Solving the Biggest Energy Problem – Our Homes!

The Staged Passive Energy Retrofit (SPER) Concept

Presented by

Pat Murphy,Executive Director,Community SolutionsYellow Springs, Ohio 45387

March 2010

U.S. Energy Consumption Breakdown

Energy for U.S. homes alone greater than world average use 49% of U.S. energy is used in buildings

39% operating, 10% embodied (building) energy U.S. has about 115 million residences (80 million houses)

New building ~1.0 million units/yr. typically

U.S. Homes – Size Matters

U.S. home size 2008 – 2,200 sq. ft. 1959 – 1,000 sq. ft.

Per capita square foot 1950 – 260 sq. ft. 2008 – 800 sq. ft.

U.S. residences twice as large

as those in Europe or Japan Use 2.4 times energy

U.S. citizens want big homes

U.S. Energy Use in Buildings

Building energy use is understood very well Techniques and products exist for much better efficiency

Weatherization programs provide experience for existing homes

“Green Building” – Too Little, Too Late LEED and EnergyStar Ineffective Green programs reduce energy

use by 15-20% Need 80-90%

“Green buildings” are only about

5% of new construction Less than 1% of existing homes

are “green” after 10 years

Will take decades to turn over the building stock

By then it will be too late!

Can Building Energy Use be Cut by 90%? There is a technology that can do this

The German “PasivHaus” or Passive House

Basis of the technology “Super insulation” – R40-60 “Super air-tight” “Super windows” (triple-glazed) – R7

And a new device – Heat Recovery Ventilator House can’t “breath” (which means leak) anymore

“Thick” Tight Envelope – The Core Concepts

Based on Super- Insulated House of 1970s (Shurcliff)

Early version of German “Passive House”

13th Annual Passive House Conference Held April 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany

1,200 attendees from around world 100 presenters

Tours of homes/schools

About 20,000 passive houses/buildings to date

18 years since first one was built – a maturing technology Great windows, heat exchangers, insulation, sealants

Achieving 90% heating/cooling energy reduction

Housing Revolution – Passive House Germany energy reduction target – 90%

Realized most energy consumed is in buildings

Defined passive building as energy used/sq. ft. Passive houses have no whole house heating

systems – small backup units only

Passive House being codified in German laws

Germany the leading nation in wind and solar And in super efficient buildings!

Passive House History/Description

Continuation of U.S. 1970/80s super-insulated movement

Germany picked up U.S. work and developed it further U.S. lost Interest

4 Passive House conferences held in U.S. to date

The Passive House – U.S. Status

Fundamental spec – use 90% less heating/cooling energy

Germans are teaching U.S. builders

20+ U.S. versions built or in process

Super-insulated – thick shell 14-inch walls Corresponding thick floor/roofs

Very small heating system or AC Uses heat exchanger for ventilation

Costs 10% more than conventional house

Some Passive House Elements Illustrated

Passive House Addresses Heating/Cooling -Remainder Is Appliances and Lifestyle

Eliminates leaks: 20% of energy costs

New windows next big savings

Thick, tight “building envelope”

Ductwork in the conditioned space

Better appliances found in Europe Will appear in the U.S. at some point

Still need habit changes

Passive House – Key Future Technology Heating/cooling/ventilation

Envelope/windows/air tight Heat exchanger for ventilation Addresses about half the energy use

Appliances are improving continuously Sun Frost refrigerators On-demand hot water heaters

Plug loads can be managed Some habit change also needed

All together will provide 80-90% reduction by 2050

But!!! This Is for New Homes

New Passive Houses cost 10% more

Passive House retrofits cost 40-50% of new building costs Easy to build new – hard to retrofit the old Retrofitting very labor intensive The good news – retrofits can obtain 90% energy savings

There are many people trying retrofits Need leading-edge people Maria Everhart – “In any area of social change, someone has

got to go first”

A recent Passive Retrofit – The Carriage House

Carriage House Retrofit – 2008

Approximately 1,000 square feet

100-year-old Carriage House

Foundation and Floors

Floors – vapor-barrier, 2’’ rigid foam, 7.5” floor joists, fiberglass Insulation = R30+ (code is R11)

Vertical 2’’ rigid insulation on foundation walls Reduce ground heat loss

Walls, Ceilings and Roofs

Walls – double stud, 9 – 14 inches thick (R30 – R40) Ceiling/roof – dense pack insulation R40+ (code is R30) High-performance doors and windows

Retrofit Building Energy Savings and $$ Wide range of estimates to redo all homes

115 million residence @ $60,000 + is $7 trillion.

Far cheaper than paying fuel bills – e.g. 2010 to 2050 (40 years) Save 10 BOE yearly– estimate $200 BOE eqv. in 2012+ $2,000 yearly for 40 years = $80,000 Life cycle analysis shows this is a win-win situation

Culture might change to 1950s values – homeowners do work

Still a new concept is needed Staged Passive Energy Retrofitting – SPER

SPER Retrofitting

Idea may have originated with Linda Wigington of ACI The “1000 Home Challenge” Effort – 2007

Department of Energy made big change in 2009 De-emphasis on Building America Program Initiated the Retrofit for Recovery Program

University of Dayton and Community Solutions formed

Yellow Springs Energy Partnership to study energy use

Local companies formed in Yellow Springs and Troy, Ohio

DOE Strategic Plan for Recovery Through Retrofit Addresses Three Problems Market Barrier 1: Consumers need reliable home retrofitting information

to make informed decisions Solution 1: We must provide straightforward and credible information to

American homeowners on the costs and benefits of home energy retrofits

Market Barrier 2: The costs of home retrofit projects are beyond the average homeowner’s budget

Solution 2: We must make it easy for homeowners to identify and access home energy retrofit financing tools and products

Market Barrier 3: Increase the number of skilled workers and green entrepreneurs to successfully expand efficiency retrofit programs on a national scale

Solution 3: Mobilize a skilled national energy retrofit workforce and expand good, green job opportunities for all American workers

Community Solutions Prepared Response Wide range of partners

Community Solutions (Yellow Springs non-profit), Yellow Springs energy audit company, University of Dayton Building Energy Center, Troy, Ohio construction company

Began working in anticipation of winning the award Decided to form a company regardless of the award Idea looked better and better

Key partner provided breakthrough ideas Staged retrofitting – visit home multiple times over years

Low-, middle- and high-hanging fruit picked over a decade Bring the mass production factory to the neighborhood

SPER Key Factors of Success

Cut labor costs in half by innovation Use factory techniques in the home neighborhood

Build a long-term relationship with homeowner Become their “energy reduction” utility Review their usage – call when something happens

Provide financing – repayment from lower energy bills

Upgrade the home in stages to meet 2050 needs Using low-cost technologies that will appear

Use Passive House technology in later stages as technology gained from new builds decreases cost

Summary

Passive building technology proven – goes back to 1970s Different than green building with its marginal energy savings Focus is on deep energy reductions

Costs have been tested – 10% more for new, 40-50% cost of new for retrofit

Government now understands need to retrofit

Early adopters (including CS) preparing the examples

Building companies seeing the opportunity

Innovative finance ideas coming

Could actually meet 90% reduction by 2050 with political will