Project Name :Zero Energy Home

Team name: The Goods

Bryan FraileyCaleb Young

Marissa MaranoJiang Yifan

LOGO: Date: March 4, 2011

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Project OverviewGoals: To design and build a model of a zero energy home that can consume zero net energy. This home can meet the needs of a typical family of four. The cost of this home cannot be too high.

Most Important Features: High efficiency energy use, zero net energy use

Reasons: Our basic research is based on the zero energy homes located on the north east of America. Philadelphia is on the north east of America, and the weather there is relatively moderate. Philadelphia was chosen because it fulfills this qualificaiton. Furthermore, the solar energy there is available to apply photovoltaic system and other required technology.

Location(city, state) Philadelphia, PA, United States

House Size(floor area in squre feet) 2361

Number of Floors 2

Number of Occupants 5

Number of Bedrooms 4

Type of Heating System Heat Pump

Main Heating Fuel Electricity

Size of photovoltaic system (kilowatts) 7

Solar water heater (yes or no) Yes

R-value of wall insulation 40

R-value of ceiling insulation 60

Ventilation air heat recovery (yes or no) Yes

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Research SummaryMost important lessons learned from looking at other designs: 1. The size of the zero energy home need to be reasonable. It cannot be too small due to the needs of a typical family, and it cannot to be too big because a bigger home would require more energy.

2. We need to apply as highly efficient systems as possible, such as low-flow sinks and toilets, as well as energy-saving refrigerators, washing machines and other appliances. These modifications are very important in order to limit energy use.

3. Solar energy is the greatest source of energy used in zero energy home. The application of photovoltaic system and other systems that use solar energy can be very helpful.

4. Insulation is another important factor. Good insulation moderates the temperature throughout the house. Therefore, the heat system need not operate too many hours. That can save a lot of energy. Cellulose is a good insulator because it is recyclable and more reasonably priced than foam. It’s sprayed on and has the advantage of filling around wiring, plumbing, and other obstacles.

Data SummaryAmong all of the designs we refered to, we picked the one that is most similar to our design to enhance our ideas. Here’s a list of the most important features:

Refered home: House size: 2696 feet Photovoltaic system (kilowatts):2.6 Heat Pump R-value of wall insulation:40 R-value of ceiling insulation:60 cost: $806 per year

Our design: The house size is about 2361 square feet. After a little research, we found that the average zero energy home has a 7 kilowatt photovoltaic system, so we decided to incorporate a larger system than in the house mentioned above. Even though it will cost more money to install, with this new sized photovoltaic system, the cost per year is about $20. (rate found using zero energy home calculator)

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Summary of DataCASE1 CASE2 CASE3 CASE4

Location (city, state) New Canaan, CT Oakdale, CT Turner Falls, MT Ridgefield, CT

House size (floor area in square feet) 4944 2696 1152 3736

Number of floors 3 2 1 2

URL of web site where info is found http://www.ctzeroenergychallenge.com/2009-2010/builders/bpc1_specs.htm

http://www.ctzeroenergychallenge.com/2009-2010/builders/ark_specs.htm

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/11546/a-net-zero-energy-home-for-180000

http://www.ctzeroenergychallenge.com/2009-2010/builders/bpc2_over.htm

Number of occupants 6 4 4 5

Number of bedrooms 5 3 3 4

Type of heating system Thermal mass radiant slab heating

heat pump Solar and forced air Closed loop geothermal

Main heating fuel electricity Gas solar Solar and gas

Size of photovoltaic system (kilowatts) 10.8 2.6 N/A N/A

Solar water heater (yes or no) yes yes yes no

R-value of wall insulation 30.8 40 42 32.7

R-value of ceiling insulation 57.2 60 100 65

Ventilation air heat recovery (yes or no) no no no yes

Predicted or measured annual energy use $1145 $806 N/A N/A 4

Key Decisions

1. Appliances

2. HVAC

3. Solar Technologies

4. Systems Diagram

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Appliances

Basic Overview:

1.The most important point of our decisions for appliances is obviously the efficiency. For a zero energy home, if the appliances can be energy-saving, the scale of the energy-support system (for example, photovoltaic system) can be relatively small. This saves money. Furthermore, because high efficiency appliances tend to be more expensive, we need to compare the annual cost of using the product to the original cost of the product in order to calculate how many years it will take before the product becomes cost efficient.

2.Among all of the appliances, we pay more attention to those that naturally tend to use a lot of energy. Obviously, those appliances that require the most amount of power take precedence.

*Air conditioners are large power appliances, but this is included in the HVAC section.

Example:

We will show how we chose a washing machine. This example will show how we compared the cost of original washing machine to the efficiency of the appliance.

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We compared 4 washing machines to figure out which one was the most cost efficient.

Using the equations we did in class, we compared the original prices of the washing machine with their individual electrical energy needs, capacity of clothes container, and the energy needed to heat water per cycle, in order to calculate the amount of years each brand would take to become cost efficient. Obviously the brand with the most cost efficiency would be the brand that took the least amount of years to start saving money. In our case, the most cost efficient washing machine was the GE which took 7.78 years to become cost efficient.

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Best Washing Machine

Original Prices:Electrolux: $1,199.00GE: $844.15LG: $720.00Sams: $1,098.00

Below is a table for our decisons for important appliances.

