Net Zero Homes: Why it's easy to build one now!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- NREL Special Presentation Lecture Series
A Net Zero Energy home produces as much energy over one year as it uses. With recent advances in technology and construction techniques, it is not as hard to reach this goal as some might think. By lowering the energy usage of a home through passive solar design, high levels of insulation, and energy efficient systems, coupled with photovoltaic panels producing electricity on site, we can design a NZE home today. Peter Ewers will show several NZE homes designed by his firm, Ewers Architecture, and share some of the lessons learned through the design and construction process. Come hear what to do, what not to do, and what might be coming in the future for NZE homes.
Peter Ewers has more than 30 years’ experience designing a variety of residential and commercial projects. He has been a licensed architect for 27 years, practicing in Colorado for the past 23 years. Peter founded Ewers Architecture in 1998. Peter is an advocate for sustainable design through speaking engagements at venues including the World Renewable Energy Forum, AIA 2030 Challenge classes, NREL Special Presentation Lecture Series, and more
Recorded for the Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) by Martin Voelker.
My left ear thoroughly enjoyed this presentation.
Thought there is no sound since only had my left earbud on until I saw your comment. Saved the video for me. Thank you!
I thought my right ear bud stoppsed working for a sec😂
Same. Freaked my right ear died.
Turn on mono audio
Me2
I shouldn't have to talk about it, we just should be going there.
No argument from me. I have been building energy efficient passive solar homes for 41 years
Great information. Thanks. Tell those people with the overheated house to get exterior rolling shutters. It is too late to add a slab afterwards. Maybe a tile floor would add a little thermal mass. But exterior shutters will block excessive heat gain when you don't want it. And you can roll them down at night to prevent heat loss at night too.
Jesus stay focused I can't take it.
Excellent presentation. I have some panels on my house that really drives down the cost during the summer but winter is still pretty high for electricity, but I'm looking to building an ADU on my property and wish to make it a passive net zero home, so all this info is great!
Other thoughts on roofing insulation. Roxul is a great way to add insulation at a value price while cutting sound transmission
This is FANTASTIC! This was just in-depth enough to get my head around the idea but not too much that I felt overwhelmed. The delivery for the information was great as well. The only thing is (it's not even that big of a deal) if he still does these lectures, can the audio be fixed so the shirt doesn't rub against the mic?
Buildings with high enough water consumption could benefit from waste heat recovery system, rain water catchment system. Computing waste heat can be used to heat water or air where it is available. There are washing machines with hot and cold inlet - could benefit from water re-circulation system, Open Source hardware and software. Stuff should last a long time, be easily repairable, upgrade-able part by part, easily refurbish-able and lastly easily recyclable. We should make a couple of DC standards for appliances like 48v DC standard for small PV systems and a higher voltage one for large systems with a battery and/or electric vehicle, so there are less losses in the system.
There is a local guy here in my city in Canada that has developed a system using steel and polystyrene that almost eliminates concrete in buildings. This is a game changer. I am waiting for someone with a budget to order up a tiny house and I will use this system. Polycore by S I Construction Systems
Polystyrene? Is that a good substitute for concrete? Taking into consideration concrete has a life span of say ... 1000yrs . The real problem is stupid humans use it and then smash it up into small peices again , well before its used by date .
@@paulsouth4794 Concrete is one of the least 'green' materials you can use. It also does not last anywhere near 1000 years. If you get 50 years without failure you're lucky. 'Failure' is when the concrete no longer performs it's function, this happens when significant cracking occurs. Once that does, it's just a matter of time before catastrophic failure. Just because the concrete 'looks ok' does not mean it is. That building that came down in Miami this past year is a particularly poignant example...
@@JustaCarpenterToo Roman's made some pretty good structures that utilized concrete. Some are still standing .
I reverte back to my 'stupid human ' point .
@@paulsouth4794 humans always blame the tool or the material and almost never themselves.
In China, you need a permit to buy a knife (probably of a certain size), for example. Maybe we need more money spent on lessening stupidity.
Have you ever done solar assisted heat pumps? We did some back in the 80’s. What about VRF heat recovery systems for homes?They have really taken off here in California for light commercial. I had a heat pump water heater in the log home I built in 1989. It was a pain, and it use didn’t provide the recovery in needed. I used an air source heat pump, 3.5 tons, for the 1800’ structure.
Four years ago we purchase a hybrid heat pump hot water heater and we love it. The fact that we can change it to the demands of the season are important to us, and the unit also acts as a basement dehumidifier. There are too many trees that block direct sunlight so solar panels were never an option. Our electricity is from hydro, but more people are driving electric in our city so I see a shift in power demands. Just on my street alone I can count over 30 electric and hybrid automobiles, and I'm driving one of them.
