The houses we live in use energy for varying purposes such as to warm or cool indoor spaces, for lighting, to heat up water, to cook foods, to power refrigerators, computers, televisions, and generally to power every appliances and devices connected to every electrical outlets. A small family household on average uses around 11 MWh of energy per year, which is equivalent to 9 tonnes of CO2 emission. This translates five million houses releasing 45 Mt ton equivalent of CO2 to the environment. Interestingly, retrofitting existing buildings and houses has the potential to reduce current carbon emission by over 50% which will have a tremendous effect in mitigating the various impacts of climate change. Hence, by energy upgrading your house in addition to cutting down your energy bills, you are also fulfilling your environmental responsibility.
Figure: Net-zero house.