Planned to integrate into the natural environment around it, the 4,500-square-foot home bridges 20 feet over a brook, giving it its moniker. In addition to its distinctive design, the home is net-zero energy and is intended to showcase innovative, eco-friendly building systems.

LEED Zero builds on LEED by recognizing specific achievements in building operations and rewards projects that have used LEED as a framework to address important aspects of green buildings and taken their buildings to the next level by designing and operating toward net zero goals.

Two of the net zero homes will be outfitted with Carrier Infinity heat pumps with Greenspeed intelligence, while the other two will receive an Infinity geothermal and ductless system, respectively. The Infinity systems are Carrier’s most efficient and will provide high efficiency climate control that’s essential to a net zero home.

Demolishing old homes to build new, eco-friendly ones from scratch isn’t an option when there are 84 million of them already standing. The time, cost, and displacement involved make it silly. And that’s to say nothing of the sheer waste of materials from bulldozing, which would defeat the whole purpose.

Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) has awarded a $170 million, 23-year energy savings performance contract to Constellation, a subsidiary of Exelon Corp., for an energy conservation and distributed generation project at Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) in Albany, Georgia.

Other countries in select regions, such as Europe and Asia-Pacific, are also beginning to follow suit with ZNE initiatives and energy-efficient building codes. According to a report from the research firm, North America is expected to lead the ZNEH market from 2015-2025.

As net-zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) become more popular, HVACR manufacturers are working to create highly efficient products and systems to help meet these ambitious performance goals.