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Building a ZEH Home

By Solar energy | November 19, 2008

Building a New Zero Energy House

The past few weeks (usually on Mondays) this blog has been highlight success stories of homeowners implemented changes to make their existing home a Net Zero Home (ZEH).

While retrofitting a home for renewable energy is a good idea, today we focus on what it takes to build a new Net Zero Home from the ground up.

What’s different about building a Net Zero Home?

Here’s the story:

new net ZEH
Jeff Christian looks over the construction of ZEH5

When you build a Zero Energy House from scratch you have more options for economical energy saving.  As we have seen by looking at the first two options, reducing the need for energy reduces the cost of the PV.

Here are some general things you want to do when building a ZEH.  The importance of each item will depend on your climate.  Some of the items may not be applicable under all circumstances

Reduce cooling loads:

  1. Increase the reflectivity of the roof (metal roofs with high reflectivity in the infrared spectrum work well)
  2. Use low e-windows
  3. Use double pane windows
  4. Prevent southfacing windows from being in direct sun during summer (using adequate overhangs is one way)
  5. Use deciduous trees on east and west to shade windows during summer
  6. Plan for stack ventilation
  7. Open windows at night and close them during the day
  8. Use efficient cooling (geothermal is one option)

Reduce heating loads:

  1. Use deciduous trees on east and west sides of the home to allow sun in during winter
  2. Southfacing windows should allow sun in during the winter
  3. Have thermal mass to absorb winter sun
  4. Use an efficient heating unit such as geothermal

Reduce heating and cooling loads:

  1. Install ducts in conditioned space
  2. Tighten ducts (check by testing: 3%-6% leak is ok)
  3. Minimize air infiltration (SIPS, blower door test)
  4. Use adequate insulation for your area
  5. Use ventilator recovery
  6. Use thermal mass

Reduce hot water loads:

  1. Install a solar hot water system
  2. Minimize the distance from hot water to the point of use
  3. Use a circulating pump for long runs

Minimize other loads:

  1. Use energy star appliances, (compare Kwh consumption of different models and sizes, not just low or high energy on tag)
  2. Use compact fluorescent (CF) light bulbs
  3. Eliminate phantom loads

Generate energy with photovoltaic panels:

  1. Install a 1-5kw system
  2. Ensure that the panels face south
  3. Ensure that the panels are not shaded
  4. If panels are fix-mounted, tilt panels at latitude

Monitor energy consumption:

  1. Use a whole-house monitoring meter such as the TED meter
  2. Monitor individual appliances using a plug meter
  3. Review your electric bill

Information provided by Sustainable Future, LLC.
For most current information refer to http://SustainableFuture.biz.

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