Evs are destroying the planet too tho
It's a good idea to have the panels raised up so that air can circulate underneath, they work better if kept cool.
not taking long for pv to become a tiny portion of the budget. This morning was looking at 395 watt half cell panels .. 20% efficient.. $96 for each panel. Using micro inverters they are down to around $100 for 320 watt output per channel. So what does this mean? $5000 for a 20 panel array that will put out more than enough for most homes.. This is less the power panels racking and installation.. still a darn site better than what it costs with some installers who are working paying on that $40,000 bass boat.
Have ya considered how much waste is created when making that car? Also, at the cost for only the more accredited, just seem silly to me.
I'm going to build a net zero in a really cold climate, U walls, stab, roof- all below 0.1, only south glazing, pv max 10kWp, no heat pumps, no heat recovery, no gas. Keep your fingers crossed😆
make some videos and post it on youtube. I'd be interested in hearing the results.
@Dale Page you mean a wood-fired gasification boiler, right?
Great presentation! At minute 48 you discuss the amount of electricity that is generated from solar panels oriented in different directions and your graph is representative of a specific location, but I think it depends on where you live. I wonder what a similar graph looks like in northeast America. I bet there is much discrepancy among south-east-west-orientations
Why would you not want the east and west sun heating up your house if its in Colorado? Then have a total shade method in summer if needed. Maybe cooling in summer is more important than heat in winter. Idk I really like geothermal concepts with a heat exchanger more and more. Very informative vid. Thank you
Electric demand charge. NB, Canada - so this is context. We had an electric Fire pump. Diesel back-up. 76 Hectare site. When any building had a Fire Alarm, the pumps were commanded to start. It was a $500 bill for every start. Did not matter how long it ran, just that the electric demand condition was met. We had 14 - + 59 seconds to determine the alarm cause - if confirmed - the pump could be stopped and NO charge. 15 min - $500. I recall a month - where we had dry fire systems, that had a little water in a down pipe and sprinkler head. It was fine when it was frozen, BUT - a warm spell could melt the frozen head, and once the pipe was split - that was all it needed. Usually happened at night. It happened 4 time in 30 days. $2000 bill for just a 15 x 15 building with 2 pumps and 2 fluorescent lights that were never on. And with dry systems, once you had water past the flap valve - it would take till summer to get all the water out. I am much north of you, but the info matches my house refit some 25 yrs ago. 20-40-100 was my numbers.
You mentioned the initial cost of Geo Thermal systems can be expensive but once installed are there any maintenance costs involved in this in comparison to others?
Also, why did you not talk about the new Thin Film Solar Panels that can even be stuck on your walls and windows that are new entrants in the market? i really see thin films really used everywhere since they are cheap and literally can be printed.
How is the cost-to-r-value on the straw bales? Doesn't it smell? I love the idea if it works well! Very enviro friendly.
I don't have personal experience with buildings constructed with this method, but I doubt it would smell if you keep them dry.
I don't have wide experience, but I toured a few, and they didn't smell at all.
Wouldn't the straw walls be stuckoed over ?
have you used aircrete for insulation?
Your hair looks great
Heat pump drier, impressive!
Here in Colorado you're better off to hang up the wash outside, dry in an hour and smells wonderful. Those Bosch heat pump driers were not initially very well reviewed but chances are they improved.
Yes, but a heat pump drier has 3 advantages 1) no gas energy, 2) not too much electricity energy, and 3) you can dry your clothes in a hurry. Instead of using full gas or electricty, the heat pump pulls most of its heat from the ambient air.
@@josephmedlow536 Yes, all true, but when I checked 2 or 3 years ago I'd never seen as many one star reviews, it was devastating.
Keep in mind that it blows cool/cold air into a living space where a washer and dryer is most often located. A heat pump water heater operates on a similar principle but is more often located in a basement, garage or other non-living space. I like the idea, but it should be vented into an ERV.
@@CORenewable yeah my mum had a heat pump dryer a couple years back; it took ages to dry and it would still feel damp, sure it's energy efficient/hour but if it runs 2-3 times as long it's not efficient at all. Eventually me and my brother bought a new condense dryer for her though, but I'm not going to invest in a heat pump one for the next 5-10 years.
How can this be done in Cartagena Colombia 🇨🇴? Is this an international option on building? Maybe I’ll do modular 🤔
So, we can cut energy use 40% by getting rid of buildings. Sounds good!
I've been looking for an up to date book on passive solar design does anyone have a recommendation?? I'm looking for a pretty detailed guide to build a home.
I suggest checking out Mike Oehler's "The $50 and Up Underground/Earth-Integrated House Book"
This is a really great book with very good details. I just bought it a couple months ago.... Passive House Details: Solutions for High-Performance Design
1st Edition
How is building a double 2 "x 4" wall cheaper than building a 2" x 6" wall? How are structural insulated panels able to support a roofing system with a heavy snow loads? In Alaska I remember installing horizontal 2" x 2"s on the interior of exterior 2" x 6" walls, on two foot centers, and filling in with 1.5" of dense foam board insulation. One can always hang their clothes outdoors to dry.
