If you ever wanted to see a solar village? You have to see this one. The Solar Decathlon is a competition to design and build a completely solar powered home. The Department of Energy along with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the sponsor of this event. The event, held on the national mall in Washington DC comprises of 20 homes, designed and built by students from competing universities from around the world. They build their homes and then transport them to Washington and rebuild them on the national mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol building. Pretty cool huh! Once completed the homes are open for public tours, where you get to walk through the homes and talk to the people that designed and built them.
The homes for the competition are small in proportion to a normal house (800 sq/ft). This is more about the size restraints on moving and rebuilding the homes in DC. It also levels the playing field, the teams have strict guidelines that they need to follow, as the project has it's own specific building codes. To find out more about the event check out the web site.
http://www.solardecathlon.org/
This will be my second time working on a Solar decathlon home and my third time attending the event. In 2007 I was the construction manager/supervisor for the MIT entry into the competition. To say the least it was one of my most challenging projects to date. We had just four months to completely build the home and transport it to DC for the event, It was the most difficult four months of my life. Not that an 800 sq/ft home would be difficult to build in that time frame, but the labor force for the project was all volunteer comprised primarily of students and a community of environmentally conscious people who loved the idea. For me it was the chance to fulfill a goal, I has set for myself nearly 30 years earlier while dreaming of the future. It was an amazing project and help me gain the knowledge, I needed to continue building homes of this kind. While I would never take on the role I had for the 2007 decathlon project, It is hard not to be involved. The team of students that took on this years project comprises of students from the Boston Architectural Collage in conjunction with Tufts University, or commonly known as Team Boston. The student leaders for this project were also involved with the MIT project in 2007 and that is were I got to know them. Early on they asked me to be an advisor for the 2009 project and I gladly excepted the chance to be involved again but in a much more limited role.
Over the last year I have met with the team on different occasions to discuss the project as it progressed. In the last few months I have traveled up to the job site on different occasions to check on progress and sometimes lend a hand. As they push to finish the project in the next week of so, and then start dis assembly in preparation for the move to DC, I hope to help them along. Once in DC they have just 7 days to fully reassemble the house for the competition. I will be traveling down with them for the last 3 days of the build and the opening ceremony. This time I will take the time to check out the other homes, in 2007 I was so spent by the end of construction, I think I slept for a week.
While some of the designs are far fetched the principles are the same, build a home completely powered by solar energy. Make it attractive, efficient, livable, comfortable and affordable and display it to the public. While many of these homes are not really affordable in the broad sense, 2007's win was Germany and their home cost $1,400,000. for an 800 sq/ft home. That didn't even include transporting it to the US from Germany. Team Boston's goal is to make it an affordable one as well as livable, while still generating all the energy needs from solar energy.
http://www.livecurio.us/
While not exactly what I would consider affordable the cost for this project was around $300,000, slightly more expensive than the MIT project in 2007. I never did get the final costs for the house, but by my record keeping the cost were around $265,000. not including the prototype warm lite wall, some things you just couldn't put a price on.
If you have the desire to learn as much as you can about new techniques, systems, designs and efficiency then this is the event to attend. Tour the homes, talk to the students that designed and built these homes and find out what homes of the future will look like. I will post a slide show of the house as it stands and the competition as it progresses, stay tuned.
Tom Pittsley
ecobuilder@aol.com
http://www.eebt.org/
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
My first Zero Energy Home built in 2007
My first zero energy home
In 2006-2007 I had the opportunity to assist in the building of a zero energy home for the 2007 DOE Solar Decathlon competition. When I first met with the MIT Solar Decathlon team in late 2006, they had chosen their overall design, but had yet to fully engineer all of the systems and components that made up the home, that where not yet specified. I signed on as the construction manager and it was an incredibly difficult and rewarding experience, to build a zero energy home, designed by students, built by students and community volunteers, and only 4-1/2 months of build time to do it. Did I forget to mention that it had to be completed, then dismantled, transported to Washington DC and then fully reassembled in those same four months. Yes, this house was moved to Washington DC and set up on the national mall, along with 19 other houses from teams of students from around the world as part of the DOE Solar Decathlon competition.
I have to tell you that I hated the design from the beginning, not the floor plan and spacial layouts but the elevations were down right ugly, at least in my mind and not an easy design to build. We had some issues with things like roof lines that sloped back towards the middle of the building. Great for capturing water but not so nice for the New England ice and snow problems. As we got closer and closer for the time to build I set out dead lines for Architects to finalize spec,s and provide final drawings. Choices were made for the critical elements framing systems, insulation systems, HVAC, solar systems,lighting, appliances, siding, interiors and all of those other things that make a home. For me the task was somewhat daunting, I was for the most part the only experienced carpenter/builder on the job, we did however manage to wrangle in a few others along the way, ( Thanks, Rob Darnell). We for the most part were looking for people to donate or discount the items needed for building as the school did not fund the project in any meaning full way. Our PI for the project Kurt, was in a little over his head, but with his military like attitude and ability to improvise he made the funding happen, along with some generous donors. Our ever optimistic project manager Corey had a knack for finding volunteers and there were 40-50 along the way. I was stuck with the task of teaching these volunteers while sometimes learning myself and building a house with them. The learning for me was the best part, we had many opportunities to work with new and innovative products and systems. Using the best available PV system to provide the energy, was needed to meet the energy demands of the house. I forgot to mention the car, this house also charged our electric car. One part of the competition was miles driven by the car during the week long event. The entire south roof was covered with solar panels 42 in all capable of providing a peak load of 9 Kw's. 
