Wisdom Way Solar Village: Design, Construction, and Analysis of a Low Energy Community

Abstract

a basement insulated with blown cellulose....................................................... before and after cellulose insulation ............................................................ Unless otherwise noted, all figures were created by the CARB team.vi Benchmark (2007)............................................................................................................................... 13 Table 5. Results of REM/Rate Modeling on Natural Gas Use in Each Home Type......................... * ............................................................................. .............................................................................. 16 Table 9. 12-Month Gas Consumption for Nine Occupied WWSV Homes....................................... Season ................................................. Homes ................................... • Careful site plan so that all homes have solar access (for active and passive systems) List of Tables• Cellulose insulation providing R-40 walls, R-50 ceiling, and R-40 floors• Triple-pane windows• Airtight construction (~0.1 cfm50/ft 2 enclosure area)• Solar water heating systems with tankless, gas, auxiliary heaters• PV systems (2.8 or 3.4kW STC );• 2-4 bedrooms, 1,100-1,700 ft 2 .The design heating loads in the homes were so small that each home is heated by a single, sealed-combustion, natural gas room heater. The cost savings attributed to the simple HVAC systems helped to make possible the tremendous investments in the homes' envelopes. The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) team monitored temperatures and comfort in several homes during the winter of 2009-2010. In the spring of 2011, CARB obtained utility bill information from 13 occupied homes.Because of efficient lights, appliances, and conscientious home occupants, the energy generated by the solar electric systems exceeded the electric energy used in most homes. Most homes, in fact, had an annual net credit from the electric utility. Total natural gas costs averaged $377/yr (for heating, water heating, cooking, and clothes drying). Because of net credits from solar electricity generation, average total energy costs ($337/yr including all utility fees) were even less than average natural gas costs. The highest annual energy bill for all of the evaluated homes was $458; the lowest was $171.

Fort Devens: Cold Climate, Energy-Efficient, Market-Rate Townhomes

“…At RDI's Wisdom Way development, similar buildings made do with 11,000-Btu unit heaters and no real distribution system (Aldrich 2012). Because these homes are market rate, the developer thought such an unconventional approach would limit sales and insisted on a more conventional approach.…”

“…CARB used lessons learned from previous Building America cold-climate research to incorporate several of the enclosure strategies developed with Rural Development Inc. (RDI), including the double-frame walls and dense-pack cellulose fill (Aldrich 2012). These homes are meant to be "market rate" not definitionally "affordable," so two major departures from the successful RDI homes were incorporated: fully insulated and semi-conditioned basements and traditional HVAC systems.…”

Efficient Multifamily Homes in a Hot Humid Climate by Atlantic Housing Partners

“…While BA has conducted similar efforts for attached housing in hot-dry (Dakin, 2012), cold (Aldrich, 2012), and marine (Gordon, 2012) climates, little work has been done to demonstrate achievement of BA goals in this housing sector in hot-humid climates. The report presents results of energy modeling that document typical performance of the specification package, along with Home Energy Rating System (HERS) ratings conducted on a large scale to show consistency of application.…”

Performance House -- A Cold Climate Challenge Home

“…The philosophy and science behind the "Performance House" were based on the premise that homes should be safe, healthy, comfortable, durable, efficient, and adapt with the homeowners. Recent BA research on new construction homes in the cold climate region has focused on high-R wall assemblies and ductless heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems (Aldrich 2012;Stecher and Allison 2012a;Stecher et al 2012b). The whole-house building approach of this project focused on optimizing more typical builder practices to provide energy efficiency while simplifying the construction, maintenance, and operation of the home.…”