Step 1: Be a millionaire.

This might be true but misses the point; the vast majority of homes we’ll have in 2050; even a majority of the homes will have by the end of the century have already been built. The big gains will come from retrofitting our existing housing stock to make it carbon neutral not from new builds. This doesn’t mean the latter are unimportant and houses such as the one in the video can act as inspiration for change. Ultimately though we need to improve what we’ve already got; by far and away the most sustainable route

Beautiful! We've renovated (2010) an old concrete house with straw bales, insulated roof, insulated windows, solar thermal water heater & storage, PV (producing 4 times more electricity than we use, selling the surplus electricity to the grid for a good tariff), no organic waste for us and for a few more families (feeds the chickens). The house and our family are proudly carbon negative 💪🏼

Please have a look at some of the net zero homes being built in europe. They are far cheaper and are being built at scale. I am in the process of buying a standard 2 bed flat in the UK that I hope in time I can convert to all electric. My first two jobs are switching the remaining lights to LED and fitting waste water heat recovery in the shower room. I will be doing the changeover on a shoestring budget so changes will happen as I can afford them.

Just goes to show, everything is possible, if you have loads of money… the vast majority do not have that level of funds available. They also live on old stock housing. I think that, even if the property you’re reviewing is as high end as this, there needs to be explicit examples of things all the ‘normal’ people may be able to adopt… and afford.

This is very impressive and it should be considering this looks like a high end net zero property, but I would really like to see and I think others do too is to see what a low end affordable net zero property would look like for ordinary people.

Looking forward to Fully Charged getting into building a "net zero" community housing project!!

I would recommend insulating the pipes and using high efficiency pumps once the old ones ain't doing the job anymore, that is mandatory here in Germany since idk 10+ years.

This is great, Dan. Now - Show a 20 - 30 y/o level one house being brought up to level 4 and/or net zero. What it takes and what it costs.

imagine the energy saving that could have been made had this building been smaller....

Completely agree with the take home. This house is a luxury thing. It is good that the family are doing something to reduce their footprint but the reality is a large house out of town takes far more resource than high density housing. The industry needs to change to make a difference

Very interesting. Can we have more content about sustainable homes please, especially pre-fabricated homes. 👍

Important to highlight the difference between net zero carbon and net zero energy. Just because you produce more than you use doesn't make you carbon neutral/negative. If you have to dip into the grid when it's at it's most dirty it can cost you a large chunk of carbon.

I think one of the biggest take aways from this episode should be that a single slope south facing roof should become a design standard as it allows a solar array to make maximum use of the available space for generation.

Beautifully produced video but I’m looking forward to your tours of more accessible homes in the UK.

Wait... A net zero home with 24kW of solar and yet it still has a gas boiler?? That little detail should probably have been mentioned.

Your proactive acknowledgement that this home is beyond the means of the overwhelming majority is appreciated. That said, innovation happens at the bookends . Those of modest means find ways to make do and economize, reducing costs along with carbon, while the wealthy - those with a sense of noblesse oblige, like these folks - enable investments in new tech that may ultimately be scaleable.

Does this house offset the carbon that was expelled to build it? Wouldn't that be a true Net Zero house?

This is, SO FAR removed from where we are here in the UK, and I understand the example of what can be done, with builders and planners etc is a luxury that just seems decades away in this country. We have already seen many examples of such designs in previous videos. But for us living in a 1963 bungalow, our reality involves buying five sheets of polystyrene 2.40m x 1.2m by 10cm think and sticking it to the walls of our bedroom, cost £236. That's the reality of UK home owners trying to save energy and money in the long run. We need to take action now, so all this fluffy show room designs really doesn't wash with us. If you want reality come here to mid Wales, and we will show you reality in action that demonstartes 5 years of determination to the change!! So far we have cut our carbonfoot print by 50%.

What happened to this channel? Luxury unsustainable homes and luxury unsustainable cars? I remember watching videos about stuff like the Twizy, now it's big ships with 100kWh batteries.

Judging by the few visible shadows and the massive windows (south facing?), your solar panels are on a north facing roof. How does this make more sense than ditching the clerestory windows and building a more traditional roof with south facing solar panels?

Is this really news worthy? I'm in my second net zero home. In many places it is not that difficult. My first net zero was a conversion. Even before solar my currently house is rated at about 55% less energy. I didn't get any incentives, but there is a solar tax credit that should materialize next year.

Would be a lot more interested in how to lower the carbon footprint of an existing home. Particularly with heating and electricity prices as high as they are, more information on how people can improve the house they are already living in would be more useful than showing how wealthy people can spend lots of money to get a virtue signaling "eco home". The number of people that can afford a new build net zero house is very small compared to the number of people living in older homes that have a massive carbon footprint and massive heating bills.