Appliance Type Original Cost($) Energy-Saving

televison Samsung $1246.99 1062 kW

washer GE $844.15

dryer LG $700.00

computer HP $595.99

lights Fluorescent lighting

$8.00 per bulb

microwave oven Panasonic $125.99

water heater Rheem $821.00 Solar water heater

refrigerator GE $1299.99 30% less energy

# for those are not energy-saving, the original cost is too high to balance the saved money due to saved energy.

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HVACBasic Overview:

1. HVAC will be a large part of the total energy use. We need to chose the most efficient plan.

2. The application of HVAC need not be limited in only one type or way. We can combine different available ways.

Our Decision:

1. We will use heat pump as the main system.

2. Electricity resistent heat will be used to assist the heat pump.

3. The electricity used for air conditioner and other HVAC is supported byphotovoltaic system.

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ReasonsHeat Pump:

1. In fact, we will use ground-coupled heat pump. Compared with those heat systems that transport heat through the air, ground-coupled heat pump is more efficient and is easy to combine with air conditioners.

2. The original cost to build a ground-coupled heat pump can be higher than other heat systems, but this pump can last for several decades, and the money saved due to the high efficiency of the system heat balances out the original cost.

3. The fuel of the heat pump can be a big problem. Using gas and fossil fuels are options, however, this is contradictory because we need our zero energy home to use zero net energy. A renewable energy resource is required such as solar energy.

Electric Resistence Heat:

*Electric resistance heat is very cheap and efficient. We can use this type of system to assist the heat pump. This saves money because it can reduce the scale of the heat pump.

Energy Support:

Solar energy is a great renewable energy resource. Photovoltaic system can support the energy we need for the zero energy home. This kind of system can transmit solar energy to electricity and heat. Thus, it can ensure the normal operation of the HVAC.

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The Decision of Air Conditioner1.Air conditioners are big power appliances. Therefore, they will use most of the energy supported. To reduce the cost of operating an air conditioner, we can reduce the total energy by a considerable scale.

2.We use the same method of chosing other applicances to chose air conditioners. Those air conditioners which achieve "energy star" are good options. The type of air conditioner we chose is shown below in the table.

Brand Capacity (BTU/hour) Energy efficiency ratio(EER)

Admiral AAW-05CR1FHUE

24000 9.4

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Solar Technologies1. Active

Active solar technologies will be used as the main energy-support system. The photovoltaic system is the most important piece of equipment used for energy support. Additionally, a solar water heater is used to reduce the use of electricity.

2. Passive

Passive solar technologies will help reduce the waste of heat and control the room temperature.

* The design of an overhang can help control the solar light. There is a larger solar elevation angle in the summer than in other parts of the year as well as an increase in temperature. The overhang can shadow much light from the sun, making the room cooler.

* In winter, the solar elevation angle is smaller and the temperature is lower. The light can easily go through the window and makes the room warmer.

* The control of sunlight can control the room temperature. Thus, overhangs can reduce the use of heat systems, reducing overall costs. This is known as the Systemic Effect.

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Graphs Show How the Overhang Work Sunlight is s

hadowed in summer

allows light to enter house in winter13

System Diagram

electricitycold waterwaste water14

Sketchup Model

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X-Ray

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Second Floor

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First Floor

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First Floor

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Shadow 6/22 1:30PM

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Shadow 12/22 1:30PM

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Physical Model

Front of House (south-facing)

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Back of House (north-facing)

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First Floor

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Second Floor

Favorite and Most Important Aspects of Design

1.south facing windows2.open and spacious 3.size of house4.overhangs

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The majority of the window area is on the south side of our house. This allows for the most amount of passive solar energy to be absorbed by the house.

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The first floor of our house is extremely open and spacious, allowing for great circulation of air.

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The size of our house is perfect for a zero-energy home. It’s big enough for an average family to reside but small enough for a reasonably priced and sized photovoltaic system to run the energy of the home.

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The overhangs of the house allow for the windows to let in more light in winter, warming the house, and less light in the summer, cooling the house down.

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1.We can now do various things. We can use the sketch up program to complete a house with systems diagrams and detailed illustrations inside of the house. We can also think critically about appliance options for a home and choosing the best option.

2. Understanding systems in a house is huge to general engineering. The ability to draw a systems diagram is key to being an engineer. Everything runs on a system. The ability to identify each part of the system and describe what is going on at each point in the system will pay huge dividends in the future of any engineer. Understanding a house system in particular will assist in thinking critically about any particular building system because all buildings run on similar basic aspects.

3. We learned that solar energy is a very efficient energy source. It is one of the most if not the most efficient of all. It is also very expensive to implement the necessary tools in order to gather up solar energy and use it properly. Over time, however, it can pay back very quickly and be environmentally friendly.

4. We learned that Zero energy homes are a very efficient and environmentally friendly tool. If everyone had zero energy homes, we could eliminate some waste issues in the world in addition to pollutants a house produces and excess energy that a normal house would lose. A zero energy home can be a very cost effective and environmentally friendly place to live over a period of time. Many expensive means must also be used to make a true zero energy home, which makes it very unrealistic for many middle class families to event think about.

5. As a team, at first, we were all very different and could not really communicate well as a whole. As time progressed, we were able to get past our differences and work together to produce our final project. We still have some differences to get past for our next project, some people need to speak out more, and we just need to communicate and not procrastinate too much. The growth we went through to get to this point as a team can definitely be used in the future teamwork experience because growth is occurring every day in the work force and that is something every person has to be able to do, grow. We grew from day one.

6. We can improve our performance on the next project by speaking out. We need to brainstorm various ideas earlier and put the best ones on paper and figure them out right away. From there, instead of doing individual work, we need to work together on everything so everyone has a good understanding about every single part of the project. With that extra knowledge and quick work, the next project can be done in a much more timely manner.

7. We remember the many resources on sketch up. There were many illustrations that could be incorporated into the house and on the outside of the house. Also, there were many cool effects in sketch up such as the shadow effect. It can show you where the sun is at a certain time and date. That is pretty cool. The program is a great way to start with drawing and getting some experience.

Reflection

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