Vista Montaña

Watsonville, California

All 257 homes in Vista Montaña 

come with solar energy as a standard feature.

Zero Energy 

Community Harvests 

Solar Power

I

n August 2003, Clarum Homes 

opened the doors at Vista Montaña, 

California’s largest Zero Energy Home 

community, with homes designed to 

use almost zero net electricity over the 

course of a year. Built on a former apple 

orchard, all homes in the development 

will harvest the sun to generate 

electricity. 

When completed in 2005, the community will consist of 257 solar-powered, 

single-family homes and townhomes 

and a 14-acre park and elementary 

school. At Vista Montaña, 25% of the 

homes at will be priced below market 

as affordable homes, qualifying for special HUD mortgages. 

Traditionally, Watsonville has been an 

agricultural town but is now making a 

gradual shift to becoming a suburb of 

Santa Cruz. The Vista Montaña subdivision targets first-time and move-up 

buyers who are priced out of Santa 

Cruz neighborhoods, but have the 

“earth-friendly” mindset typical of 

those residents. 

While the environmental aspects of 

the community are attractive to many, 

some buyers are initially unaware of the 

standard solar and energy-efficient 

features of the homes. They are, however, very enthusiastic once they learn 

about the added benefits. Standard 

home plans feature three, four, or five 

bedrooms, 10 different floor plans, 

and two-car garages.

Clarum has a reputation as a pioneer 

in the Bay Area home-building industry. 

Clarum began its green building 

program in 1999, with energy efficiency 

features and sustainable building 

materials as standard equipment. 

Clarum’s participation in the U.S. 

Department of Energy’s Zero Energy 

Homes (ZEH) initiative built on the 

company’s previous experience with 

renewable energy. Working with energy 

consultant ConSol and the National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory, Clarum 

was able to reduce the energy consumption of the Vista Montaña homes 

by more than 50%. 

Bringing you a prosperous future where energy is clean, 

abundant, reliable, and affordable 

”We have shifted our entire 

company mission and business 

plan to building nothing other 

than Zero Energy Homes from 

this point forward.” 

– John Suppes, vice president, 

Clarum Homes 
Produced for the 

U.S. Department of Energy 

by the National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory, 

a DOE national laboratory

DOE/GO-102003-1831

December 2003

Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at 

least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste

This community is proof of Clarum’s 

commitment to build attractive, affordable, green homes using energy-efficient 

designs and renewable energy systems. 

The Vista Montaña houses have been 

so popular that the builder plans to 

continue building ZEHs. Clarum has 

received significant recognition from the 

community and the press for its efforts 

in green building, and the company 

attributes this success to its decision 

to participate in the Zero Energy Homes 

initiative. 

Clarum built every home in the community to be an Enviro-HomeTM. Clarum’s 

Enviro-HomeTM is its brand name for 

a home that combines state-of-the-art 

energy efficiency and renewable energy 

with environmentally sustainable materials.

Sustainable features include engineered 

lumber, recycled decking material, and 

water saving plumbing and landscaping. Buyers can choose to pay extra 

for sustainable, green building materials 

such as recycled-content carpet, bamboo flooring, cork flooring, and low-VOC 

paint.

Through its use of renewable energy 

and energy efficiency features, the 

Enviro-HomeTM earned additional recognition by receiving the Environmental 

Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR®

home rating, ConSol’s ComfortWiseSM

designation, and the Building Industry 

Institute’s California Green Builder 

Certification. The project was also supported by the city of Watsonville and the 

California Energy Commission.

A Strong Energy Portfolio 

for a Strong America

Energy efficiency and clean, renewable 

energy will mean a stronger economy, a 

cleaner environment, and greater energy independence for America. Working 

with a wide array of state, community, 

industry, and university partners, the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s Office 

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy invests in a diverse portfolio of 

energy technologies.

Project Information

ConSol, Inc.

Rob Hammon

7407 Tam O’Shanter Dr.

Ste. 200

Stockton, CA 95210-3370

www.consol.ws

Phone: 209-474-8446

rob@consol.ws

Clarum Homes

www.clarum.com

Phone: 650-322-7069

Zero Energy Home Contacts

Lew Pratsch

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Ave. SW

Washington, DC 20585

Phone: 202-586-1512

Lew.Pratsch@hq.doe.gov

Tim Merrigan

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

1617 Cole Blvd.

Golden, CO 80401

Phone: 303-384-7349

tim_merrigan@nrel.gov

Research that Works

Clarum’s Enviro-HomeTM 

combines energy efficiency, 

renewable energy, and sustainable 

building materials.

Key Features

Energy Efficiency

Appliances ENERGY STAR®

Building Envelope

 Walls/Roofing Foam wrapped

Radiant roof barrier sheathing

 Windows Low-e, U-factor 0.4, SHGC 0.4 

French doors: U-factor 0.85, SHGC 0.7

 Cooling/Heating 90% AFUE furnace, programmable 

thermostat

Ceiling fan outlets reduce the need for A/C

Tightly sealed ducts

Lighting Fluorescent light bulbs

Water Heating Tankless water heater with 0.82 energy 

factor

Low-flow showers

Renewable Energy

Photovoltaic 1.2- to 2.4-kW photovoltaic system. 

About Zero Energy Homes

To take U.S. home energy performance 

to a higher level, DOE created the Zero 

Energy Homes (ZEH) initiative, bringing 

the latest R&D out of the laboratory and 

into homes. Both energy efficiency and 

renewable energy technologies - like 

solar water heating and solar electricity 

- serve these homes. DOE’s goal is to 

help builders create homes that produce 

as much energy as they use over the 

course of a year. ZEHs are connected 

to the utility grid, and some are even 

energy generators, rolling the utility 

meter backward when they produce 

more electricity than they consume.

DOE selected four teams that are working with researchers at the National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory to introduce the ZEH concept into the singlefamily, new-home construction industry. 

The four teams are ConSol, Stockton, 

California; Davis Energy Group, Davis, 

California; NAHB Research Center, 

Upper Marlboro, Maryland; and 

Steven Winter Associates, Norwalk, 

Connecticut. 

For more information: 

Building Technologies Program

www.buildings.gov

Select Programs & Initiatives