United States (USA) Net-Zero Energy Buildings Market Overview, 2031

Key Insights

• According to the research report, "United States Net-Zero Energy Buildings Market Outlook, 2031," published by Bonafide Research, the United States Net-Zero Energy Buildings Market is anticipated to grow at more than 17.58% CAGR from 2026 to 2031.
• The United States maintains a large and diverse building base that creates substantial opportunities for net-zero energy solutions across new construction and existing properties. The country had approximately 148.3 million housing units as of July 2025, while 1.43 million privately owned housing units were authorized by building permits during 2025. Residential and commercial buildings together accounted for about 27.6% of U.S. end-use energy consumption in 2023, highlighting the scale of energy-efficiency and decarbonization opportunities across the building stock.
• New construction remains an important channel for integrating net-zero energy measures from the design stage. The U.S. Census Bureau recorded 1,431,616 building permits in 2025, providing a substantial pipeline for efficient HVAC, heat pumps, high-performance envelopes, energy-management systems and renewable-energy integration. Although housing activity is affected by financing costs and affordability, continued construction across residential, commercial and institutional properties provides opportunities to incorporate higher-performance building specifications.
• Existing-building performance is becoming increasingly important as states and municipalities introduce benchmarking and building-performance requirements. The decentralized U.S. regulatory structure creates different levels of demand by geography, with jurisdictions such as New York City implementing emissions requirements for covered buildings. In April 2026, approximately 93% of covered privately owned properties in New York City had submitted required Local Law 97 compliance filings, demonstrating significant participation in building-emissions regulation and supporting retrofit activity.
• Electrification and integrated energy systems are becoming increasingly relevant to U.S. net-zero building strategies. Heat pumps, efficient HVAC, solar PV, battery storage, smart meters, building automation and energy-management platforms can operate together to reduce energy consumption and improve load flexibility. The technology opportunity extends beyond individual equipment because owners increasingly need systems that coordinate building loads, distributed generation and storage while maintaining occupant comfort and reliable building operations.

Market Outlook

• The U.S. Net-Zero Energy Buildings Market is expected to remain highly decentralized, with adoption shaped by federal programs, state energy codes, municipal performance standards, utility initiatives and private-sector sustainability objectives. This structure creates different market conditions across the country rather than a uniform national pathway. Jurisdictions with stronger energy-performance requirements and electrification policies are likely to generate greater demand for efficient equipment, renewable-energy systems, controls, energy-management technologies and specialized building-performance services.
• New construction provides a favorable environment for net-zero energy integration because energy performance can be incorporated before a building becomes operational. Developers can integrate efficient HVAC, heat pumps, high-performance envelopes, smart controls, renewable-energy systems and electrical infrastructure during initial design. The DOE Efficient New Homes Program provides a voluntary high-performance pathway for new residential buildings, while state and local energy codes determine mandatory requirements applicable to individual projects.
• Renovation & Retrofitting should remain an important market pathway because existing properties represent a substantial installed base for energy-performance improvements. Building owners can reduce energy consumption through insulation, air sealing, window improvements, HVAC replacement, heat pumps, controls, solar PV and storage without constructing entirely new buildings. Performance standards can accelerate this activity in selected jurisdictions by requiring owners of covered buildings to demonstrate improvements in energy or emissions performance.
• Equipment demand is increasingly shifting toward integrated systems that combine efficiency, electrification and energy flexibility. Heat pumps, efficient HVAC, solar PV, batteries, building automation and energy-management systems can be coordinated to reduce consumption and manage peak loads. LEED v5 further reinforces this direction by incorporating requirements and credits related to minimum energy efficiency, electrification, renewable energy, grid interaction, commissioning and operational carbon planning.
• Solutions & Services should benefit from the increasing need to measure, verify and continuously optimize building performance. Energy audits, building-energy modeling, commissioning, benchmarking, measurement and verification, digital monitoring and performance optimization can help owners translate energy targets into measurable operating improvements. Building-performance requirements also increase the importance of data collection and reporting, creating additional opportunities for engineering firms, consultants, software providers and energy-service companies.

