By Stacy Hunt
Thanks to programs such as the EPA's Energy Star, it's possible nowadays to build a home that saves a significant amount of energy. We also know that it's possible to use energy efficiency as a marketing lure for consumers, and energy-efficient building strategies usually help builders increase the quality of their homes: The attention to detail in the design and construction process needed to build high-efficiency homes also minimizes issues related to construction defects.
But what about the next generation of energy-efficiency technology—strategies that will give our nation better energy security and ensure that consumers aren't paying half their salaries to run their households? In other words, what about building homes that create more energy than they use? That's where the Department of Energy's Building America research program comes in.
Building America has been around since the early 1990s, starting as a way to create a strong research and technical support foundation for increasing the energy efficiency of the nation's housing stock. The program began with a couple of innovative research companies, a few committed product manufacturers, and some cutting edge building companies. The program was organized into teams that work together to develop new systems and strategies and to implement them with builders until they're relatively foolproof and ready to be introduced in the mass market.
Houses that generate electricity
Today, the program has five teams that work with more than 500 partners across the nation, researching new energy technologies and building systems that will allow our industry to build zero-energy homes, which create more energy than they need to operate.
Much of the research for zero-energy homes is done with individual builder and manufacturer partners, testing system strategies (e.g., hot water distribution, new insulation or mechanical systems). Once this system research is done, the teams take on building complete demonstration homes utilizing tested strategies, like this project in Chapel Hill, N.C.
In January of 2006, Landmark Renovation and Building Company undertook this research and demonstration home with IBACOS (Integrated Building And Construction Solutions) through the Building America program. The goal—to achieve a minimum of 50% energy savings—was met through the use of a variety of energy-efficiency strategies:
- Improved building enclosure and window thermal performance
- Improved airtightness, durability, temperature and humidity control and HVAC system efficiency
- Improved lighting systems, miscellaneous electrical loads and major appliances
- Site generation of power through photovoltaic (solar energy) systems
In a 2002 Building America project, Centex Homes built the 21st Century Performance Home in the Los Olivos development in Livermore, California. The house was built as a Building America research and demonstration project in cooperation with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Davis Energy Group and the Florida Solar Energy Center.
The home's owners are strong advocates for the energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies showcased in the home—and who wouldn't be? They've yet to pay an electric bill; as the roof-mounted solar panels generate 100 percent of the electricity needed to power the house. And the home uses about 45 percent less natural gas for space and water heating than other homes in the area.
Projects like these help the Building America program demonstrate new technologies and develop strategies to provide guidelines on implementing new technologies to the mass market. However, partnering in the program isn't so much about market differentiation. Partners in the program gain access to one of the strongest groups of residential energy efficiency and technology experts in the country and have the opportunity to research new systems and strategies for their businesses with the support of a Federal government program.
Freelance writer Stacy Hunt is the former office manager for BuildIQ.
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