Zero Energy Home Project Engineering Design 100 Section 020 Pennsylvania State University Group 8: Spaghetti Christmas Tree Project Engineers: Paula Espinoza Peicheng Tang Jack Blarr Michelle Kotarsky pxe19@psu.edu pjt5162@psu.edu jbb5614@psu.edu mpk5421@psu.edu Submitted to: Dr. Smita Bharti Friday, October 14 th, 2016
Abstract As the world around us changes, we as the human population also have to conform and, preferably, advance our living styles in positive ways to be able to peacefully coexist with all entities of our home planet. Because of this, many different types of scientists (ecologists, economists, engineers, etc.) have now made it their objective to find ways to be more efficient in energy use with minimal pollution in order to keep our planet healthy. In the past decade, these scientists have researched many different forms of renewable energy resources such as solar energy, geothermal energy, and much more. Thanks to the advancement in the sustainability field, improvements like Zero Energy Homes have become more and more available and affordable.
Introduction For this project, we are to going research, design, create, and test our model for a Zero Energy Home (ZEH). Our group, group 8, has created a ZEH, in order to encourage the use of green energy in the community for better sustainability. This home was built based on the different passive solar principles, which are aperture (windows), absorber (surface of storage element), thermal mass (storage elements), control (thermal blinds and curtains), and distribution. Moreover, taking into account the aesthetic value of the building. The objective of the project is to meet the customer needs of a family of four.
Customer Needs and target specifications The house is expected to meet the different needs of a family of four. Taking into account the following aspects: Statements Needs Enough capacity Two bedrooms and two bathrooms Distribution of heat Open floor plan Distribution of space Sliding walls, upstairs loft Constant temperature Use of absorber (dark surfaces), aperture (windows), and insulation. Rooftops should be used to max solar use windows (passive) and solar panels (active) Better output for solar panels Rooftop should be inclined around 45 Distribution of space Sliding walls Space for storage Basement Aesthetic values Take into account different architecture shapes and natural interior and exterior materials
External Research In the process of developing this project, some research was made in order to obtain and acknowledge more information about zero energy homes, specifically in the United States. Some of them were: Location (city, state) House size (floor area in square feet) Shelburne, Massachusetts 2400 sq ft Number of floors 2 URL of web site where info is found http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/homes/netzero-home-massachusetts Number of occupants 4-5 Number of bedrooms 3 Type of heating system (forced air, hydronic, radiant floor, heat pump, etc. Main heating fuel (electricity, natural gas, wood, oil, etc.) Size of photovoltaic system (kilowatts) Solar water heater (yes or no) Heat pump electricity 7.65 kw yes R-value of wall insulation R-46 R-value of ceiling insulation R-56 Ventilation air heat recovery (yes or no) Predicted or measured annual energy use yes 6.6 MMBTU (modeled, not measured)
House size (floor area in square feet) Number of floors URL of web site where info is found 1915 sq. ft. 2 story house http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/homes/net-zeroenergy-house-125-square-foot Number of occupants 4-5 Number of bedrooms 3 Type of heating system (forced air, hydronic, radiant floor, heat pump, etc. Main heating fuel (electricity, natural gas, wood, oil, etc.) Size of photovoltaic system (kilowatts) Solar water heater (yes or no) Hydronic heating system In floor heating mats electricity 6.4 kw no R-value of wall insulation R-26 R-value of ceiling insulation R-42 Ventilation air heat recovery (yes or no) Predicted or measured annual energy use Any other pertinent info yes 6,064 kwh surplus energy of 1,400 kwh
Location (city, state) House size (floor area in square feet) Number of floors URL of web site where info is found Number of occupants Number of bedrooms Turner Falls, Massachusetts 1,152 sq ft Single-story http://www.builditsolar.com/projects/solarhomes/mazeroenergy /MAZeroEnergy.html Single family 3 bedrooms, 1 bath Type of heating system (forced air, hydronic, radiant floor, heat pump, etc. Heat pump, Passive Solar Heating & Cooling Main heating fuel (electricity, natural gas, wood, oil, etc.) Size of photovoltaic system (kilowatts) Solar water heater (yes or no) Electricity 4.94 kw No R-value of wall insulation R=42 R-value of ceiling insulation R=100 Ventilation air heat recovery (yes or no) Predicted or measured annual energy use No Used- 1,959 kw Produced- 4,892 kw Any other pertinent info Built 2008-2009 R=30 (conventional concrete flooring)
