White house with a front porch, American flag, and a wooden door, surrounded by trees and a dirt yard and featuring 33 solar panels that eliminate the home's energy bills.

Net zero energy living

Buying a home in today’s real estate market can be a challenge. America’s increasing national debt is causing higher interest rates, which means your monthly housing costs makes owning your own home difficult. We all know “affordability” remains the leading concern when choosing your home.

At Net Zero Energy Living, we found the solution to making your home more affordable through managing your home’s energy bill.

Imagine eliminating- or even making money- on your home's energy bill. I did by using the most reliable and proven method- solar power! Today’s residential solar power systems put you back in control of your monthly housing costs.

With my Net Zero Energy Living home, you can build your dream home with NO energy bills!

I built my dream house as my future retirement home and I am excited to share with you how I did it and help you do it for yourself. All you need to do is use one of our energy saving designs, which features spacious gathering areas and gourmet kitchens and make sure your home is south facing, which helps soak up the natural sun. With the right amount of solar panels you could live like me and have zero energy bills.

I’ll prove it to you. From May 2025 through April 2026 Duke Energy paid me $686.82. That’s right they paid me! If not for Charlotte’s snowiest month in decades this past February, I would have made even more money. It feels great getting a check from Duke Energy. These funds help offset my other costs and is making my dream home more affordable.

Don’t wait. Schedule your appointment to come over and visit my Net Zero Energy Living home by filling out the online form below. It’s easy, free, and fun for the whole family. There’s no commitment on your part.

The Net Zero Energy Living story is gaining traction every day. My goal is to get enough interested buyers so we can team up with a regional home builder to build an NZEL community and lead the way in providing a cleaner and more affordable living alternative for everyone.

Hope to see you soon!

Steve

And now the details:

it’s good to be SOUTH FACING

We’ve all seen solar panels installed on a house that was not designed to be a solar house. Solar panels are maximally productive when they face true south, and you need a lot of panels to achieve energy independence. My 1846 square foot “solar farmhouse” faces true south, with a large and simple roof that holds 33 solar panels. It has generated up to 74 kilowatt hours of energy in a single day and frequently generates more than 60 kWh per day. On a sunny day this house can power the HVAC system, run appliances and electricity, charge an EV during daylight hours AND still export energy back to the grid. A friend of mine has 22 panels facing southwest. We compared our energy production through our Tesla Powerwall apps on the same days, and my 33 panels produced TWICE the energy as his 22 panels!

Waxhaw, North Carolina

Living room with large windows on the left, a white sectional sofa facing a black TV, exposed wooden beams on the ceiling, a ceiling fan, and a small indoor plant near the TV.

BE PASSIVE SOLAR AGGRESSIVE

The sun shines nearly overhead in summer’s heat, but shines from the south in the winter. This means a 6 foot deep porch in front of south facing windows will protect your home from summer’s heat, while allowing the sun to warm your house in winter. This is passive solar heating. My solar farmhouse has a 7 foot deep porch, and this picture taken on December 13 demonstrates a little free warming from the winter sun.

Exterior view of a house showing electrical and solar power system components including a Tesla wall, electrical boxes, and wiring both on the wall and the ground.

DO NOT FEAR THE STORM

We’ve all experienced power outages with a thunderstorm, but not with the solar farmhouse. When the grid goes down, a Tesla Powerwall is programmed to supply lights and appliances. It’s your emergency generator. If the sun shines the next day, the solar panels recharge the Powerwall while you patiently await the local electric utility to restore power.

Black wood-burning stove with a glass door showing flames inside, on a black mat in a room with wooden floor and white walls.

TURN YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT INTO A CARBON FINGERPRINT

There are plenty of opinions about global warming, but most Americans agree that fossil fuel supplies are finite, and the world’s dependence on foreign supplies of energy is risky. Well, worry no more! This is an all-electric house (except the wood burning stove used as backup heating), your sunshine is not imported from the Persian Gulf, and the sun’s supply of energy is expected to last a LONG time. If you drive a EV and live in an all electric, zero energy home, your contribution to global warming is miniscule - a carbon fingerprint.

