GHI Zero Energy Certified
Home produces as much renewable energy on-site as it consumes annually.
Description
The GHI Zero Energy Certified badge recognizes homes that have been designed, built, tested, and modeled to produce on-site at least as much renewable energy as they consume over an average year. It is administered through GreenHome Institute's separate Zero Energy Certified program and added to the base GreenStar Homes certification.
The certification is design-and-model based rather than utility-bill based — a home does not need 12 months of zero net utility bills to earn the badge, but it does need third-party verification of the envelope, ducts, and combustion safety, plus an energy model showing net-zero performance. Because operational fossil-fuel use cannot be offset by on-site renewables, the program requires all-electric construction (with narrow exceptions noted below).
The badge can also be used as an alternative pathway to satisfy GreenStar's Platinum-tier energy-performance requirement.
Required standard requirements
To earn this badge, the project must meet all of the following existing GreenStar requirements:
Additional badge criteria
Beyond the required standard requirements above, the project must also satisfy:
Performance & verification
- 01.
Energy model demonstrating that the home produces, on an average-year basis, as much or more energy on-site than it is modeled to consume. Approved tools: DOE Home Energy Score, HERS Index, ASHRAE 90.1 modeling, WUFI Passive, or Passive House Planning Package (PHPP).
- 02.
Third-party testing of the building envelope (blower-door air leakage), duct leakage to outdoors, total duct leakage, and worst-case combustion spillage (where any combustion appliance remains under the multifamily exceptions).
- 03.
Final energy rating completed and signed by the appropriate certification body — not a draft.
- 04.
Base certification: project must also hold a certification through GreenStar Homes, LEED, National Green Building Standard, Enterprise Green Communities, Passive House, or equivalent.
All-electric requirement & exceptions
- 01.
Default: home must be all-electric. The four electrification requirements at Gold tier (heating, water heating, cooking, dryer) are prerequisites regardless of base certification tier.
- 02.
Renovation exception: in climate zones 4 and above, a dual-fuel heat pump system is permitted in lieu of fully electric heating.
- 03.
Multifamily / attached-housing exceptions: combustion fireplaces for aesthetics only, gas dryers in non-resident (shared) laundry, corridor heaters, and gas water heating in climate zones 6+ are permitted.
- 04.
Vehicle charging energy and special farm or manufacturing energy uses may be excluded from the model with documented justification.
Documentation & fees
- 01.
Stamped PV system design (or other on-site renewable system) showing array size, tilt/azimuth, and annual production estimate.
- 02.
Net-meter / interconnection agreement signed by the serving utility.
- 03.
Badge certification fee: free for GHI members and member project teams; $100 for non-member single-family homes ($10 per additional unit in multifamily).
Verification by tier
Evidence the project team submits at each certification tier. Cumulative — higher tiers include everything below unless noted otherwise.
-
Certified
Self-attestation- 01.
Owner-signed renewable-system summary (array size, location, expected annual kWh production).
- 02.
Pre-installation energy-model output (DOE HES, HERS, ASHRAE 90.1, WUFI Passive, or PHPP) showing net-zero balance.
- 01.
-
Silver
Documents + photos- 01.
Stamped PV system design drawings (tilt, azimuth, PVWatts annual estimate).
- 02.
Net-meter / utility interconnection agreement signed.
- 03.
Envelope blower-door + duct leakage test reports from a RESNET- or BPI-certified tester.
- 01.
-
Gold
Third-party test- 01.
Third-party rater (HERS, PHIUS, or equivalent) signs the energy model and the worst-case combustion-spillage test (where any combustion remains under exceptions).
- 02.
Production-meter installed at the PV inverter; commissioning photo with serial number.
- 01.
-
Platinum
Post-occupancy verification- 01.
12-month energy report showing net consumption ≤ 0 kWh, signed by the homeowner and the rater.
- 02.
Provisional certification permitted on modeled basis with a 12-month true-up review.
- 01.