A double stud 2x4 wall is not cheaper than a 2x6 stud wall... it will be a little more expensive. However, if you reduce the 2x6 exterior wall to 2x4 construction, the small amount of savings there can be applied to the extra cost of building the second 2x4 interior wall... so the increase in cost is not as much as you might expect. Your construction in Alaska is definitely on the right track!
SIPS are structurally stronger than 2x6 construction by several times over.
You have great Net Zero ideas. I was wondering your opinion of foam concrete ?
It seems to be a good way to build or fill fast and inexpensive walls that make good use of available resources, and a fast developing technology.
I assume you are referring to Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF's). We have used ICFs on many of our projects, and this is a good way to create well-insulated walls that will last for a long time. You may also be interested in checking out Faswall or Durisol which are similar products but do not use polystyrene. These walls are typically a little more expensive, but can be a good alternative for areas where labor costs are high, concrete is expensive, or the homeowner wants to perform some of this work.
I was referring to the aircrete concrete mixed with foam:
th-cam.com/video/FS3BTDBMt7I/w-d-xo.html
Also known as Foam concrete, Lightweight Cellular Concrete (LCC), Low Density Cellular Concrete (LDCC), aircrete, foamed concrete, foamcrete, cellular lightweight concrete or reduced density concrete, is defined as a cement based slurry, with a minimum of 20% (per volume) foam.
There are many DYI kits and different products & manufacturers, but all a similar mix of concrete and a foaming agent that yields very lightweight slabs you can build with & cut with a saw. It can also be sprayed into an inflated form to make solid dome homes.
The aircrete / foam concrete is simple to use and I imagine that with a proper design could be made Net Zero or better...
(My area of interest is in disaster relief & emergency shelters, rapid deployed low cost storm proof / quake proof / fire proof refugee housing. Net Zero Design is attractive because it is expected the power grid is disabled or destroyed by natural disaster.)
I've only recently learned about aircrete. There were some high hopes projects for this a few years ago which to my knowledge didn't pan out. And the commercial outfit in the US which licenses Aircrete so far has not much traction. I'll ask my contacts at NREL about it.
@@CORenewable I'm thinking aircrete needs a new competitor. Something that uses different, but non-flammable chemicals for fast inflating structures that can fill with porous quick drying foam. Setup the inflatable structure, apply powerful blower / sprayer to the input, and the structure fills and forms right before your eyes. Wait a day and it's dry.
Begin to move furniture in and connect the wires, plumbing, hookups, etc. :-)
Faster than 3-D house printing or using forms and poured heavier concrete.
@@SeaJay_Oceans There's a good chance people are working on it.
Drawing it long is no longer needed, Square lowers exterior envelope, Modern LowE lets enough sun in, and keeps it in in my experience. Even without those cool occluding baffles. Less emphasis in thermal mass? Of course, you would need a geothermal system if you get rid of thermal mass. Have you ever worked a ultra high thermal mass house? I have over 260,000lbs of mass in my 1500sqft home. zone 5A, can be heated with a 18k btu single zone mini split EASY, or sub 1 cord of wood. None of this fancy expensive stuff. Earth berming key, high mass key, good lowE key. I built for $30 per sqft owner built.
My next home will have a half million pounds of mass. Mostly clean/dried sandy soil form on site. Come visit!
What passive solar design would you suggest for places that are hot all the time, we have mild winters in Sol. CA and never use the heat. The big issue is keeping it cool for 9 out of 12 months.
I would suggest using the double stud system and having 2 sets of 2x4s in the walls with dense fill cellulose insulation. Then, design the windows for minimal solar gain. Use .20 U value or better windows, as he recommends. And this is the key element- exterior rolling shutters. Keeping them rolled down during the heat of the day will eliminate any solar gain. You can get them so they are controlled by a remote or even by your phone or computer. Not cheap, but will save a lot on ac.
Earthships.
@@KathleenEdge yup - underground.
It can also look better as the land on top can be all greenery. I'd rather see greenery than a house - regardless of how fancy-schmancy the house is.
Apart from solar panels it’s been easy to build them since the simple science was worked out - about seven decades ago
thoughts on electric tankless water heaters?
They draw alot of power. Gas and solar is the way to go for water.
And now here we are in 2004 with a million plus Tesla's on the road and millions more EV's to come. The ideal set-up is a PV system and storage and an EV or two even if the living structure isn't ideal in terms of energy retention.
This will work great in Canada?
One could have a draughty home butsese solar with undrfloor heating and infrared heating... This might be more cost effective in some cases, on my new build for example
At 53:00 the prices potion of the graph is not visible.
Notice No mention of the house size which is a MAJOR factor to energy use - size equal dollars = arch and contractor fee/profit but also effects ( maintenance cost / finance cost / building cost and directly energy cost s)
that's because they market this concept to richer people and those with ego issues who want the world to know how "good" they are for being environmentally sound (even if they aren't).
