EXCLUSIVE: HGTV Star Anthony Carrino Opens Up His Net-Zero Home—and Reveals Upgrades That Can Save Every Homeowner Money

Home improvement expert Anthony Carrino has opened the doors to his net-zero home in upstate New York in a bid to reveal to fellow homeowners the simple, eco-friendly updates they can make to their own properties to save energy and money.

Carrino, who is known for being one half of HGTV’s “Kitchen Cousins” and most recently starred on A&E’s “Rachael Ray’s Rebuild,” has also been documenting the sustainable renovation of his 1960s stone farmhouse for his own series, “The Build TV.”

Speaking to Realtor.com®, he explained that he wanted the project to serve as a kind of blueprint for homeowners for how to create a more energy-efficient property, helping them to cut through the intimidating noise that so often permeates the eco-friendly industry.

“That was very much the idea, like, ‘Hey guys, there’s a lot of product out there. Here’s what I’m putting in my home. This is the stuff that I use [after] 25-plus years in this industry,’” says Carrino, 46, while explaining why he prioritized showcasing a more realistic example of what it takes to overhaul a home than what reality TV tends to portray.

“The thing that was always frustrating to me when I was on HGTV is, like, there was so much skipping of education,” he explains. “People have a misconception of how long things take and what things cost because that network didn’t do the one thing it really should have done.”

These days, the seasoned home designer has taken up the mantle of coaching clients on how to plan for construction and pick from an overwhelming number of products to use—and his prime teaching tool is his second home in the Catskill Mountains, which he has remodeled into a sustainable sanctuary.

What changes did Carrino make to turn his home into eco-friendly abode?

“We did full spray foam insulation in the house, and that was done for two reasons,” explains Carrino. “One is because I wanted a really tight seal given the elements up here: Very hot summers, very cold winters. And two, critters have a way of finding their way inside up here as well, so the spray foam really gives you a nice tight envelope to separate the inside from the outside.

“We did all new windows: Triple-paned glass, argon-filled,” he adds. “For those that aren’t aware, windows are your sieve. That’s where you get the most heating and cooling loss depending on the season, so having really solid windows in here was important to me.”

The choice of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system was another main priority for Carrino. Ultimately, the Trane partner went with a dual fuel unit that operates more efficiently than conventional models while keeping his home at an optimal temperature.

“This is our weekend escape and the nice thing is, it’s a four-season home because we made some of the decisions we did when we renovated it, specifically with HVAC,” says Carrino.

“When you think about a traditional HVAC system, there’s two speeds: There’s on and off,” he describes. “What that does is, it jolts your electric system because you need a surge of power to fire up that condensing unit or the air handler.

"The unit that I’ve got in my home, it’s got 750 stages, so it incrementally steps through these stages in a very deliberate manner. It’s never full tilt on, full tilt off. It ramps itself up slowly and it ramps itself back down.

"So when you talk about energy efficiency, it’s really gentle on your utilities, especially the starting and stopping, which also coincidentally extends the life of the equipment because it’s not jolting itself on and off.”

While many of Carrino’s home features conserve energy, others are meant to create it: He installed solar panels on the roof a few years after finishing the main renovation, and the results have exceeded his expectations. 

“Honestly, I can’t believe the amount of power that I produce; [it’s] been staggering,” says Carrino.

What does it mean to be "net zero"?

“I’m net zero,” he adds, before explaining that hitting that target goal “doesn’t mean that you don’t use power from the grid. It means over the course of 12 months, you make more or equal to the amount of power that you use.”

“So at night, or whenever I’m not producing solar, I am pulling power from the grid,” notes Carrino. “But I make enough power throughout the year that I send more to the grid than I use on a net-net basis.

"My meter spins backwards when I’m producing more than I use, and it spins forward when I’m using more than I produce, and the electric company just does the math and I crosscheck that with my Enphase app that I have.”

In addition to being shocked by the amount of energy his solar-equipped home produces, Carrino was also surprised he didn’t have to make any major changes in his day to day to achieve net-zero status.

“I was really deliberate about not changing my lifestyle for the first full 12 months of using the system because I wanted to see if I was net zero without making any lifestyle changes, and I am, which is really incredible,” he states. 

“We run heat all winter long,” he says. “We run our air conditioning. You turn the ice machine on. You use whatever electronic appliance you want—you’re making the power so it’s super cool. And then my wife is charging her [electric] car for free. Like, the sun pays for our drive. It’s pretty great.”

Not having to pay an electric bill is certainly a plus, but Carrino makes it clear that the financial benefit is only part of the monetary equation when going solar, as the upfront cost of the system must be taken into consideration as well.

“You do have to do the math at the end of the day and it’s about a five-year payback to get there,” he shares. “I’m not in the black yet. I’m not paying an electric bill every month, but I’ve got five years of not paying electric bills before that system’s paid for itself, and that’s with the tax credits, so I’m getting there now.”

Carrino admits he really “stretched” his budget to do solar, but fortunately, he believes the eco-friendly consumer industry as a whole is finally arriving at an inflection point where its technology can be offered at an achievable price for more homeowners. 

“The nice thing here is that the price points to go eco-conscious, which is synonymous with energy efficient, which is synonymous with saving more money, has gotten to a place where that initial upfront cost of installing the thing that’s going to save you money later, isn’t so much more expensive that it’s cost-prohibitive to do that,” he says.

“When we get to that intersection, that’s when mass adoption happens.” 

What are the easiest eco-friendly upgrades a homeowner can make in their property?

As an early adopter of these technologies, Carrino likes “to be the guinea pig” so he can offer solid suggestions to homeowners who may be interested in making energy-efficient upgrades but feel too overwhelmed by all the options.

Swapping out light switches is a simple change he’s done himself and likes to recommend as an easy place to start.

“I have smart switches through my entire home,” he shares. “They are more expensive, but the convenience that they give you, let alone the efficiency that they give you, is really, really great.”

Then of course there are the larger investments that promise a bigger payout in the long run.

“Outside of the kitchen, an HVAC system is one of your most expensive components in your home,” says Carrino. “It runs through your entire house and it’s the thing that protects your house in the sense that if you turn your heat off in the middle of the winter [and] your pipes freeze, you’re going to have one very expensive problem in the spring—so you need something really reliable.

"And then depending on your budget, there are levels of efficiency that you can achieve [with an HVAC system], and that coincides with spending less money over time.” 

No matter when a homeowner decides to increase the efficiency of their home systems, Carrino reiterates that spending more time planning for energy-saving home features is indeed the most efficient way to eventually spend less money.

“Whatever you’re planning for your planning time, double it,” he says. “And then maybe double it again because HGTV doesn’t tell you all that stuff!

“There’s a lot of planning that goes on and if you’re trying to do things that are a little more progressive, I would really recommend speaking with a professional and let them know what you want to accomplish. There’s a lot of product out there and getting the right advice early is really paramount to having it be successful.”