Do you know about - Zero vigor Homes, Made Affordable
Recovery Resource Council! Again, for I know. Ready to share new things that are useful. You and your friends.How's this for a challenge? originate a zero net source energy (as opposed to site energy) home as defined by the branch of Energy's building America program. Establish it to operate in the extremes of Denver's unpredictable climate, using off-the-shelf, readily available technologies. Keep the mechanical systems as easy and easy as possible. integrate energy-efficiency strategies that don't wish the home owners to be experts in sustainable building operations or escort any maintenance beyond that required of a 'normal' home.
What I said. It isn't outcome that the actual about Recovery Resource Council. You check this out article for information about a person need to know is Recovery Resource Council.How is Zero vigor Homes, Made Affordable
Not overly difficult, you might say? Add that the Establish must be replicable for future Habitat for Humanity homes, utilize low-cost building materials, and allow volunteer- friendly building techniques. Still with me? The clincher: The target shop is the affordable housing sector. Impossible, you might say? intriguing yes, but not impossible for an integrated Establish team of Nrel engineers and Habitat for Humanity staff and volunteers. The terminated product is a 1,200 square foot, three-bedroom reduced revenue home that for real produces more source energy than it consumes!
Design Considerations
The aggregate of energy engineers, a building owner a real estate improvement owner and Habitat volunteers on the Establish helped charge a balance in the middle of engineering ideals based on energy modeling, cost realities possible in affordable housing, and considerations complex in a volunteer building crew.
Habitat's volunteer labor benefit steered the Establish team to approaches that favored low materials costs and high labor costs. While this approach minimizes the astronomical labor cost, when combined with the affordable housing requirement it restricts the range of sustainable strategies available. For example, strategies such as structured insulated panels (Sips) and insulated concrete forms were not determined because of their high cost. Similarly, the requirement for volunteer-friendly building techniques and ease of replication eliminated the choice of using Straw Bale. The Establish simplicity requirement eliminated the possibility of a combined solar space heating and water heating system. Finally, the zero energy requirement, given Denver's cold atmosphere and the current high cost of Pv systems, required some trade offs that some 'purists' might consider controversial.
Design approach - Envelope
Given the considerations described above, the Establish team decided to focus first on reducing the home's energy load as much as possible, and then size the Pv principles to meet the remaining electricity needs. The first place to look? Yes, you guessed it - a passive solar orientation with a 'super insulated' envelope. starting with a proper Habitat three-bedroom, 26 x 46 square foot Establish with a crawlspace, the team increased the South-facing glazing area and reduced the North, East and West facing glazing area. Next, a double-stud wall with fiberglass batt building was selected to take benefit of it's relatively low cost, volunteer-friendly technique and Habitat's low building labor cost. Blown fiberglass installed in the attic achieved an R-60 rating and insulated floors achieved an R-30 rating. While the duplicate stud wall design, with covering structural studs spaced at 16 inches O.C. Might not perform Leed Homes developed Framing Techniques points, the interior studs spaced at 24 inches O.C. for real meet the requirement. The R-3 fiberglass batts in the covering wall cavities and the R-13 filling the space in the middle of the covering and interior walls as well as the interior wall cavities by all means; of course help optimize energy performance. An outer vapor-permeable house wrap and fiber cement siding, with and an inner poly vapor barricade plus drywall adds to a very 'tight' whole-wall-R value. Blower tests yielded a natural infiltration rate corollary of 0.15 Ach, a very 'tight' indication.
Heating and Ventilation
With the house's heating energy needs drastically reduced straight through this super-insulated shell, the Establish team then focused on the heating and ventilation system. Note that I didn't mention heating, cooling and ventilation system. Yet other Establish challenge! Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver has a policy of not equipping its homes with air conditioning. This meant that the final Establish had to maximize heat allowance (for example by maximizing solar gain) without addition the cooling energy load.
To furnish a proper estimate of fresh air to the house while minimizing possible for energy loss, the team opted for an energy salvage ventilation (Erv) principles with sufficient electronically commutated motors. The principles exhausts air from the kitchen and bathroom, and supplies fresh air to the living room and bedrooms. Heat loss from ventilation is reduced because the Erv principles heats the incoming air with warmth from the exhaust air.
The Establish team soon discovered that a very low heating load is a duplicate edged sword. On the one hand very exiguous energy is required to heat the house. On the other hand, most ordinarily available heating systems are oversized for such low heating needs, and overly complex or expensive systems cannot be cost-justified. After determined considering a variety of high-efficiency heating systems, and much internal debate, the team decided to corollary a hybrid approach of electricity from the Pv system, and natural gas.
Controversial Approach
Some of us who are 'purists' may turn up our noses at the conception of a zero energy home using natural gas. However, the economics complex convinced the Establish team that a hybrid approach was the best solution (see side bar)
The Pv principles selected by the Establish team uses the local utility grid for storage, thus eliminating the astronomical cost of the warehouse battery. When the principles is producing more energy than is being used, it delivers energy to the grid. When the principles produces less energy than it produces, it draws electricity from the grid.