Local building codes allowing smaller minimum sq footage would go a long way to helping the environment - if only because it is harder to fill them with a bunch of useless crap inhabitants will never fully use.
Because there were no real solutions presented at all, the environmentalism movement is hijacked and supports the status quo and building industry. The building industry lobbyists wrote these policies because they increase their profits. I turned my septic tank into a biogas digester, I’m working on powering the home with it. People are doing this all over the world but clueless in US.
I wonder if it would be worthwhile combining a hot water heater with the kitchen refrigerator/freezer. Obviously the refrigerator puts out waste heat, so why not use that to heat your hot water.
By my very rough estimate it could save about 25% on your hot water costs. But maybe it would be too complicated & costly so not worth it. . .
Can a wood burning stove, rocket mass heater, or Masonry heater be part of the net zero requirement?
if you are burning small sticks, windfall not cutting down trees specifically then that is net zero, because those sticks would rot anyway. So Rocket stove is the way to go, and capture the heat by burying the chimney in a thermal mass
@@utubeape I've been reading about the rocket stove for quite some time.. The big issue is insurance companies and local fire codes. A UL rocket stove is required.
as firewood, a man I knew who had 100+ acres used naturally felled trees that volunteered on their own. His house had a woodstove and was less than 900 sq ft and always felt toasty in winter.
Can you make Monument be a net-zero?
what is up with contractors changing the building specs?
was smiling with the induction cooktop, along with the GSHP. Oh my.. with all these energy savers I can build the shell of a nice walk out basement house with a bit of solar added. The minisplits now have in ceiling evaporators that one would only think are air registers. Most Duct work that I would install is to run a ERV and a dehumidifier.. Up in Co. I am not sure they would know what a dehumidifier is.. Newbies in that part of the world suffer with the super low humidity
We are making a big push to find less costly ways to get to net zero energy. Fortunately there are great innovations that are helping us get there.
@@EwersArchitecture with all the changes I keep thinking encapsulation.. as much as insulation.. Seal and caulk everything tape or fluid apply to ever joint and nail or staple. Then again also thinking about using aac below grade with fluid applied spray or roll to get the basement done. Perhaps you have heard something one way or the other about using mgo sips. lots of ways to get to the same end points
@@stevepailet8258 I agree... make the exterior envelope as tight as possible. A new product out there is Aerobarrier, which sprays sealant into the building under pressure and closes up any gaps in the exterior.
@@EwersArchitecture This would make sense if the envelope was under negative pressure .I would imagine that in this situation areas with voids would be the ones quickest to be filled
@@EwersArchitecture Thought this one of the moss compelling developments in air sealing. down to 0.3 ach is astounding
In a net zero community what incentivizes anyone to operate and maintain the grid? Because we're talking about a piece of the system that's critical to the operation of net zero buildings which under those ideal conditions will no longer have any net sales to support it.
Regarding the power buy back issue, about '45, when generating more than you need. I know my though is it out of the box. As generating currencies are a huge power waste, but when you're a gamer, there are services that pay you to rent out your computing power. This solves 2 issues, first you 'consume' all the power you generate second you get a fairer price for it, especially in peak.
This is the #1 issue. The money is in the power or in this case control is a better word. It's not as much about the power in KW as it is the control of the power companies.
I think if a power grid in an area uses mostly nuclear energy that it's very close to zero if you take in some of those essentials to making a Net Zero house
❤😊
For Net Zero Buildings design, first comes: "REDUCE BUILDING FOOTPRINT " on top of your 4 MUST steps.
Not necessarily. Very few people want to live in a shoe box. This argument is one which can take all the allure out of large scale change. Classic case of PERFECT being the enemy of GOOD.
@@bluecollartrader1791 The NZE folks should have a rating for square foot [or cubic feet] per planned occupant. The homes in the slide show seem to have lots of space. They also appear to be located in locations with fairly fragile environments.
The NZE folks should have a rating for square foot [or cubic feet] per planned occupant. The homes in the slide show seem to have lots of space. They also appear to be located in sites with fairly fragile environments.
He had to flex the tesla at the start lol
So your point is?
@@SuperDiagnostic No point bruh, just pointing out the flex
Yea. I seen that and laughed. 😁. Ok dude. Move on. 🤣. Funny observation. 👍🏽
So what. What's the issue? Tesla is a great company. Even if I can't afford one, they are coming down in price.
What does an R80 roof look like?
It can be a relatively ordinary roof with raised-heel trusses and 22 inches of blown-in cellulose insulation over a flat ceiling. My house has 19 inches and R-66.
Yea but how much does it cost above a normal price? $300,000 on top?
At 13.33 you were going to explain why you dare say thermal mass is becoming less important, but you never did. Would you care to? I consider the buffering function of it as essential. You actually explained that principle rather well, but did not provide an argument against it. I'd like to understand your reasoning behind it...