I'm amazed they don't have at least one small battery for power outages. Just enough to keep the refrigerator and a couple lights going.

Genuinely find these properties amazing but like a vast majority of folks it all boils down to how much money you have to start with. Granted that cash will go a long way once you’ve been able to build in efficient heating systems, solar, good insulation as well as smart use of double or triple glazing, but you need a sizeable budget.

Fantastic thank you !!! The home owner exlains that to achieve Step 5 comliance, you need to start with a "clean sheet of paper" and start with the aim of achieveing that ! That makes perfect sense ! For many of us, however, we are at the very opposite end of that spectrum, we have pre-built homes, many of us are in flats. Our opportunities for clean sheet of paper thinking are limited. Can you please look more at retro-fiitting insulation, taking a pre-build, flats with no or limited space for a heat pump towards some net zero standard !??

So, California just got rid of their net metering law because it wasn't financially viable. To make it work, they are requiring a battery storage system, which makes a lot of sense - that utility companies don't have absorb so much of a hit as a grid intertied solar house all of the sudden needs a large amount of power (sun goes behind a cloud). I don't know if the utility wants to be able to pull power from your battery as they need it to balance out the system. I'm sure there will be more information coming soon.

Great presenter! Respectful and smart, the opposite of that other young irritating fella on the show.

So is the hot tub and sauna a good use of energy?

I feel like Fully Charged really missed the mark on this one. Calling it net zero might be technically true, but is quite misleading when it relies on 'saving credits' over summer and spending them over winter when demand is much higher. Also, while they don't go into details, it seems like this house isn't even built to the minimum requirement of new houses in countries like Denmark. No ventilation with passive heat exchange (such as Genvex), no limit to the windows (making the house warm on sunny summer days which requires more cooling), no air pressure testing?? Never mind the opening shots of the cleared forests that made way for these low density, single family homes. An analysis of migrating to net positive by this step system could have been an interesting video, but highlighting this house as some sort of amazing achievement seems particularly off-colour in these financial times. Not to mention how much better it could be even with technologies from 15 years ago. While existing buildings are retrofitted with post-insulation, moisture barriers, solar, and improved heating, new buildings need to be FAR BETTER than 'technically net zero but only if the electricity from the grid in winter is renewable', and detached single family dwellings with road infrastructure need to be condemned as an extravagant and wasteful luxury, not held up as the (North) American dream everyone should aspire to.

👏 this couple helping set an example for everyone else. Yes it costs money that most don’t have but we have to start somewhere and the sooner the better. Can’t stop pushing forward if we don’t want to be stuck where we are.

This is gold, to see this happening, i believe this has to go back to how they design building estates where there is hundreds of homes involved. Well done keep up the positive drive

Hi Rob, i am aiming to go full electric but wanted to check if you are aware of the following product as a replacement for hot water bioler/tank: Schuller Aquafficient Eco+ air source water heater. Unlike heat pump no external unit required so in theory a great idea combined with IR panels heating and hot water shall be sorted, thx

Very impressive. But part of the issue is building 4000sqf houses. The 2nd R is Reduce.

Did they consider using SIPS panels ? I used them exclusively and reduced building time 50-75 % and costing far less than the conventional stick frame construction. What about incorporating "flat plate" collectors or evacuated tubes for hot water ? Just some thoughts. Thank you and happy holidays !

This is great to see more people doing this. I've been involved with the wiring for passive houses for an architect friend of mine over recent years, and I would definitely recommend it if you can afford it.

This is good to see, but most people see this as unattainable. You need to show things that most people can achieve and start them on the journey.

You mentioned that in winter you might generate 10 or 20 kilowatt hours but use 90. How does that qualify as "net zero ?

Great story Dan. Impressive place to live. Could you do a heat pump story for the UK at some point? They seem to be hit and miss, so I’d like to understand the science behind what makes a well designed system and in what areas they are best suited. I live in a rented house with gas, so a heat pump is out of the question. I’ve just had the old Ideal Mexico boiler replaced with a Worcestershire Bosch unit. It is hydrogen ready, but I gather the pipe work would have to be replaced, as hydrogen tends be be damaging to the existing gas mains.

Dan you should do an episode on PassivHaus as a comparison to this as this is almost a 'cheat' in some ways by off-setting the high energy use with a battery of solar panels and not everyone can afford an array like that on their roof.

We visited our aunt and uncle on Bowen island some 10 years ago. They mentioned loosing power every winter because trees fell on the wires due to weight of snow. Is loss of power still a problem? And how do they deal with it? - or was the away in February really about that. Just leaving in winter.

Very good considering the size of the house, I just wish the technology was available to all at a good price.