Policies & Regulatory Landscape

• Building regulation in the United States is highly decentralized, with federal requirements operating alongside state and municipal building codes and performance policies. Model standards such as ASHRAE 90.1 influence energy-efficiency requirements, but individual jurisdictions determine adoption and implementation. This structure creates regional differences in equipment specifications, electrification requirements, energy-performance targets and compliance processes, requiring building owners and suppliers to evaluate the regulations applicable to each project location.
• Federal buildings represent an important policy-driven opportunity for high-performance technologies. Federal Energy Management Program requirements apply to new construction and major renovation projects, while federal clean-energy rules establish targets for reducing fossil-fuel use in qualifying buildings. DOE currently states targets of 90% reduction for applicable new construction or major renovation projects in fiscal years 2025–2029 and 100% for projects beginning in fiscal year 2030 or later, subject to the applicable regulatory framework.
• State and municipal building-performance standards are increasingly creating operational requirements for existing buildings. New York City's Local Law 97 requires covered large buildings to address operational greenhouse-gas emissions and submit compliance information. In April 2026, the city reported that approximately 93% of covered privately owned properties had filed required compliance reports. Such policies can increase demand for energy audits, HVAC modernization, electrification, controls, renewable generation and other retrofit measures.
• California remains an important jurisdiction for building electrification and energy-efficiency requirements. Its 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards apply to permit applications beginning January 1, 2026, and expand the role of heat pumps and electric-readiness requirements in new residential buildings. These provisions can influence mechanical-system selection, electrical infrastructure, building design and contractor requirements, creating a regulatory environment that supports broader adoption of electrification technologies.
• Voluntary certification systems remain distinct from mandatory building regulations. LEED v5 provides a framework emphasizing decarbonization, energy efficiency, renewable energy and performance monitoring, while LEED Zero Energy recognizes buildings that achieve a source-energy balance of zero over a 12-month period. These programs can influence project specifications and owner objectives, but certification should not be treated as a universal legal requirement for U.S. buildings.

Net-Zero Energy Buildings Procurement & Industry Impact

• Net-zero building procurement in the United States typically involves multiple stakeholders, including owners, developers, architects, engineers, general contractors, specialty contractors, manufacturers and energy-service providers. Public and institutional projects may establish energy-performance criteria within tender documents and technical specifications, while private developers can incorporate sustainability objectives into design-build, EPC or conventional construction contracts. This increases the importance of technical documentation, system compatibility, performance data and contractor familiarity during supplier selection.
• Equipment suppliers are increasingly required to support integrated building-energy systems rather than supplying isolated products. Projects can combine heat pumps, efficient HVAC, solar PV, battery storage, EV charging, smart meters and building automation. DOE-supported technology development involving integration of battery storage with commercial-building automation, HVAC, solar generation and EV charging illustrates how procurement is increasingly moving toward coordinated distributed-energy and building-management systems.
• Solutions & Services providers are becoming more important throughout the building lifecycle. Energy audits and modeling can influence design decisions, while commissioning and measurement and verification can validate whether systems achieve expected performance. Ongoing monitoring and energy-management services can then optimize building operations. The increasing importance of benchmarking and performance reporting creates opportunities for engineering consultants, software providers, commissioning specialists and energy-service companies.
• Federal and institutional procurement is also increasing attention to embodied carbon and sustainable construction materials. GSA's sustainability initiatives include low-embodied-carbon procurement supported by environmental product declarations. This can influence material selection and supplier qualification, particularly for major public projects. The effect extends beyond operational energy technologies because high-performance building procurement increasingly considers both operational and embodied environmental performance.