Does anyone know of a net zero home builder in N.Jersey
Do yourself a favor and listen to Joe Lstiburek before you search for home builders. This clown talked about using paint as a vapor barrier and didn't even balk at interior vapor barriers. You need to go and listen fast before you build a pile of junk.
No mention of a ventilation system in a tight house.
Absolutely we need an ERV in these homes, and that is standard in all of our designs. Sorry I did not cover that in this presentation. You obviously know a bit about construction.
Peter Ewers I’m glad you got a haircut, looks good
Heat recovery ventilator
Man he looks so much like Will Forte
Geothermal Climate Master supplies heating cooling and hot water using the earth. Home should be a dome smallest surface per sq ft means less heat getting in. Then I have many more efficiencies but can't give my secrets.
"I just dropped 90K on a tesla why haven't you?" HOW DARE YOU! LOL Good talk though
You can get a tesla for 35,000
@@thecosmos9303 yea... that’s a good retrofit of an old house
Yeah I almost left before he started. It's pretty narrow-minded and lame to shame people for not having a vehicle that might not suit their needs.
@@strumminfuel4625 he is why people mistakenly say that being vegan or environmentally-conscious are rich people past times. There are cheaper ways, of course.
Color me interested
Uh, I got my Tesla on Saturday...and uh, if you're not driving an electric vehicle, I mean, it's just,...LOL!
I only made it through 30 “uhhh”. My left ear couldn’t take anymore.
when you watch this in late 2022....
My house is net zero energy but in a more unique way and I think it is the most cost effective way (that was my target).
House is in Saskatchewan Canada so fairly cold climate but with decent amount of sun even in winter.
The small 65m^2 (~700sqft) energy efficient house requires around 120kWh/month for appliances large part for electric cooking and peak heating demand is in January at around 1000kWh (this includes the 120kWh for appliances as all that ends up as heat).
All energy is provided by a 10kW PV array and there are two type of storage for electricity I use a 5kWh LiFePO4 battery and for heating I use about 160kWh of thermal storage.
There are two devices that I needed to develop for the past few years one is the SBMS (Solar Battery Management System) that takes care of the LiFePO4 battery charging and the other is DMPPT450 that can take the entire 10kW PV array split in to 6 smaller arrays and then can divert as many of the panels as needed for LiFePO4 charging that has priority and all the remaining is sent to electric heating wires embedded in the concrete floor that is a large part of the thermal storage about 97kWh and there will be an additional 61kWh water based thermal storage.
The LiFePO4 can be so small as it only needs to provide energy over night since the large 10KW PV array can provide all the electricity house needs even in an overcast day and thermal storage that is order of magnitude lower cost is much larger to deal with multiple days without sun.
The total cost of equipment (all labor was done by me) is around $15k and all equipment should last 30 years (maybe except LiFePO4 that should be good for 20 years based on 0.9% degradation per year that I observed) and so my bill for electricity + heating is just $42/month about half that for each (this is based on cost amortization over 30 years).
Best summary of the equipment I designed and a presentation on the entire system is on my current Kickstarter campaign. All devices are open source so all detailed information on how it works is available and links to all HW and SW files are in the user manual on last page www.kickstarter.com/projects/electrodacus/solar-bms-and-digital-mppt-for-pv-electricty-and-h
I think that since PV energy is so inexpensive less than 2 cent/kWh and thermal storage as low as 1 cent/kWh the old passive standards for homes is no longer economical. My house will well insulated has small windows facing south as windows are more expensive than solar panels and in a cold climate they will have a net loss of energy even for very expensive triple glaze.
Natural gas will have been more expensive than solar PV heating and I have the comparison on page 5 in my pdf presentation.
And yes since is an off grid house I have quite a bit of excess in summer about 90% of the energy remains unused in summer but not relevant.
Heat pumps are not cost effective when compared with direct solar PV heating.
I can make a comment about electric cars also as you mentioned that a few times but short answer is they are not cost effective (at this point in time) at this point and the reason is the battery cost amortization.
Congratulations on creating a great, sustainable home. There are, fortunately, many paths to take to get there. We just need more people to take at least one of those paths.
10kW of solar for 65m^2 is a lot of solar. That should be plenty. But it is good it is big, as it will really help in the winter. The battery is somehow small I would say tho. I would expect at least 30kWh of LiFePO4 if you can do it would help. But if you setup the system to store excess production in water, that is also a good deal.
I am exploring big thermal storage systems. The nice thing about big thermal storage system is that you get slower heat dissipation (temperature drop), as you go bigger, because of how volume vs insulation on surface work.
I keep questioning, do the extra costs building a passive, super insulated net zero house pay off financially, or it it just that fuzzy warm feeling you get thinking your saving the planet? The fuzzy warm feeling some get when they buy a tesla before they realize the unsustainable environmental impact of producing the batteries, and the chinese children working the sweat shops. Or how about the energy required to produce these green building products? I used a solar payback period calc, only to find the calc tripled my kWh price. When the kWh price was adjusted to my actual cost, the payback period was over twenty five years and you wont even break even considering the solar hardware would need to be replaced or be obsolete by then. I get this feeling passive and super insulated net zero house's are snake oil or bragging rights for the rich.
