Energy & Resiliency

Hillside East is one of the first 100% fossil fuel and carbon-free neighborhoods in the country. A climate resilient microgrid community, our neighborhood is built to both the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification and Energy Star certification. Your new home will reduce your carbon footprint, provide you critical backup power when it’s needed most, and contribute to the overall resiliency of a clean energy system and a strong grid. Come be a part of the solution.

Clean, green, comfortable homes

All new homes at Hillside East come standard with the following quality and energy efficiency features:

We make it easy to go green, so you can focus on living

100% Climate Resilient

Whether you are working from home, cooking dinner with your family, or riding out a Nor’easter—you don’t need to worry about losing power. Every Hillside East home is equipped with three Tesla Powerwall energy storage systems for maximum resiliency against whatever life brings. Your home’s energy will seamlessly switch over to battery power, so there is no disruption to you during severe weather or an outage. But that’s not all. Hillside East will also feature an on-site, community-scale backup battery system to provide further resiliency to our microgrid community for extended regional outages.

Solar + EV-Charging

Hillside East is a solar community, providing all homes the ability to charge their Tesla Powerwalls and store their own renewable energy. Plus, with solar and storage, your home will continue to stay powered up as the solar recharges your batteries. In addition, electric vehicle charging ports come standard in every home, whether you need them now or in the future.

No Fossil Fuels, Ever

Our neighborhood is built without any fossil fuel infrastructure and is designed to be all electric and 100% free of carbon emissions today, with the expectation that by 2030, all electricity consumed will be fully renewable as committed by Green Mountain Power. We are proud to offer you a home that is part of the solution, embracing a future that is fossil fuel-free and focused on renewable energy.

Net-Zero Ready Program

All new homes at Hillside East meet the U.S. Department of Energy standards to be Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH). This program certifies that the homes are so efficient, a renewable energy system could offset most or all of the home’s annual energy use. Hillside East homes are also certified by Energy Star. All the homes in the neighborhood go above and beyond South Burlington and Vermont’s already stringent energy building codes.

A powerful partnership

O’Brien Brothers is proud to have partnered with Green Mountain Power (GMP) to create an innovative climate resiliency package for our homeowners, providing energy redundancy, on-site solar generation, and 100% carbon-free power through the Hillside East microgrid neighborhood. It is a truly groundbreaking collaboration between a forward-thinking and community-minded homebuilder, and the first utility in the world to earn B Corp certification, meeting rigorous social, environmental, and accountability standards for their customers.

Benefits & Amenities

The same high-quality finishes and fixtures that support a cleaner planet. Quality and green living—you really can have it all.

Efficient, high-performance electric and induction cooktop stoves
All electric cold weather rated heat pumps with backup resistance heating
Resiliency Package of Tesla Powerwall home batteries paired with 8kW solar system to keep you powered up through grid outages
Span smart panels for easy, complete control of your electric loads to optimize resiliency and usage
On-site community scale backup battery storage
EV charging ports in every home
100% carbon-free energy from Green Mountain Power
Stable electric costs
Protection from extreme weather and outages
Low maintenance, worry-free lifestyle

Why Hillside?

Hillside at O’Brien Farm has so much to offer, from beautiful scenery to walkability, friendly neighbors, environmentally sound building practices, energy resiliency, and a great local area to explore. See what the neighbors are saying about it—and learn more!

Watch our video about Hillside:

Building a greener future

At O’Brien Brothers, your new home and our shared future are equally important to us. We are rising to the opportunity to champion both green building practices and a sustainable clean energy system, adding an exciting new dimension to an already thriving community. We have combined tried-and-true energy technologies with efficient new construction techniques to introduce Vermont’s first carbon-free residential neighborhood that is comfortable, convenient, and resilient.