3.34 Resilient and Affordable Zero Energy Homes with Joaquin Karcher

About this episode

Joaquin Karcher discusses resilient and affordable zero energy homes, focusing on eco-architecture and sustainable building practices.

“The secret is cost shifting. That’s the secret. So we shift the cost from expensive mechanical systems into the quality of the building shell, of the building envelope. We have what we call a super-insulated building envelope. We have triple-glazed windows. We have insulated frames. They get installed in a certain fashion. And we basically take… we beef up the building envelope. it’s super-insulated that means insulation is cheap. Insulation is the cheapest building material on the planet. It’s much less expensive than batts. That’s really the issue.” - Joaquin Kar Joaquin Karcher is a founder/owner/principal architect for Zero E Design based in Taos, New Mexico. The discussion centered on Joaquin’s expertise in eco-architecture and his work with Zero E Design, particularly focusing on cold climate architecture in northern New Mexico. Karcher shares his journey from his early passion for eco-architecture in Germany to his current projects, emphasizing the importance of achieving carbon neutrality in buildings by 2030. He highlighted his collaboration with the Navajo tribe to improve housing using local materials and labor, as well as his insights gained from the Passive House…

People in this episode

Guest: Joaquin Karcher

Topics covered

• eco-architecture
• zero energy homes
• passive house design
• sustainability
• carbon neutrality

Keywords

• super-insulated building envelope
• triple-glazed windows
• Navajo tribe
• Passive House Institute

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Zero E Design

Places: Taos, New Mexico, Germany, California

More episodes of Home Green Homes

• 104. Eco-Flip Playbook: Real Talk with Mary Love · April 30, 2026 · 34 min
• 103. Built to Last. Or Fail? with George Siegel · April 1, 2026 · 38 min
• 102. A Father's Journey for Green Home with Nick Grimm · March 18, 2026 · 31 min
• 101. Electrifying Made Easy with Elephant Energy: Akanksha Mathur · February 25, 2026 · 33 min
• 100. Prefab for a Changing Climate: A Conversation with Plant Prefab Founder Steve Glenn · February 11, 2026 · 24 min
• 3.37 Creating Super Cool Future with Josh Dorfman · June 27, 2025 · 40 min