Take a look inside a $1.1 million ‘zero emissions’ home

Real estate is a key puzzle piece in achieving the U.S.’ climate goals, according to federal officials.

Residential and commercial buildings account for 31% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, after accounting for “indirect” emissions like electricity use, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s more than other economic sectors like transportation and agriculture.

The Biden administration has adopted various policies to cut residential emissions.

The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in 2022, offers financial benefits including tax breaks and rebates to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient, for example. The White House also recently issued guidelines for buildings in order to be considered “zero emissions,” meaning they are “energy efficient, free of onsite emissions from energy use and powered solely from clean energy,” according to the Department of Energy.

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Morgan Wojciechowski, 33, is among the first homeowners to get that federal “zero emissions” label. (That assessment was bestowed by the third-party firm Pearl Certification.)

Wojciechowski, her husband Casey, and their three dogs — Dixie, Bo and Charlie — moved into the newly built residence in Williamsburg, Virginia, in August 2023.

Wojciechowski, who is also the president of Healthy Communities, a local real-estate developer focused on sustainable construction, spoke with CNBC about her new home, its financial benefits and how consumers can best upgrade their homes to be more efficient.

The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Greg Iacurci: What does it mean for your home to be considered ‘zero emissions’?

Morgan Wojciechowski: It’s a very, very, very highly efficient home that’s all-electric. Those are kind of the first two bullet points of the White House definition.

The third part is we are part of the green energy program with [our power provider] Dominion. Not only am I producing solar [energy] and any excess is going back onto the grid, but the power from the grid coming into my home is clean and sustainable. It’s about $10 extra a month for me to get that clean energy.

GI: How much did your house cost to build?

MW: Like $1.1 million.

GI: And how big is the house?

MW: 5,400 square feet.

It’s a large home. But mine is not what everybody’s doing. My home was my personal project because I believe in sustainability and wanted to do it in a home that would be my forever home. But one that’s more replicable would be like what [Healthy Communities] builds at Walnut Farm, which is like 1,500 square feet. We’re selling it for $433,000.

GI: Can you break down your home’s estimated savings?

MW: Our utility bills are projected to be about $917 a year with…