I see where you're coming from. But our super-insulated off-grid home was built on a shoestring budget (1100 square feet for Can$55,000 in 2010). That's all material costs; there was no labour because my wife and I did all the work. I never ever sat down to calculate payback time because I couldn't care less. I wanted a warm, fully independent home and that's what we ended up with. We skipped the double garage, the granite counter-tops and the hot-tub, and focused on insulation and more insulation. R-36 floor, R-48 walls, R-66 ceiling, triple-glazed windows. The house practically runs itself now.
I’ll get right on that electric vehicle
you'll probably have to work more making or selling crap no one really needs and driving there, too, to be able to afford it. Ah, the environmental impact of those are rarely considered.
I drive a Tesla S but pay more now, pay farrrrr less later. Saving money is Making Money 😀
Nice but we get hurricanes here and flooding. We need an entirely different plan.
I am looking to move to such an area and that also concerns me. Building 5 to 6 feet up and/or on a hill might be best. THOW (Tiny Houses On Wheels) can often show you ways to build a stronger house that is lighter. One thing I liked was using a metal frame instead of wood for house frame and for stairs and loft. But, they discuss other methods. That way, maybe I can have a wood stove and bathtub (a tub full of water if VERY heavy), too, without needing to spend a fortune on a stronger foundation.
As for wind, rounded roofs are said to resist wind best - but then you have issues using solar panels (can get solar tiles, though, instead) and with overhangs that prevent summer sun from coming in. I am sure that there are ways around those things - but, will they look good, be cheap enough, or easy enough?
I'm looking into building what You call a " net zero house " .
I'll first have to find out IF the property will " perk " so I can install
a septic system . After that I'll have
to find water source ( drill well and , or collection of rain ). THEN. I'll
HAVE to address the problem of
POWER (100%off grid ) ! As yet this problem is presenting its to be the
GREATEST stumbling block of all
( except for getting the property to
" perk " ) . EVERYONE in the solar
distribution chain has Their opinion
for " the " SOLUTION " , btw no two
are the same ! I don't know Whom
to believe ! Of ALL the mfg. I've
contacted , apparently NONE have
a distributor in My area ! I can't go
foward with the build without one !
This house will be My retirement
home for the Wife & Myself . I didn't
originally buy this unimproved property to build a house to live in ,
but , since its paid for ... and , apparently the only restrictions on the house is it must have a flushing
Toilet & septic system & running
water in kitchen . In other words
its perfect for off grid house .
Most of this stuff (Tesla & fancy homes) is only accessible to the well off. ???
What is your opinion about fireplaces? Electric fireplaces I don’t like. If your trying to stay away from carbon, then you don’t want to use gas and if you live in mountains you want something. I love real fireplaces but I know they tend to suck air out of house or if you have tight house you can’t get it going unless you open window.
As far as I know, you'd get far, far better heat and savings from having a wood stove or rocket stove. There are some wood stoves that have glass in the door so that you can see the fire. Most cost over $2,000. Try to put them near the center of the building. In parts of Europe (Scandinavia maybe?), a 6" or so earthen wall that is plastered is put on each side of a thin wood stove in the kitchen and then can be placed without a heat clearance - so is compact. The earthen wall acts as a heat sink of sorts, so distributes that heat slowly and for longer periods. It is used to cook on. Pinterest has some great photos showing it, but I've not found an article on it yet.
People in the comments....it's a water heater, not a hot water heater. Why would you want to heat hot water?????
"I have my tesla.... " LOL
That program is $2500 a year.
I think a Dodge Challenger Hell Cat is the future.
Huber is now making zip wall with 2.5 inch insulation.. just be ready to open up your wallet. The green and orange panels are worth looking at. I would seriously look at the 2.5 inch for a roof with dense pack cellulose. With 16 inch I joist or 20 inch open web even in my more moderate climate it makes a lot of sense for year round comfort. The heat pump water heaters do make sense if one adds and extra storage tank to do in floor radiant. As to dumping cool air into the room a bit of fidding and would make sense to build a nice chill box for food that can be kept at 45 degrees
Thanks Steve! There is now the option on some heat pump water heaters to duct the cold air created by the unit, so you can channel the cold air to your furnace or elsewhere in the summer, and dump it outside in the winter. I look forward to using that capability on future homes.
@@EwersArchitecture with real ducting it would make sense to install the water hp as close as possible to the refrigerator to blow along the back side or underside with filtering. I am always amazed how much in the way of dust collects.
Conventional Home >> Net Zero >> Passive House >> Off-Grid >> BFE
Costs need to come significantly for average Joe but it’s what is necessary and the right thing to do for planet. Fossel fuel industry still has too much of government ear. Lobbying must stop so the people can be heard.
