With carbon dioxide emissions from heating and cooling buildings in Utah expected to soon exceed those from automobiles, some builders are taking new approaches to energy-efficient lifestyles that both benefit their customers’ wallets and improve the city’s air quality.
One of them is Bishop Place, a 25-unit single-family home project. Building Salt Lake First reported in October 2019. The development is now taking shape. Located at 300 West, just south of the Marmalade Branch library, the project will eventually include five separate buildings, one of which is already completed.
Specifically, these homes are offered for sale with prices starting at $550,000.
Garbett Homes, a local homebuilder committed to sustainability, received a grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to meet its efficiency goals for this project.
The development features all-electric appliances, a water heater, induction cooktops and a heat pump system instead of a traditional HVAC system. The homes meet U.S. Department of Energy standards for Zero Energy Ready Homes and are wired for solar panels and electric vehicle charging.
The Department of Energy defines a “zero energy building” as “1) highly energy efficient, 2) free of emissions from on-site energy use, and 3) powered exclusively by clean energy.”
Utah Clean Energy, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on clean air technologies and policies, launched the Low-Emissions and Zero-Emissions Housing Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of building low-emissions homes in the hopes that other builders will follow suit.
Future residents can expect the homes to be up to 40 percent more energy efficient than traditional new construction in Utah, according to a press release.