Yes , a super house and brilliant adoption of modern hi tech standards . There are two basic things that stand out here . The local power supplier giving credits for power generation that is fed back into the grid - lucky in BC . in California the PC,s are reducing , even abolishing the feed in tariff and new rules are being implemented about installation , i.e. no home installs and severe inspections of any of these , should they manage to overcome the regulatory hurdles .The second is there are no batteries in the system to store energy ? The consumer is locked in to the PC and this restricts future energy independence . It is becoming apparent that PC,s are working against solar installs as it is affecting their income and the shareholders dividends .Many countries are bringing in more regulations on subsidies parts of Ca are actually placing a monthly charge to solar homes to offset the cost of electricity to non solar homes ! I have just finished a house build where off grid was the priority , this pre empted the efficiency levels used in construction and fittings . With no grid to fall back on it was imperative to have an efficient design and standard of insulation , there is no , "never mind , switch over to grid power " so every aspect of the house had to be highly , individually , efficient . I respect what the owners have achieved with this beautiful house , (and dream location ) and wish them enjoyment in it . My thoughts are that it is not particularly difficult to design and build a net zero/ Passive house and would like to encourage anyone thinking along these lines not to be swayed by the potential complexities and jump in !

Any chance of including a link to their experience that they had to write up as part of the funding?

just watch an Ad for bc hydro.🤣

10:42 blue flames on the side of the house?

What's with the gas boiler? You spend all this effort on building a sustainable home with vast solar panels and heat pump and then you put a gas boiler in it? Or is it just for backup when the grid fails in a storm?

Inspirational project, and I so envy them their net metering, aka grid as battery. That makes so much sense! Please keep doing these episodes. I enjoy the car reviews, but this is big picture stuff.

Net zero operational perhaps... How much thought was given to materials and embodied emissions?

To answer the question posed in the title; "A large roof pointing toward the sun, and regulations allowing electricity to be traded with the grid." For sure, other design decisions helped, but this it would seem is the heart of the matter. We could do with more directness, more realism, in the reporting. This house has enormous generation capacity which is great, but it's not like a secret that's been unlocked. I admire the owners for having the focus and determination, and good for them for achieving this house. I imagine that it took a lot of work and perseverance. The Fully Charged Show criticises misleading corporate marketing and slanted political messaging a lot, take care not to slip into a similar habit yourselves.

I am from Ontario and my dream home would be one using ICF and then solar panels for generating electricity and also some plans for collecting rain water. But for that might have to move up North to make it affordable. And I feel a Carbon negative home is a far better idea then driving electric cars as by the time they start becoming Carbon neutral they are already at the end of their lifetime cause of them batteries.

Still requires energy from the grid in winter. All great if your country has 100% renewable power in the winter but many don't even get close.

Looks a bit pricey for most people

Good that, currently, BC Canada is favorable to use just solar panels, that all excess production can be turned into credit. In Latvia, EU, houses can only have up to 10KW solar systems before they are considered a micro generator, and need to pay extra taxes for it, like a company. Also the excess generated energy gets charged for transmitting back to the grid, and then when you need that energy back you again pay transmission, so it’s pretty much useless without batteries.

Very interesting video and an example of how a forward-thinking and versatile utility can inspire a more sustainable living space. BC Hydro's 'batteries' of stored water negate the need for house batteries (unless you are concerned about outages - which typically do not last long in BC).

I’d like to know the co2 impact of each video you make. I think Robert would like that too.

Thanks for the vid.. I still have seen no news about booking tickets for the Fully Charged Show in Sydney.

Would love to hear actual monthly costs of running a heat pump air con for us based people. We hear all about efficiency but is the monthly bill cost actually showing that?

This is brilliant, thanks for sharing this guys

Cost and loan is it possible for all without going to Dept

What a house ... net zero? How much co2 did it cost building ...and maintain it?

@fullychargedshow is it possible to get details on what else was installed on this property please?

That house, and all the things in it, probably cost more in CO2 then my existing house will use in my lifetime.

I may have misheard but did he say 90Kwh per day? Are they smelting iron?

That's beautiful - but a bit ironic to highlight the net zero house of somebody but then fail to mention the fact that this person has also spent decades working in, and made their money for said house, from fossil fuels (oil sands and coal mining)...

Gotta love all the energy consuming opulence with monstrous square footage and hot tubs

Be a millionaire. The end.

We need to underline that our global environmental problems require us to consume less. A large house and a huge solar array for two people makes net zero but it would be way better to use those resources in much smaller and more efficient homes that use much less energy per person. I notice that moving to levels 4 and 5 relies on incentives rather than regulations. I wonder if this is realistic. Most people I know in BC can't be bothered to seal the leaks around doors and windows, even though they complain about the cost of heating. It would be interesting to know how much progress we have made in BC on improving the efficiency of existing homes, and how much effect the rebate programs have had.