I think limiting or even prohibiting lobbying might be one issue that Left, Right, and Libertarian can all agree on. It is just too close to bribery - too unethical.
NO SOUND!
buy yourself a left speaker
To say it more politely: the sound is only on the left channel. I have a habit of watching videos with only one earbud in, and I had to switch ears for this video. :)
Yes, it's easy, but incredibly cost prohibitive.
Air sealing, super insulation, triple pane windows, solar panels, battery storage and an electric vehicle charger in the garage. All good things to do. There is a Climate Crisis we all need to reduce our use of fossil fuels.
power generation onsite is the least cost effective means of improving environmental impact of a home. The technologies are dependent on rare earth metals, extensive energy for shipping, manufacture, and eventual disposal, and do a poor job returning the cost of investment to the owner. Efficient designs come first, pvs or whatever are an afterthought that comes way later and needs to be considered on a case by case basis
Don't replace your HWT with an electric one!!!!
Unless your producing your own electricity. Natural gas hot water tanks are ~85% efficient.
Should be compulsory in the first world!
How do you figure that out? Pay a bit extra for your home, save a fortune in power for the rest of its life. Or do a retro fit for your existing home, and again, save a fortune for the rest of its life. Until you move, if you move.
That makes sense. That size seems huge to me. These ideas DO apply for big blocks, in fact any buildings, as far as I can see. But why can't we refit existing homes using these principles as well? That DOES pay for itself in time.
I live down under. So technically it works fine, but politically it doesn't. Usual story. At least we know where the work needs to be done.
Of course not. The joys of politics.
Yes indeed, this country has demonized solar for decades, which is brain dead in the extreme. Luckily, our right wing govt has just been kicked out by the left wing, who do care a little about the environment, and realise that we do as well, so if they want to stay in charge, they'd better do the right thing for a change. It's always a work in progress, but solar is coming on big time, and the grid will adjust in time. Where are you in the States?
unless those electric vehicles are charged using solar, they are using fossil fuels which is how regular electricity is made.
As for solar: the way the minerals are harvested (child labor and also near slave labor) and then there is the toxicity and the fact that we have no real safe way of disposing of solar panels or of recycling them. Hopefully the recycling will come, but probably long after the toxins contaminate ground water in landfills.
Also, i homes and buildings are taxed on the exterior's sq footage, that may deter some from using thick walls used in passive houses. Why not encourage local taxing authorities to tweak that a bit and have them tax the sq footage inside instead of on the perimeter?
call it Real Net Zero Energy
I think this is the kind of architect engineers are often describing.
Architects... we just drew the paint as being the vapor barrier....
I drew it so let it be...
The absolute best way to do exterior walls and full foundation that is an R-40 and masonry is to use Solarcrete. ICFs are not the way to go. Check out www.solarcrete.com
I've read of some nasty failures of ICF construction. I say stay away, considering other non-risky methods of construction are readily available in order to achieve a net-zero goal.
Will there be any oxygen left over to breathe after the "really good job of sealing the house"? How healthy is breathing in a sealed house? You seem like really smart guy. What's the life expectancy of the occupants vs un unsealed house. Is energy savings more important than living a long life span? Just asking.
I believe that many passive house systems have a make-up air system that brings in outside air directly through the ventilation system
All new construction in Europe, even non net zero have HVAC and similar systems by code. Besides, you can create a tight and naturally breathable home if you use breatheable housewrap and insulation
Yes, we install Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) in every house we design. These typically operate 100% of the time and bring in fresh air while capturing the heat and humidity from the exhaled air. See www.ultimateair.com/ for more info on one really good unit.
Easy to build but how is the average person going to afford this? Unless these ideas can be implemented on a large scale, and unless the majority of the population can be sold on the idea, this will not have any sizeable impact.
Misconception. You're able to massively reduce the budget for mechanicals with a tight envelope. Cost and cost savings balance out. Factory made wall elements are coming as they're performing as specified and reduce overall cost in constructing and later on.
I think where I have the hang up is that even if it is true that building net zero is an incredible idea (and I do believe that), I don't see any trends, at least where I live in Missouri, of builders building new homes with passive and net zero in mind. I also don't much see people updating their houses in this way. I guess it is a matter of marketing. You can have the best idea in the world but if no one is buying it, it will just not be used. I would love to have a passive home, but I just don't see myself having access to one without spending a lot of money up front after buying a house. And at that point, I just won't be in the position to actually afford those improvements. Passive houses are a great idea but I haven't seen anyone start making them mainstream yet so that a person like me could actually afford one without taking on a lot of debt on top of my pre-existing debt. Maybe I just have to be patient?
@@BaronVonSTFU Wish it weren't so. The building sector isn't moving very fast, and new tech spreads unevenly. However, as people become aware of their options they'll likely go to some length to find builders who can deliver. And that includes municipalities and developments they're commissioning.
