For the convenience of applicants, all forms and supporting materials, with the exception of the presentation boards, may be submitted by regular mail or through this website. Your method of entry will not affect the judging in any way.

Requirements Download (pdf 13.4kb)

1. Presentation Board

Submit one presentation board sized 20 x 30 inches in either a vertical or horizontal format. Your presentation board must include sectional information showing building envelope details, floor plans and elevations, and at least one exterior and one interior image of the completed building.  You must submit both a hard copy of your presentation board and an electronic version in JPG, TIFF, PNG or PDF format. (Taking a high-quality digital photograph of your presentation board is acceptable.) The digital file may be submitted through this website or burned onto a CD; the hard copy must be mailed to:

Zero Energy Building Award
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
50 Miles Street
Greenfield, MA 01301

Please mail your board in packaging that can be used for the return shipping.

2. Building Images

Please provide up to five interior and five exterior digital images of your building in JPG, TIFF or PNG format. Please send each photo in two forms: high-resolution (300 dpi) and web-resolution (72 dpi). You may submit them through this website or burn them onto a CD and mail it to the NESEA office with your presentation board. The photographs will be used to judge the building's aesthetics, its marketability and to help evaluate the building's design in terms of practicality and usefulness.

If you are chosen to receive the award, all of your submitted images may be used for promotional purposes, both on the NESEA website and in printed publications.

3. Energy Data Forms

To substantiate net-zero energy use, detailed monthly data and a yearly summary must be provided. Submit one "Annual Summary" form and one "Monthly Energy Use" form. These forms may be uploaded through this website or mailed. Forms are available for download.

4. Supporting Data

Please provide a copy of all energy bills from utility or other fuel vendors, metering records, an energy audit printout, and any other information that will verify your stated energy usage. In some cases further information may be requested by our judging panel. These materials may be submitted by mail or uploaded via this web site. Uploaded images should be sent in PDF, JPG, TIFF or PNG format.

5. Narrative Description

Please provide a 250-word narrative describing your building. This narrative should include a description of the building's location, its key sustainable design features and any other information that will help our judges assess its comfort and replicability.

This narrative can be uploaded through this website or mailed with other application materials on a CD. The narrative should be saved as a Word or RTF (Rich Text File) document.

A Note about Electronic Files

If you are submitting your application forms by mail, please include a labeled CD that contains all of your forms including the energy data forms, narrative description, supporting documentation, digital version of your presentation board and building images. Acceptable formats for electronic documents in this CD include Adobe Acrobat (pdf), Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Rich Text Files (RTF). Images may be supplied in JPG, TIFF or PNG formats.

Distribution of the Cash Prize

The cash award of $10,000 will be disbursed in one payment to the designated primary contact for the winning team.

Site Visit

A site visit by one or more of our judges may be requested.  If this is deemed necessary, you will be contacted to arrange for a convenient time for this visit.

Notice about the Use of Application Materials

All material submitted will remain the property of the applicant and will only be used by NESEA and the Northeast Zero Energy Building Award for publicity and educational purposes.

By submitting an application, you agree to allow NESEA and the Northeast Zero Energy Building Award to publish material submitted in your application on its website, in advertising and in other promotional or educational material. Paper copies of applicant material will be destroyed after use.  No compensation will be given for the use of any of the materials.

Submission Deadline

The deadline for all application materials is 5:00 PM on January 15.

Mailing Address

Application materials should be mailed to:

Zero Energy Building Award
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
50 Miles Street
Greenfield, MA 01301

Questions or Comments?

Call (413) 774-6051 ext. 23 or email dbarclay[at]nesea.org