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"How to make your home net zero?"
Clean energy construction
What Are They & How to Design/Build Them?
A global call for cleaner energy. Federal benefits for renewable building. Regulatory changes. Demands for faster speed to market. Renewable energy construction helps the industry needs with green energy installations built by a partner with boots-on-the-ground experience and know-how.
Net-Zero Home Construction Guidelines
What Is A Net Zero Home?
Simply put a net zero home is a home which produces as much energy as it consumes. This leads to a net zero energy bill at the end of the year and a zero-carbon footprint. But a net zero home isn’t just a home with solar panels on it. A net zero home is designed with energy conservation first.
How to Design a Net-Zero Home?
Net zero is the balance between the power a home needs and the renewable energy you can generate to match the need. With new heating technology and lower-cost renewable energy systems, any home can get to net zero.
Building Science Basics
If you’re looking to retrofit or build a home to net zero it’s important to understand some fundamental basics on building science, that way you can better comprehend a few of the techniques we use in the process of your construction project. Below are just a few of the concepts used to help make homes net zero.
How to make your home net zero?
Solution
Advancing products, processes and solutions
1. Start with Smart Design
Cost-effective zero net energy homes begin with smart design. Designers and architects, as well as builders, and homebuyers, should be familiar with all the energy efficiency steps involved in building a net zero home. And the home should be designed so that builders and subcontractors can implement these steps as cost-effectively as possible. There are several design parameters to which builders should ask designers to pay special attention. Detailed communication between the builder and designer will ensure that these critical details don’t fall through the cracks.
2. Use the Sun for Solar Tempering
Using the sun for heating through south facing windows during the summer lowers heating costs. Shading those same windows in summer lowers cooling costs. Solar tempering aims to optimize this passive use of the sun’s heat, without incurring the added cost of thermal mass needed to achieve maximum passive solar heating. Solar tempering should be addressed in the design phase.
3. Select an Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling System
Highly-efficient, cost-effective, heating and cooling systems are essential to meeting the net zero energy goal. One good choice is an air source ductless heat pump, also called a mini-split heat pump. These systems are highly energy efficient and don’t have the shortcomings of central, forced-air systems or the high costs of thermal heat pumps.
4. Heat Water Wisely
Cost-effective zero net energy homes begin with smart design. Designers and architects, as well as builders, and homebuyers, should be familiar with all the energy efficiency steps involved in building a net zero home. And the home should be designed so that builders and subcontractors can implement these steps as cost-effectively as possible. There are several design parameters to which builders should ask designers to pay special attention. Detailed communication between the builder and designer will ensure that these critical details don’t fall through the cracks.
5. Select Energy Efficient Appliances and Electronics
Since zero energy homes have highly energy efficient building shells and use high efficiency HVAC and water heating equipment, a new category, appliances and electronics, becomes the most significant source of energy expenditure in zero energy homes. As a result, selecting high efficiency appliances and electronics becomes the final step needed to minimize home energy use.