Industry News

• In July 2026, the U.S. Green Building Council updated its LEED v5 resources and transition information as the new rating system continued expanding across Building Design and Construction, Interior Design and Construction, and Operations and Maintenance. The framework strengthens emphasis on energy efficiency, decarbonization, renewable energy and measurable building performance.
• In June 2026, the U.S. General Services Administration reported that 51% of its owned gross square footage qualified as high-performance in FY2024. GSA also reported that high-performance buildings use less energy and have lower operating costs than comparable legacy buildings, supporting continued federal emphasis on performance-based building investment.
• In April 2026, New York City's Department of Buildings reported that approximately 93% of covered privately owned properties had submitted required Local Law 97 compliance reports. The city also reported more than $1.46 million raised through carbon-offset certificates for approved energy-efficiency projects in affordable housing, reinforcing the importance of building decarbonization and retrofit activity.
• In April 2026, DOE continued implementation and administration of federal building-energy requirements while reviewing implementation guidance for clean-energy requirements affecting new federal buildings and major renovations. The regulatory review demonstrates that federal building-performance requirements remain an active policy area with implications for electrification, energy efficiency and building-system procurement.

Segment Analysis

Net-Zero Energy Buildings By Project Type
• New construction provides a direct opportunity to incorporate net-zero energy principles during initial building design. U.S. developers can integrate efficient HVAC, heat pumps, high-performance envelopes, smart controls, energy-management infrastructure and renewable-energy systems before occupancy. Federal requirements and state energy codes influence specifications, while voluntary programs such as DOE Efficient New Homes and LEED can encourage higher-performance designs where owners and developers prioritize energy savings and long-term operating performance.
• Existing-building improvements provide a substantial pathway for reducing energy consumption across the U.S. building stock. Retrofit projects can include insulation, air sealing, windows, HVAC replacement, heat pumps, building controls, energy-management systems, solar PV and battery storage. Local performance standards can accelerate investment by establishing measurable obligations for covered properties, while benchmarking and energy audits help owners identify inefficient assets and prioritize improvements according to technical feasibility and project economics.
Net-Zero Energy Buildings By Building Type
• Residential buildings provide a large installed base for energy-efficiency and electrification technologies. The 2024 Residential Energy Consumption Survey represents approximately 132.5 million homes occupied as primary residences, providing a substantial opportunity for improvements to heating, cooling, insulation, windows and energy-management systems. Heat pumps, solar PV and battery storage can further support residential decarbonization, while new-home efficiency programs encourage developers to incorporate higher-performance measures during construction.
• Non- Residential buildings offer significant opportunities for integrated energy-performance solutions because offices, retail properties, healthcare facilities, schools, hospitality buildings and government facilities often have substantial and varied energy loads. Building automation, efficient HVAC, energy-management platforms, solar PV, storage and demand-management technologies can be combined according to operating requirements. Benchmarking and performance standards can further encourage owners to identify inefficient properties and prioritize investments that improve operational performance.
Net-Zero Energy Buildings By Component
• Equipment demand is concentrated around technologies that improve efficiency, support electrification and increase control over building energy consumption. Heat pumps, efficient HVAC, solar PV, battery storage, smart meters, building controls, efficient lighting, insulation and high-performance windows are relevant across U.S. applications. Adoption varies by climate, building type, electricity infrastructure, policy environment and project economics, while integrated equipment systems are becoming increasingly important for high-performance building operation.
• Solutions & Services are increasingly important because net-zero energy performance depends on coordinated design, implementation, measurement and ongoing optimization. Energy audits, engineering, building-energy modeling, commissioning, measurement and verification, energy-management platforms and building-automation integration can help owners convert sustainability objectives into measurable operating improvements. Digital monitoring can also support continuous optimization of HVAC, lighting, storage and renewable-energy systems while helping building owners demonstrate compliance with applicable performance requirements.

Considered in this report
• Historic Year: 2020
• Base year: 2025
• Estimated year: 2026
• Forecast year: 2031



Aspects covered in this report
• Net-Zero Energy Buildings with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Project Type
• New Construction
• Renovation & Retrofitting

By Building Type
• Residential
• Non-residential



By Component
• Equipment
• Solutions & Services