Sekisui House, Ltd., a major Japanese home builder, began marketing the Carbon Neutral House on April 3, 2008. The house is designed to reduce residential CO2 emissions as much as possible by utilizing advanced energy-saving technology, and to offset its remaining CO2 emissions using photovoltaic and fuel cell power generation, thereby achieving almost zero net CO2 emissions.

Its insulation and airtight performance exceed the next-generation energy-saving standards under the Law concerning the Rational Use of Energy of Japan by approximately 20 percent. Together with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and highly efficient air-conditioners, the energy-saving performance of the house can be boosted and the power consumption can be reduced by about 30 percent when compared with conventional houses.

Although the house is priced almost 10 percent higher than Sekisui's standard houses, its annual heating and lighting cost is estimated to be about 50,000 yen (about U.S.$505), which is about 170,000 yen (about U.S.$1,720) cheaper than standard wooden houses built in the 1980s.

http://www.sekisuihouse.co.jp/english/index.html
- Sekisui House Achieves Zero Waste at New Construction Sites (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1235-e
- Sekisui House Launches Eco-friendly Home Model Series (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1301-e

Posted: 2008/07/22 09:05:43 AM

TAG Energy , Global warming , Manufacturing industry