I see a number of people promoting air 2 air heating and cooling rather than heat pumps. Can you please review a2a later?

So I live in a house build in 1934 and got it fully insulated, up to energy class A, neutral on electricity production and usage, and am going to go without gas heating next year. I bet my footprint is only a fraction of these people's. According to my calculations we will be independent off fossil fuels, with a heat pump, with a total electricity consumption of 6000kwh per year, while generating 7500kwh per year. So it'll be a net zero, energy producing house, build in 1934.

Dan if there's any way for you to present past to current residential thermal storage and its history from the 1940's onward I think it could be A very unexpected asset in moving many homes in the United States to using Mass as a type of energy battery storage to reduce cost and even increase Energy Efficiency over transmitting solar power for example through the power grid. Such power could be used in place reducing the demand on investor owned utilities here in the states. In my home state the public utility is resisting allowing sales of residential thermal storage for fear that home solar installations would use that power without the utility being able to monetize it. In other states that have cooperatively owned electric generation they're encouraging their members to put in thermal storage because it reduces the demand and fluctuations on their grid. See the tri-state Electric Cooperative in Colorado for example.

There is no mention of the amount of energy and carbon produced in building the house.

Nice video, byy don't really need a home batterut I would forego the "shake cam" you used while interviewing the owners. It's a needless distraction. If their service is reliable, I would agree that they don't really need a home battery, since it would be spending thousands to save a few dollars of electricity. If, on the other hand, they're at the end of the line and service goes off frequently, then sure, get one.

Can somebody explain net zero to me...... isn't that wood used in the construction & furnishings I see?

Carbon costs of construction and installation need to be analysed. (And of course we should all be pursuing the changes that we can make to reduce carbon dioxide production)

Dream home says it all.

I'm not sure about the location of that heat pump...

If anyone in the UK would like a zero-carbon house, or as near as possible if the building already exists you’ll probably need an architect. All MUST be ARB registered like myself. Why not save a lot of money by spending a bit?😊

My 1905 house uses far less energy than this and I've got 40kW of solar on the roof. This is a fancy expensive house and the hot water hydronic system would have cost a bomb.

Net zero - passive house, what’s the difference?

Ha! I wonder if you got the reaction you were expecting in the comments, FCS...!? ....you certainly got the reaction I was expecting.......!!!!

Incredible to see this

Great informational video, thanks for sharing!

I don't get the title? They even say its a step 4 house(40% more efficient). Not a step 5 which would be net zero ready. You can clearly see the natural gas or propane boiler in the mechanical room with 636 venting. Efficient homes are great and needed but this video is misleading.

Is it sustainable to be building large (albeit passive) houses into isolated previously forested areas? Can we stop building into wild spaces?!?!?

"We care about sustainability" *Also builds oversized house for two people with no kids.

Great house, excellent design, but totally unaffordable for most people. And U.K. regulations are a nightmare if you want to install more than 4 kW of theoretical capacity ofSolar PV panels.

We have customers who would love to put in more solar but are constrained by National Grid (UK) to 4kW [= one sixth of what is on this house]

Stunning example. Let’s see some retrofits in the U.K. Victorian, Edwardian & inter war houses are our nightmare. We need to find those answers in an economic & sustainable way. The issue is this needs to prove to be available across all income brackets. I guess that’s where the policymakers & innovative company comments were rightly directed.

No breakdown of costs?

While a great case study, it is hard to relate to. I'd like to see coverage of the most affordable things that can be done e.g. insulate, before and after, keeping it simple

Even with such great inspiration next door, the neighbours don't have a single solar panel?

My first thought was, "I guess only wealthy people can do this, what use is this to me?" But considering that the top 1% of global income earners are responsible for 15% of carbon emissions, my second thought was high income families are EXACTLY the group that should be decarbonizing first and fastest. So...bravo.

Looking forward to your social housing net zero plan

I can't help laughing at the CC subtitles calling it the "Fully Charred Show" after mentioning the wild fires/

All that is changing is that the rich are able to choose to live more ethically and feel smug about it. Not the rest of us, and we're speeding past +1.5c regardless.

I'd love to see more home and building eco videos!!! :) :)

very cool owners.

There seems to be a lot of embodied energy in the concrete. Storing hot water looks very inefficient. Instant hot water from electricity is far less impactful.

The thing to take away from this video is that a jurisdiction has greatly increased the energy efficiency of new buildings. This house is on a much smaller lot than 95% of the lots on Bowen Island and is smaller than most new homes in Vancouver. I agree that it is too expensive, but so is every house in Vancouver.