Zero Energy Home Rob, Alex, Karen, Iman

1. Zero Energy HomeRob, Alex, Karen, Iman

2. Project Overview • Project 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

3. 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

4. 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 - ZEH can be simple, unique, unusual or anywhere in between 2000 sq.ft. home with only a 4.2 PV system

5. 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

6. Appliances •  Amana 24.9 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator • 683 kWh/year • $1708.20 • Yearly opp costs $73 • Not Energy Star • Most cost efficient • Sony 46” LCD Television • 213 kWh/year • $989.99 • Yearly opp costs $21.30 • Not most energy efficient • Best choice economically

7. Appliances • GE 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

8. 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

9. Solar Technologies Solar Water Heater Utilized • 7.3 kW PV System • 30 panels needed • SolarWorldSunmodule+ • 245 watt panels • $661.81 per panel • Cheap model with correct dimensions to support our energy needs

10. 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

11. 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

12. Key Decisions Realized 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

13. SketchUp Model North Wall – Front of House

16. Shadow in November at noon Shadow in June at noon

17. Physical Model

19. Summary • 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 • Lessons 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

20. 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).

21. Reflection After 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

22. Reflection Working 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