Location (city, state) House size (floor area in square feet) Boulder, Colorado 2,933 sq ft Number of floors 2.5 URL of web site where info is found Number of occupants Number of bedrooms Type of heating system (forced air, hydronic, radiant floor, heat pump, etc. Main heating fuel (electricity, natural gas, wood, oil, etc.) Size of photovoltaic system (kilowatts) Solar water heater (yes or no) http://www.greenhomesforsale.com/listing/view/united_states_col orado_boulder_80302_18868 n/a 4 bedrooms, 3 bath Solar (Active and Passive) Thermal System, Wood Stove Electricity, Wood 4.2 KW PV Yes R-value of wall insulation R-38 R-value of ceiling insulation R-50 Ventilation air heat recovery (yes or no) Predicted or measured annual energy use Any other pertinent info No 4.2 KW n/a
Location (city, state) Northampton, MA House size (floor area in square feet) 3600 Number of floors 3 URL of web site where info is found http://netzeroenergycoalition.com/case-study/1642/ Number of occupants 10 (two family) Number of bedrooms 3 Type of heating system (forced air, hydronic, radiant floor, heat pump, etc. Heat pump Main heating fuel (electricity, natural gas, wood, oil, etc.) Electricity Size of photovoltaic system (kilowatts) 7550 Solar water heater (yes or no) no R-value of wall insulation 41.00 R-value of ceiling insulation 60.00 Ventilation air heat recovery (yes or no) yes Predicted or measured annual energy use 8000 Any other pertinent info A green energy surcharge is being paid to National Grid
Concept Generation and Selection In order to generate the different concepts: customer needs, passive and active solar features were taken into account. The team wanted a house with the following features: - A house that consumed as much energy as it produced - A house with an effective aperture system (windows) - Effective solar panels - Rooftop angled in 45 degrees for a maximum solar output - 2 bedrooms - 2 bathrooms - Kitchen connected with the living room for a better space utilization - An aesthetically pleasing house Once a list of criteria was created the team began brainstorming individually and collaboratively some possible house concepts. A total of three house concepts were generated. Each concept had their pro s and con s so in order to determine which concept would be selected to be built the team had to use concept scoring. After the team calculated the ranks of each house they were able to determine the most efficient one out of the three that they generated. Following that, they decided to tweak the design of the final concept in a few minor ways in order to make it even more efficient. The following images below show a 3D interpretation of the selected house. The house is two stories tall, has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a basement for storage. The roof is angled and contain solar panels on the two highest sectioned parts, angled windows cover the lowest section of the roof. Through the use of an angled roof, solar panels, and windows the team was able to maximize passive and active solar gains. On top of that the flooring on the inside is made from a thick, dark slate in order to absorb and retain the heat effectively.
Design and Energy Analysis The team chose the desired solar panels for the house based off of the information that was gathered in class and put into an excel spreadsheet. The solar panels chosen were the HIT N330. They have a rated power of 330, they cost is approximately $1.40 per watt, they have an efficiency of 20.122%, and the cost of a single panel is $455.69, bringing the total cost of all the panels up to $6,904 being that the house needs 15 panels. Through the use of the zero energy home calculator the team was able to determine the total cost of the home based off of a number of factors. The total cost ended up being approximately $175,000 as the calculator shows below.
Once the model home was fully constructed the team ran an experiment where they concentrated a heat lamp angled at 45 degrees directly on the south side of the house for a full eight minutes, taking the temperature of the interior of the home every minute. After the eight minutes the team then proceeded to move the house in front of a box fan for seven minutes, again taking the temperature at each minute. The purpose behind doing these two things was to show how well the house was able to gain and retain heat. The table and chart below show the final results of the experiment.
Conclusion The Zero Energy Home project (ZEH) the group designed appears to be a success overall because the house is not only environmentally friendly but also comfortable for the occupants. The team designed and made the house based on different passive solar features. Therefore, the house satisfies all of the customer needs perfectly. The kilowatt needed for this dimension and the size of the house is appropriate so that the right amount of solar panels can produce the maximum energy, which makes the house a literally zero energy home.
References http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/homes/net-zero-home-massachusetts http://netzeroenergycoalition.com/case-study/1642/ http://www.greenhomesforsale.com/listing/view/united_states_colorado_boulder_80302_18868 http://www.builditsolar.com/projects/solarhomes/mazeroenergy/mazeroenergy.html http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/homes/net-zero-energy-house-125-square-foot