The project was an epic one for me, 4-1/2 months from start of construction to assembly on the national mall, it seemed more like 3 years compacted in those few months. I logged over 2,000 man hours in those few short months and at the end I was too exhausted to fully enjoy the fruits of my labor. I did however get to meet the former Secretary of Energy, Samuel Bodman as he took a tour of the house. While in the end the house came in 13th place, I was happy just to be a part of this project. What I hoped for, was that we could build a home that provided all of the energy needed and in that we succeeded. One of the parts of the competition was energy balance, were all of your energy production and usage was monitored and recorded. We did just that, we provided all of the energy the house used over the course of the week. Each day the house was required to perform specific tasks, like cooking, shower test, wash dishes, maintain a refrigerator at a specific temperature, run a television and computer, in other words it was made to function like an everyday house. In the end we did it, and for me win lose or draw this was the ultimate goal, building a true zero energy home. As I take that experience forward, the challenge now becomes how to build this affordable and we are getting closer every day.
The project was an epic one for me, 4-1/2 months from start of construction to assembly on the national mall, it seemed more like 3 years compacted in those few months. I logged over 2,000 man hours in those few short months and at the end I was too exhausted to fully enjoy the fruits of my labor. I did however get to meet the former Secretary of Energy, Samuel Bodman as he took a tour of the house. While in the end the house came in 13th place, I was happy just to be a part of this project. What I hoped for, was that we could build a home that provided all of the energy needed and in that we succeeded. One of the parts of the competition was energy balance, were all of your energy production and usage was monitored and recorded. We did just that, we provided all of the energy the house used over the course of the week. Each day the house was required to perform specific tasks, like cooking, shower test, wash dishes, maintain a refrigerator at a specific temperature, run a television and computer, in other words it was made to function like an everyday house. In the end we did it, and for me win lose or draw this was the ultimate goal, building a true zero energy home. As I take that experience forward, the challenge now becomes how to build this affordable and we are getting closer every day. Some of the more dedicated members of the MIT team consisted of a group of students from the Boston Architectural College. This group of students along with support from there Institution decided to take on the challenge in 2009 and are building their home at this time. They formed a partnership with Tufts University to make up what is called team Boston. Here is a link to their project, http://www.livecurio.us/ . While not as involved as in the past, I have been acting a an advisor for the team as they undergo this challenging project. I like this one better for the architectural appearance but the energy efficiency end appears to have been compromised for aesthetics. Meeting the energy challenge remains to be seen, but I have a lot of confidence in their ability to get it done and done right. Here is a picture of where this house stands today, with still a lot of work to go and just a few short weeks they have their work cut out for them. No solar systems have been installed, no insulation, no mechanical systems, no electrical and only the rough plumbing has been completed. I'm glad I'm on the outside looking in at this one.
Tom Pittsley
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Introduction to zero energy homes
Building a zero energy homes isn't a big deal if you have a million dollars,building one at an affordable cost is the challenge. What is a zero energy home? A zero energy home is on that is capable of producing all of the energy it needs, for heating, cooling, lighting, hot water, and all of the other appliances we have in our homes. The key to building this in a cost effective way starts with efficiency, reducing the homes energy needs is the first step. How many ways are there to reduce energy usage? How many ways do we use it? Make a list of all of the energy we use in our homes and then come up with ways to reduce each one, starting with the largest users, like heating and cooling. These two typically use more energy over the course of a year than all of the other energy consumers in your home combined. Building an air tight, super insulated envelope is the first step in the process but just the beginning. Along with an air tight house, you need to consider passive solar energy and how it relates to your home. Here in MA we use the sun as a way to help heat your home and then shade it during the summer to reduce cooling loads. If you live in the deep south you would want to shade you windows almost all of the time and even limit the amount facing the southern exposure. I am of course talking about the US but if you live in the southern hemisphere this would be north instead of south. Simple steps during the design process are key to using passive solar energy wisely. Proper orientation to utilize the available energy to it's full advantage. Proper siting to ensure that trees do not block out the suns energy in the winter, but also located to block it during the summer, not always an easy task. I will continue to post about this subject as we continue to build more homes heading in this direction, always searching for ways to build better buildings that use less energy. Renewable energy is the easy part, anyone can put solar panels on their roof and start producing energy today. But if your home isn't energy efficient first you will be throwing away that energy and your money as well. Some solar guys hate me, I tell it like it is. If you install solar panels without first finding ways to reduce your energy needs you are putting you money in the wrong place. Energy efficiency improvements always have a greater payback than renewable energy systems and should always be the first step for any home considering solar energy systems.
Building a zero energy homes in a cost effective way consists of integrating four key elements, design, methods, materials and systems. By integrating these four elements I can today build a 2,000 sq/ft zero energy home for around $330,000. Not exactly affordable but not out of the reach of most Americans. Many have payed a lot more for a home that consumes thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in energy costs yearly and produces tons of carbon emissions in the process. Stay tuned more to come in the near future.
Tom Pittsley
ecobuilder@aol.com
www.eebt.org
Building a zero energy homes in a cost effective way consists of integrating four key elements, design, methods, materials and systems. By integrating these four elements I can today build a 2,000 sq/ft zero energy home for around $330,000. Not exactly affordable but not out of the reach of most Americans. Many have payed a lot more for a home that consumes thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in energy costs yearly and produces tons of carbon emissions in the process. Stay tuned more to come in the near future.
Tom Pittsley
ecobuilder@aol.com
www.eebt.org
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