I think cost is definitely a art of the discussion, however I am working on building a "passive" home or net zero home, and I am making it a priority to make sure the envelope is tight and insulated well and making sure the mechanical systems are sized correctly. Instead of spending money on upgraded cosmetics of the home I'm focused on makingbthe home energy efficient and comfortable first. Plus the monthly savings, which can be in the hundreds of dollars, make it worthwhile to build with somenof these costs upfront and save monthly on the utility bills. It's possible!
We have been doing this for the past 40 years. We learned from experience and doing many buildings. He has some of the answers but not all of them. He has also made a lot of mistakes. Thermal mass of the building including all of the ground under them is very important, along with foundation, insulated to at least the same as the walls with no thermal breaks between. Double stud walls where used in the 70's ,have way too many thermal breaks, but there is a better way to go. The walls, foundation (including the basements), and roof just need to be the same at about an R-40. We build buildings not just talk about them. Check out our system at www.energyefficientbuilders.com. and see what is the absolute best way to go to get to zero net.
The website doesn't seem to work. I guess you went off grid......
I also tried to visit the website but it does not work. You have really gone off-grid.
Ur website 4 sale?
A net zero home that depends on highly subsidized renewable energy is not really net zero and imposes a large cost on society.
Cleverly forgets what charges those Tesla's l.
So you drive a tesla and want us to go electric?! You work for e.musk?
I think these videos teach people new things and all, but I think their REAL mission, is to get people dreaming, and nudge them into home ownership.....
You start looking into all this stuff, and realize you should just get a normal house and run it on solar panels. WAY cheaper than building anything, and it recycles a whole house.
The idea of net zero is to use less power. Older houses are usually drafty or poorly insulated. The tighter you build a house the less energy it takes to keep a moderate temperature. Also if you built it yourself it'd be a ton cheaper. Way easier than you think especially now with modular and pre cast ICF and knowledge
@ 0:33 "If you're not driving an electric vehicle then you're poor, and can't afford the future yet"
political doublespeak is a bad thing
All there is to say is if it's not quite slowly transitioned for all this Green. You end up with every country that has already hopped in over their heads has been a colossal disaster
Teslas have nothing to do with this. Most Teslas are used in countries where most electricity is generated from fossil fuels and will never pay the CO2 back used to make them and run them compared to ICE cars a Tesla would have to run 150,000 miles in most countries to reach CO2 parity with an ICE car due to the huge CO2 cost of the batteries.
sound is sh*t*
I love the concept of all of this,...its great, but the open-minded thinking that goes into looking at alternative ways of living and building need to also go into the analysis of the actual energy costs....the costs and effects of the energy sources and techniques in their entirety, not just as they pertain to the end user. Solar panels are great right?....Wrong- youve accomplished nothing if you still require man-made products to produce energy to power your man-made climate control.....it all is expensive and harmful to produce and furthermore ends up in the landfill since theres no way to recycle them. Lots of good in this, but dont overlook the big picture of it all.
it takes 3-6 years for a solar panel to become carbon neutral - after that tell me about the insult to nature this man made thing is for its 20 year and improving lifespan?
@@lepidoptera9337 not trolling whatsoever. i personally priced out the solar setup at my own home-thats where i quickly realized that without government subsidies that i wouldnt be money ahead until after the 20year warranty on the system was up. The very electrician who was installing them brought up the fact that the panels are made in different countries that have looser environmental regulations and that there isnt any recycling currently, so saying its a green energy source isnt true....carbon neutral? does something that doesnt decompose in the landfill ever become carbon neutral?
yes, the environmental costs of all of the products that go into making these energy-efficient products, buildings, cars needs to be factored in.
I'd rather see more of the "old ways" of building (straw bale and earth) used where and when they can be and having someone teach local building code inspectors about it.
@@lepidoptera9337 i see we found another all-or-nothing (lazy) thinker. shocker.
Until we fix the homeless and hunger problems globally all of this is superfluous and test-stage. Necessary, but there needs to be more done societally before it can be widespread. Just saying.
You have no clue what goes into making and discarding your tesla batteries, the best thing you can do for the environment is buy a good used car and make it last. Then build a log home with no or minimal synthetic oil based materials
EVs last forever.
@@sickre the batteries last an average of 8 years, I think - and cars get into accidents and then what happens to that toxic battery? Can we put it in a landfill near _you_ and let it pollute the ground water?
Hahaha who can afford an electric car? Not for the low income class eh? -_-
Get a used electric car for 5k-10k. No gas. Practically no maintenance. Lowest total cost car you can get if you are just driving around town. Super cheap.
@@ronlugbill1400 i never saw a used electric car for that price... the lowest i found was 30k
Go on auto trader. There are over 100 used Nissan Leafs for under $10,000. Or you can order a brand new Kandi electric vehicle for $15,500. Or you can lease a new Nissan Leaf for same price as a gas car but you don't have to pay for gas. I leased a Leaf for 3 years for $329 per month. And no gas and almost zero maintenance.