When the principles draws electricity from the grid, it is likely drawing fossil-fuel generated electricity. Although a larger sized Pv principles may minimize the volume of electricity drawn from the grid, the cost of larger systems is prohibitive. The Establish team opted to consist of natural gas in order to sacrifice the size of the Pv principles by 1.1 kW, production it much for affordable for a Habitat Home. The team designed the principles to offset the natural gas used, thus achieving, and even surpassing, the goal of net zero source energy.
The hybrid approach allowed the team to size the Pv principles that is affordable, offsets the use of natural gas as well as any grid generated electricity, and thus allows the home to perform (and even surpass) the goal of net zero source energy. The hybrid space heating principles combines a pointsource direct-vent natural gas furnace in the dining room and living area, with small baseboard electric-resistance heaters in the bedrooms.
Water Heating
The Establish team selected a solar water heating principles - rather than a combined space/water hearing principles - for simplicity, backed up by a natural gas tankless water heater. The team calculated that the 96 square foot accumulator area and 200 gallon water warehouse would corollary in an annual solar-savings fraction of 88%. They opted for the tankless natural gas back up heater after finding that the tankless principles uses zero heating energy whenever the solar water tank is at or above 115 degree water delivery temperature.
The Crowning Element
Having reduced all possible energy loads as much as possible, the Establish team zeroed in on the lighting, appliances and miscellaneous galvanic loads (Mels). They installed ageement fluorescent light bulbs throughout the house, and energy Star label appliances. This left the miscellaneous galvanic loads, from Tv, hair dryer, toasters, computers, and anything else that could be plugged in by the occupants. Using Built America benchmark assumptions on Mels, the team placed on a 4kW Pv system. Because the Built America assumptions on based upon a national average of a 'typical'
American household, the actual occupant use and local atmosphere may either block the home from achieving zero energy usage, or propel it to the ranks of 'net energy producer'.
The Verdict
Initial test results were encouraging. From the February to July of 2006, the Pv principles produced 1,600 kWh more electricity than the house consumed. Factoring in the natural gas used for space heating and water heating backup, the house produced 75% more source energy than it consumed. Although a longer testing period is required, it's a safe bet to say that the house will be an annual net energy producer rather than just perform net zero energy user. However, this could convert if the occupants begin using more than the average calculated into the Built America benchmark.
And the home owners? While it is true that the house is a net energy producer, they unfortunately are not free from utility bills. There is the monthly charge for the natural gas, as well as fixed charges for the galvanic grid and natural gas association fees. From October of 2005 to May of the 2006, the owners shelled out an average of .25 per month in energy bills. Because the fixed monthly charges averaged 80% of those bills, in actuality the family used on average .60 worth of energy.
For those of us who suffered straight through 0+ monthly energy bills during that same period, those results are very compelling.
Key Residential Sustainable Features
Energy and Atmosphere
Passive Solar Design
o The house was designed with increased glazing area on the long South facing side, and reduced glazing area on the North, East and West facing sides.
Renewable Energy
o 4kW Photovoltaic principles using utility power grid warehouse to eliminate need for and associated high cost of, warehouse battery
Insulation
o Raised heel trusses in attic allow 2 ft of blown fiberglass insulation, achieving R-60 rating for thermal envelope top
o Floors insulated to R-30
o R-3 fiberglass batts in outer 2 x 4 structural stud wall cavities, and a second, interior 2x4 stud wall with R-13 fiberglass batts placed horizontally in the middle of stud walls and vertically in interior wall cavities
o Outer vapor-permeable house wrap and fiber cement siding
o Inner poly vapor barricade and drywall
Space Heating
o Hybrid natural gas/electric heating system, combining a pointsource direct-vent natural gas furnace in the living room and dining area, and small baseboard electric-resistance heaters in the bedrooms. This aggregate provides the added bonus of zone heating, as each appliance has its own independent thermostat.
Water Heating
o Solar water heating principles with 96 square feet accumulator area and 200 gallon water warehouse tank as traditional water heating system, with natural gas tankless water heater as a back up system
Windows
o duplicate - glazed, low -e glass installed in South facing windows, with U-factor of 0.3 and Shgc of 0.58. For the East, West and North facing windows, duplicate - glazed, low - e glass was also used, with a U-factor of 0.22 and Shgc value of 0.27. The U-factors of all windows exceed (Energy Star requirements by 20%).
Appliances
o energy Star® appliances were installed.
Lighting
o ageement fluorescent light bulbs deployed throughout the house
Indoor Environmental Quality
Local Exhaust
o energy salvage Ventilation (Erv) principles with sufficient electronically commutated motors, exhausts air from the kitchen and bathroom, and supplies fresh air to the living room and bedrooms.
Outdoor Air Ventilation
o The Erv principles heats incoming fresh air with warmth of the exhaust air, thus significantly reducing heat loss from ventilation.
Materials and Resources
o developed Framing Techniques: Walls consist of inner 2x4 stud wall, 24 inches O.C.
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