Mandalay Homes Meet New Zero Energy Ready Home Requirements

Feb 10, 2023 | Energy Efficiency, iON

Since 2012, we’ve been building homes with outstanding energy efficiency, and we’ve won a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Housing Innovation Award every year since. In 2013, the DOE introduced its Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program which set the bar for the government’s standards of what outstanding home energy efficiency should look like. Home buyers looking for energy-efficient homes could find a home with a ZERH certification and rest assured that it met the DOE’s high energy efficiency standards.

Time for an Update

As the ZERH program is now over a decade old, the DOE has decided it’s time for an update. They’ve now released ZERH Single Family Version 2 and with it, a new federal incentive to encourage builders and buyers to build homes that reach these high standards.

ZERH Version 2 will soon be awarded to qualifying homes has been designed in close collaboration with the EPA’s Energy Star Residential New Construction and Indoor airPlus (IAP) programs.

The New Incentive

Throughout 2023, the majority of new homes certified to the ZERH Version 1 program will be eligible for a $5,000 tax credit, with the new ZERH Version 2 requirements becoming effective from January 1, 2024.

We’re Ahead of the Game

Energy efficiency is the foundation of everything we do here at Mandalay Homes. If you’ve spent even just a few minutes browsing our site, you’ll have read about all the different ways we ensure our homes are built with energy efficiency and health in mind. We’re happy to say that we’re already building to the ZERH Version 2 standard.

ZERH Version 2 will build upon version 3.2 of the Energy Star Single Family Home program. We currently build Energy Star 3.1 homes and will achieve 3.2 soon. These new requirements will ensure that ZERH Version 2 certified homes will meet the insulation levels required by the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code, and boost the Energy Rating Index (ERI) for homes with ZERH certification to the 40s.

ZERH Version 2 will also ensure houses are PV-Ready (solar power) and ready for other energy-efficient electric technologies, such as charging electric vehicles, space heating, and water heating.

Of the 12,000 homes built to meet the Version 1 standards since its inception, we’re proud to have built 1,000 of them. We take a holistic view of energy efficiency, and so we’re already creating more comfortable, efficient homes through cutting-edge insulation practices, creative design, and energy storage. Our iON homes reduce their energy demand on the grid by approximately 90%, pushing the boundaries of what home energy efficiency looks like.

A Brighter, Cleaner, More Affordable Future

We’re excited to meet and exceed the ZERH Version 2 and Energy Star 3.2 single home standards in 2023 and beyond, offering our home buyers the best in energy efficiency and house-related health. Energy efficiency reduces your energy bills, reduces carbon emissions, and makes your Arizona home a more comfortable place to be. To find out about our future plans and current communities, click here.

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