Zero Energy HomeRob, Alex, Karen, Iman

Project OverviewProject Goals:- Creating a Zero Energy

Home that is still our dream home where we would all desire to live.

- Designing in a way that is energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing

Important Features:- 2 story arched windows on South

wall- Spiral staircase- 2 story sunroom with mass floor- Solar water heater- Open kitchen - TV / media room - Best for family of 4-6 people

House Size 2852 sq. ft.

Number of floors 2

Number of bedrooms 4

Heating System High Efficiency heat pump

Size of PV system 7.3

R-value for ceiling 60

Wall Construction Double 2x4 with 10” foam

Research Summary

Typical Characteristics of ZEH based on team research:

- All homes researched under 2000 sq. ft.

- Ventilation air heat recovery and solar water heater systems

- Most common heating system – heat pumps

- Photovoltaic systems range from 4.2-8.2 kW in size

Research Summary- 1152 sq. ft.- 1949 kWh used and 4892 kWh

produced annually -light skirt glows red when using energy from grid and green when producing more than it uses

2000 sq.ft. home with only a 4.2 PV system

- ZEH can be simple, unique, unusual or anywhere in between

Windows45%

Walls23%

Roof9%

Floor17%

Infiltration6%

Envelope Heat Transmission

Envelope- 473 sq. ft. of windows main cause

of air leakage

- Ceiling R value of 60

- Double 2x4 wall construction with 10” insulation

- Double low e windows-chose cheaper model because triple low e let out less heat but also let in less passive solar heat. -about the same efficiency

- Air tight with heat recovery-utilizing this option allowed us to decrease size of PV system

AppliancesSony 46” LCD Television - 213 kWh/year- $989.99 - Yearly opp costs $21.30- Not most energy efficient- Best choice economically

Amana 24.9 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator

- 683 kWh/year- $1708.20- Yearly opp costs $73- Not Energy Star - Most cost efficient

AppliancesGE 24 In. Built-In Dishwasher- 324 kWh/year- $299.99- Yearly opp costs $28- Energy Star - Most efficient for

economic value

Whirlpool Lunar Silver Duet HE 4.4 cu

- 183 kWh/year- $980.99- Yearly opp costs $25- Energy Star - More expensive – ten

years to pay back cost difference

HVAC Electric High Efficiency Heat

Pump

- More than 100% efficient

- Only small system necessary due to passive solar

- Delivers both heating and cooling

- Utilizing high efficiency dropped pv system size by .5 kW

- Saved $86 in utilities

Duct Location: Inside thermal envelope

Solar Technologies

- 7.3 kW PV System

- 30 panels needed

- SolarWorld Sunmodule+

- 245 watt panels

- $661.81 per panel

- Cheap model with correct dimensions to support our energy needs

Solar Water Heater Utilized

Passive Solar- 3’ Overhang shades

2nd story windows on South walls in summer

- 383 sqft of windows on South wall

- 2 story bay windows

- Mass floor

- Smaller windows for bedrooms

- Open spaces for air circulation

Behavior- Frequent use of clothes line (save

energy on dryer use)

- Water Conservation- air drying dishes- short showers- low water settings on

clothes washer

- Very few extra appliances

- Regulating home temperatures Summer above 76°Winter 68-70°

- Recycling Practices

- Compost pile

Key DecisionsRealized necessity to use heat recovery based on number of air changes/ hour

- Very few extra appliances to utilize less energy- Change practices (air drying) to control energy use

SketchUp Model

North Wall – Front of House

Shadow in November at noon

Shadow in June at noon

Physical Model

SummaryLessons Learned

- Teamwork – task distribution

- Solving design complications with the size and dimensions of our home

- Understanding our environmental impact (Footprint calculator)

- Interrelation of classroom lessons and their applicability to real design

Important Aspects:- 2 story arched windows for

passive solar-383 sqft windows on mass wall

- Open spaces on 1st floor for air circulation and large windows

- Tight with heat recovery- High efficiency heat pump- Solar Water Heater

- 7.3 kW PV System

- Combination of both ordinary and energy efficient appliances

Greatest Challenges:

- Cutting down on size while maintaining all desired features

- Understanding the real life size of our 2852 sqft. home

- Choosing between energy efficiency and cost efficiency

Favorite Features:

- Alexandra loves the 2 story arched windows and the way the light shines in on our open sunroom.

- Karen likes the openness of the house.

- Rob likes the spiral staircase and how it can be viewed through the large back windows

- Iman loves the aesthetic look of the house from the back (South wall view).

ReflectionAfter completing our ZEH project, we can now understand… - how parts of a system interrelate especially those dealing with energy

- how to utilize SketchUp and SolidWorks to bring our ideas to life- that solar energy can be used in combination with energy from the grid but greatly contributes to reducing nonrenewable energy resources

Zero Energy Homes…- Do not have to be ugly or bizarre to be efficient and

effective- Can still have the qualities of you dream home while

lessening your ecological footprint- Are still connected to the grid but create as much energy

as they use- Work best when combined with sustainable practices and behavior

ReflectionWorking as a team could be improved by…

- more efficient and assertive task delegation - having better and more open communication- a more equal distribution of individuals work loads

On the next project…- we will start earlier and spread the work out over a longer period of time- we will improve at delegating tasks and making

sure everyone participates fully- our team will try to better visualize the end

product from the beginning of our design process

We remember most about using SketchUp…- that layers are very helpful in the design process- that after becoming more comfortable with the software we created a more intricate model- that precision from the earliest stages is important because imperfections cannot be easily fixed and can slow results later