Construction is under way at a home in Columbia that will essentially have net-zero energy usage.

The home includes an $8,000 solar panel on the south face of the house that will help the house produce as much energy as an average family would use, according to the plan submitted to the city by Habitat for Humanity.

The home will also be tied into the city’s energy grid, allowing for surplus energy created by the house to feed back into the grid. Therefore, when the house pulls from the city’s energy supply in months of fewer sunlight hours, the energy usage cancels out, said Monta Welch, director of People’s Visioning, a grassroots community organization.

Habitat for Humanity teamed up People’s Visioning to build the net-zero house on 413 W. Ash St. The city of Columbia and Habitat for Humanity are funding the project.

The project will be funded with $65,300 in federal funds and $18,079 from Columbia’s Water and Light department. Remaining costs will be taken on by Habitat for Humanity, according to the proposal approved by the city last April.

City officials are looking to figure out how far they can go in making energy efficient homes more affordable for low-income families, City Community Development Coordinator Randy Cole said.

The city provided the concept to build the net-zero home as well as the location, said Bill View, executive director of the Show-Me Central Habitat for Humanity.

“The People’s Visioning has a strong interest, among other things, in bringing clean energy to present and future generations in the way we do things,” said Welch. “When we heard that the city was planning a project (and) that they were going to request a proposal to build a high-energy efficient home, … we said this is a good opportunity for us to move forward with a concept we had on our bucket list.”

Habitat for Humanity was not initially positive whether or not they were going to submit a proposal, View said.

Despite Habitat for Humanity’s commitment to high energy-efficient homes, View said that he wasn’t sure he wanted to spend money on an architect just for the chance to propose a plan.

“Monta Welch from People’s Visioning called me and said they heard about the proposal and had an architect that was willing to volunteer his services if we wanted to work on it with her,” View said. “So we met, we decided to work together, and it has worked out pretty good.”

Cole said the Habitat for Humanity plan had a lot of benefits in comparison to other plans, including extra measures in the structure of the home to increase energy efficiency and the choice of solar panels to generate natural energy for the home.

“Also, they had a really affordable price on it,” Cole said. “I know they get a lot of their materials donated to help them keep their costs down, so that’ll make it more affordable to a potential buyer.”

The net-zero home project was approved with the intention of selling the home to a low-income family.

“Utilities can be a large chunk of your housing cost, so low-income families, and anyone really, should look at utility costs, and this project aims to make those costs more affordable,” Cole said.

The home should take about $107,000 to build, and Habitat to Humanity plans to sell the home for that exact amount. They must sell the home to someone in or below the 80 percent median income bracket, View said.

View said the city has guidelines for who is eligible to buy the home, and the people eligible to buy it make a little more money than the families for whom Habitat for Humanity usually builds. Habitat for Humanity is using revenue from this project to fund another habitat home.

“It’s kind of like a fundraising project,” View said.

Overall, the project is seen as an investment into the community.

“The neighborhood is really interested in the project and excited about it,” Cole said. “Plus, it will improve property values on that corner, so that’s an immediate benefit.”

Figuring out how they can best use their funds to make homes in the area more affordable has been an education process for the city, Cole said.

Welch also sees this project as an educational experience.

“We are using it as an educational effort during the building process to explain different aspects of it as it goes along, and we’ve already done a lot of educating in the community, including a couple of programs on CAT TV,” Welch said.

Yet, the future of net-zero homes in this area remains in question.

Energy prices in Missouri are fairly cheap, so the future of net-zero homes depends on how this project goes and what energy does, Cole said.

“I think there is more interest in it, and I think this project may spawn more interest from people.” Cole said. “So, it may impact (interest), but I’m not really one for predicting the future.”