Mandating Zero Energy Homes

What if the Niagara Region insisted in its Official Plan that all new subdivisions were required to have zero-energy homes? Imagine the fuss, the complaining, the backlash. They would, however, be doing us all a huge favour. It can be reasonably imagined that homes that are energy inefficient will lose market value. With oil at $132/barrel, today's price and climbing, it is possible that all energy costs, including natural gas, will have a profoundly negative impact of the viability of homes that are poorly designed.

A net-zero energy home is capable of producing an annual output of renewable energy that is equal to the total amount of its annual purchased energy.
Is this far fetched? In fact no, Austin Texas is considering the idea. This from Builder Magazine:

Austin has appointed a task force to study the feasibility of a change in the building code that would require all new single-family homes in the city to be zero-energy–capable by 2015.

"The NAHB Research Center put out a report this year that stated that zero-energy homes are feasible across the U.S. by 2020," says Richard Morgan, green building manager for Austin Energy, the city-owned utility. "We figure we're a little ahead of the curve here, and 2015 should be feasible for us."

The city's goal is to make all homes built within the jurisdiction of Austin zero-energy–capable with on-site energy generation, which with today's technology means solar voltaics, Morgan says. That would make the houses about 60 percent more efficient than similar units built today.

If large numbers of homes are not viable in a high energy cost market, the whole local economy will suffer, people will double up or leave, and the tax base will diminish. Services will suffer, including mass transportation. All in all not a pretty picture and demonstrating that Smart Growth is also about ensuring the 'private' sector and well as the public infrastructure are equally important areas of concern.