Our NET ZERO ENERGY OPTION costs a homeowner adds than an average Verizon or Comcast bil and yields a remarkable $69,389 in tax credit.

Will my mortgage lender understand all of this?

  • Green Energy lenders will qualify buyers for higher purchase prices because they recognize the savings of a net zero energy blll.

  • Green energy-trained appraisers will appraise the home at a much higher value than the standard comp. An NZE home will apprais for as much as 10-15% higher than a comparable code-built home.

  • Lenders and appraisers who are up to date on the latest government-approved practices will be happy to help. Our green energy consultants are ready to bring them up to speed.

Do other builders offer NZE?

Some builders are introducing higher-performance energy homes. Toll Brothers, one of the US’s largest builders admits that its average new home has a HERS Index rating of 59, a middle-of-the-road score. In California, they are offering a energy-premium option with a HERS rating of 25, much better. It’s not NET ZERO, but a worthy effort)

Why are there the only NZE single-family homes in the Delaware Valley?

  • An NZE home costs more to build. Most builders are not willing to risk sales based on bottom dollar comparisons

  • An NZE home is has rigorous design and inspection standards. 3rd party energy consultants, inspections, and additional architectural design are all unfamiliar territory to production home builders.

  • Our NZE homes are a vision project. We believe we can make a difference and there are smart buyers who want that for their homes as well. We are willing to go the extra mile to make a difference.

  • Perhaps builders are very cautious. They want to repeat a proven formula, then build, profit, and repeat. Innovation is not in their DNA.

Why don’t building codes require NZE?

They will!

Five years ago, in June of 2018, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously adopted a resolution to urge mayors to adopt the IECC as a strategy toward net zero building construction by 2050. Two and a half decades away

Design Build LLC is a US DOW Zero Energy Ready Partner

The International Code Council (ICC) writes our PA, NJ, and Del building codes. They already require a HERS Index Rating of about 55 for new homes. They are planning on introducing better HERS Index ratings requirements by their 2030 and beyond codes. PA currently uses the 2018 Residential Code. The ICC plans on making energy requirements better and better, with a path TO NET ZERO standards (not requirements) 10 to 15 years away. By then, our NZE buyers will be over $300,000 in future value ahead of the crowd. ($15400 / year @ 15 yrs @ 8%)

The US Department of Energy already has a Zero Energy Read program. We are US DOE ZERO ENERGY READY partners.

We mention above that there are no Net Zero Energy new homes for sale in the Delaware Valley. Our realty team cannot find any mention of any high-performance energy terms in their search of homes for sale. Net Zero Energy homes for private owners are being built for private owners with a vision for the future, in our area.