A new luxury mansion in Malibu aims to be the world’s most sustainable home, producing zero carbon emissions throughout its lifetime.
Spanning more than 14,000 square feet across two-and-a-half beach-front acres, a new luxury mansion in Malibu, Calif., could be the first to earn the distinction of being the world’s first home to produce zero carbon emissions during its lifetime.
The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion is dubbed “Zero 1.” It’s the first of four being developed by Crown Pointe Estates; three other homes are currently under construction in the 80-acre MariSol Malibu development.
What is a zero emissions home?
Energy-efficient and lower emissions homes aren’t new, but Zero 1 is among the first to incorporate efforts to reduce emissions during construction.
“To build a zero-carbon home, first reduce and replace carbon-intensive materials with low-carbon alternates, then use sustainably sourced, biobased materials wherever possible to sequester more carbon than is emitted,” the MariSol Malibu website reads.
According to the EPA, the average U.S. home emits 8.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. But Zero 1 was designed to produce zero emissions throughout its lifetime. It was built with “carbon sequestering techniques” to minimize impact from the start. At present, the home counts a negative 140 tons of embodied carbon.
It will take 12 months for the developers to earn the “zero carbon emissions” certification, though–if they earn it at all. They’ll need to show a year’s worth of utility bills to the Seattle-based nonprofit, The International Living Future Institute in order to qualify. That’s no easy task, though. Out of the more than 40 applications the organization has received, only four have met all the qualifications.
Zero 1
What does $32 million buy? Zero 1 is situated on a 2.48-acre lot 300 feet from the beach. The ocean-view home is replete with amenities, including a fruit orchard, vegetable and herb garden, basketball court, putting green, saltwater pool, two beehives, and an electric vehicle charging station. Inside the home are six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a wine cellar, a home theater, and a fitness center.
The home was built with recycled and sustainable materials, including 99 percent recycled aluminum for its roof. The home limited concrete use with a crawl-space foundation, which reduced concrete needs by 14 percent; 25 percent of the concrete used was upcycled. Rubber, made from recycled tires, was used instead of concrete for the subfloor. The designers incorporated sustainably sourced wood instead of more than 80,000 pounds of steel.
The home has a Tesla energy wall and will also run on solar panel electricity. It will source clean energy from the Ventura County renewable energy grid; there are no fossil fuels used in the home. All of the appliances use minimal energy—which was the “easy part”, according to the developers.