https://www.buildinggreen.com/feature/problem-net-zero-buildings-and-case-net-zero-neighborhoods
All the usual talk about net-zero buildings almost never talk about the side effects or the big picture of said projects. The article discusses that individual and isolated net-zero energy buildings can be argued as meaningless, inefficient, or counter-productive. It is better to use the money effort to reduce energy in a larger site/community. That would actually save more energy.
Apart from that buildings that usually can reach net-zero energy as usually low storied ones. Thus creating a tendency to sprawl and spread the built environment which can create a problem with land use in addition to the need for fossil-powered transportation between those spread buildings.
Therefore it can be argued that instead of expensive isolated net-zero buildings it is better to concentrate our attention in whole energy-efficient communities. Of course that's not without its own problems; such as the difficulty to coordinate all the stakeholders and land owners in any given designated community. The success of such large projects also depend significantly on the participation of the occupants.
It does make sense that to truly make a difference on this planet we have to focus in building sustainable communities, not just greenwashed or glorified designer buildings. It relies more on the teamwork of the masses to make this happen, but that is the point of true change. It must be done by everyone, not just specialists and rich businessmen.
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