House with solar panels on the roof surrounded by trees.

MAKE YOUR ROOF A SOLAR FARM

Have you ever driven by a solar farm? All that land could have been a farm or park or forest. With houses like the solar farmhouse, your roof is the solar farm! A whole neighborhood of these homes could literally be a solar farm. And as a bonus, you own your panels, control your own energy and make money as an energy producer. I made $686.82 the past 12 months!

Open-concept kitchen and living room with vaulted ceiling, exposed wooden beams, mint green kitchen cabinets, a kitchen island with barstools, and a white sofa with candleholders and a vase with dried flowers.
Bright living room with large windows, white sectional sofa, wooden coffee table, area rug, and decor including candles, a small plant, and a TV
Interior view of a modern kitchen and dining area featuring wooden beams on the ceiling, hanging copper pendant lights over a large kitchen island, and a pastel green cabinetry with stainless steel refrigerator. There is a small dining table with benches near a window, and a white armchair in the foreground.

HOMES THAT BRING FAMILIES TOGETHER

Another great feature of the solar farmhouse is the focus on spaces that bring people (and families) together. The great room is 40% of the entire house, and the front porch adds 280 more square feet of common space. This home feels much bigger than its 1846 square feet of space, but the mortgage payment will still feel small. Lower mortgage payments and no energy bills mean less time working to pay these bills and more time to spend with your family.

make energy production your side hustle

The following is from 12 consecutive months of statements from the electric utility. In 2025 I ran the air conditioning at 72 degrees from May 16th through October 17th, and ran the heat at 68 degrees from October 18th, 2025 through April 18, 2026. My electric utility gives me energy credits every month, and sent me a check for the credits when I asked.

May 2025 $94.30 credit

June 2025 $84.58 credit

July 2025 $73.36 credit

August 2025 $60.03 credit

September 2025 $87.90 credit

October 2025 $71.63 credit

November 2025 $69.78 credit

December 2025 $30.53 credit

January 2026 $28.48 credit

February 2026 $50.45 owed (snowstorm month)

March 2026 $49.21 credit

April 2026 $87.20 credit

BOOK YOUR FREE TOUR NOW!
Learn more

THE SOLAR FARMHOUSE

Living room with wood floors, a black wood stove, a basket of chopped firewood, and a hallway leading to a bright room with a window.
Copper pendant light fixtures hanging from chains over a room with framed pictures on the wall.
Bright living room with white sectional sofa and wooden coffee table, decorative candles and vase, large windows, wood beam ceiling, and neutral-colored decor.
Living room corner with a flat screen TV on a wooden TV stand, a potted decorative tree, firewood stacked in a holder, and a window with natural light.
Dining area with a wooden table and bench, window with a view of trees, and a wooden door with glass panel, decorated with a potted plant and picture frames on the wall.
A wooden dining table with a white cloth runner and a white ceramic vase with green leaves. A wooden bench is on the left side. The wall behind has a gallery of framed landscape and botanical art. The room has bright, neutral decor.
White house with a wooden front door, a porch with columns, an American flag, and solar panels on the roof surrounded by trees.

See One, do one - Build your Zero Energy home!

Thanks for visiting this website! This home is located just south of Waxhaw, North Carolina and is open for tours each Saturday from 10am to 1pm. Please sign up for a free 30 minute tour, and I will email you the tour location. There is no cost or commitment. My goal is to spread this idea - I do not depend on this for income. If this site and a tour inspire you to build a zero energy home, feel free to call or email me with any questions. Free advice will be cheerfully given. If several people are interested in building a home like this, I am sure we can find a developer to create a zero energy community. There are also solar townhomes in the design stage. Really, zero energy could also be achieved with any structure 3 floors or less with a large south facing roof!

Future tour participants- I look forward to meeting you!

Contact us

If you have any questions, please provide your information below, and we will contact you soon. We look forward to connecting with you.

stephen@netzeroenergyliving.com

Or call us with questions any time at 704-684-9085.