Zonda - Resource Library

The role of the construction industry in combating climate change is a relatively new consideration, but one that is gaining prominence on sustainability agendas at a global scale. Individual home owners, contractors, and developers each have a role to play in reducing carbon emissions at the residential scale. Here are five project examples that illustrate how you can build single-family housing sustainably, with style.

Two years into the pandemic, homeowners are looking to return to their roots. For home design trends, that means a pivot to warmer living spaces accented with wood tones that help residents relax and reconnect with nature, especially as families continue to spend time indoors. Continue reading for ways to keep your clients’ homes current while leaning on wood’s restorative nature to give them the calm and peace they’re seeking today.

Americans are increasingly turning to professional builders and remodelers for their home renovation projects. But homeowners looking to increase the value of their residences need to be strategic in their upgrades. For builders and remodelers, that means the opportunity is now back on the table to offer homeowners cost-effective and stunning ways to improve the value of their homes, while employing one of the most versatile and easy-to-work with building materials available: wood.

Renovating for long-term ROI can be a balancing act. For homeowners, it’s important that renovations offer immediate benefits while also standing the test of time, both functionally and aesthetically. The key to timeless renovation is functional design rooted in tradition. One of the oldest and most renewable building materials—wood—is sustainable, stylish, and classic.

Zero net energy (ZNE) construction represents a vast opportunity for builders and contractors. So what is a zero net energy home? In the simplest terms, a ZNE home produces as much energy as it uses, most commonly using efficient construction methods. Achieving ZNE performance involves a whole-building design approach to consider all of a home's systems — the building envelope, mechanical systems, and lighting and appliances — in an integrated way.

This e-book collects our most valuable resources on ZNE projects to help you define what ZNE means for you and examine factors such as energy prices, net metering policies, solar resources, incentives, and budget. You’ll see that getting to zero doesn’t mean giving up desirable and high-performance gas systems.

The design of the Chowa Home is focused on balance and harmony, derived from the Japanese meaning of the word. This video shows you how the collaborative effort between Japanese and US Builders created a luxury concept home that provides solutions for creative building through flexible design and better building processes.

Home for Life is designed to showcase the concepts of universal design and aging in place—a hot topic for remodelers and consumers alike.

Sponsored By:

Special thanks to our partners:
AARP | Better Living Designs | Building Performance Institute | CASE Design/Remodeling, Inc. | NAHB Remodelers | NARI | U.S. Dept. of Energy

Building science is an integral part of what builders use today as tools to achieve a better performance building. To achieve a better performance building, builders understand the value of building science and understand that building science will help them achieve building code targets.

Air sealing is now an important part of achieving energy efficiency, and choosing the right insulation is key to achieving air tightness and performance. To reduce air infiltration and achieve an energy-efficient building, the gaps in the building’s thermal enclosure must be sealed properly.

In today’s residential marketplace, air sealing has become a fundamental part of the home building equation, so knowing where and how to air seal will save you money, time and resources on a job. Recent data from a comprehensive industry study has yielded new insights into the role of air sealing in high performance building that can equate to savings for builders and homeowners.