Zero Energy HomeExecutive Summary

Group: Three Engineers and Robert

Members: Bradley Zanette, Robert Seigendall, Mathew Cavorsi, Mathew Miller

Section: 013

10/15/2013

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Table of Content

1. Introduction- page 2

2. Table Summary- page 3

3. Data Calculations- page 4 and 5

4. Images of Design- page 6 and 7

5. Conclusion- page 8-10

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Introduction

For this project we took on the challenge of designing a zero energy home, which is a home with

zero net energy. Zero net energy transpires from equal but opposite input and output of energy. In

pursuit of this challenge my team and I focused on acquiring a sustainable home threw one primary

source of energy, corn. While we focused on growing corn and converting it into energy, we

incorporated many other energy efficient appliances, building material, and building designs to coexist

as a sustainable system. For example we introduced solar panels to our home making sure there was no

wasted space on the roof that we didn’t take advantage of. As a whole this write up will present many

solutions our team constructed in designing a sustainable, cost effective home.

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Summary Table

Location Glenwood, IowaHouse size 1546 ft^2Number of floors 1 and a halfNumber of occupants 4Number of Bedrooms 3Type of heating system corn heatingSize of photovoltaic system 9055.28 kwh/yr.Solar water heater no (corn)R-value of wall insulation 16R-value of ceiling insulation 13Type of windows solar passive, dual glass, triple glazedVentilation air heat recovery yesTotal Cost approximated $200,000Any other penitent info year round green house

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Zero Energy Home Calculator Input and Output

Electrical Energy Consumer kwh/yrExterior Lighting 112Garage Lighting 45

Hard-Wired Lighting 506Plug-in Lighting 127

Refrigerator 468Washer 74

Dishwasher 144Stove 605

Air Conditioning 1256Total Yearly Energy

Consumption 3337

Solar Energy Payoff Data

Initial Cost of Panels$17,355.0

0Expected Life 25 yearsCost Per kwh $0.08

Average cost per kwh in Iowa 12.03¢

Average Energy cost per year w/o panels $1,089.35

Total number of years until panels pay off

15.9315 years

Total Energy kwh/yrEnergy Used by Appliances

and Utilities 3337Average American Family

Energy Use 11,280.00Energy Created by Solar

Panels 9,055.28

Solar Energy Output DataTotal Square Meters of

Panels 30.1802Efficiency of Solar Panels 15.51%

Average Sunlight Hours Per Day 5.3 hrs.

If Solar Panels Run on 100% Efficiency 1000 w

Exterior Lighting

Garage Lighting

Hard-Wired Lighting

Plug-in Lighting

Refrigerator

Washer

Dishwasher

Stove

Air Conditioning

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Total Energy Consumption Per Year

kwh/yr

Elec

tric

al E

nerg

y Co

nsum

er

3,337.00

11,280.00

9,055.28

Total Energy (kwh/yr)

Energy Used by Appliances and Utilities Average American Family Energy UseEnergy Created by Solar Panels

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Total Solar Output per day24,809 wh/day

Total Solar Output Per year9,055.28 kwh/yr

* Efficiency Will not Drop by more than 0.7% per year over 25 years

Solar Panels: # of UnitsPrice Per Unit

Total Price

Solar World 260 2.5 Black Frame 60.00 $289.25

$17,355.00

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CHP energyTotal Running Time of CHP unit about 500 hrs/yrTotal pounds of biomass needed 1200-1500 lb/yrMax Energy Production 750 kwh/yr

20 lb of corn biomass = 1 gal of gas1 gal of gas = 10 kwh/yr

Price of Unit $30,000-$45,000

Appliances Energy Use Per Year Price

LG Electronics 3.6 DOE cu. ft. High-Efficiency Front Load Washer 97 kwh/yr $597.60

Whirlpool 30-in Freestanding 4.8-cu ft Electric Range (White) 605 kwh/yr $538.20

LG 16 cu. ft. Capacity Top Freezer Refrigerator with Premium LED Lights

468 kwh/yr $699.99

LG Semi-Integrated Dishwasher with Flexible EasyRack™ System144 kwh/yr $649.99

Solar Shingles Trade-off

Amount produced per shingle: 1.4kwh/dayHours of sun exposure: 3 hrOptimum usage? No.Cost per shingle: $15/ft^2Conclusion: Solar Shingle are NOT appropriate

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Images of Design

Side view of the house:

Patio and shed visible

Green house on top

Patio entrance from kitchen on bottomBack view of house:

Solar panel farm on top of roof space

Back of shed and patio visible

Garage side on bottom

Floor Plan of Bottom Floor:

Top to Bottom-

Garage

Utility Room/ Closet

Kitchen/Dining/ Living Space

Master bath/room on left

Two Bedrooms and a bath on right

Staircase in bottom right living space

Floor Plan of Top Floor:

Large room is the green house

Small room is a generous storage closet

Inclined roof is solar farm

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Conclusion

Our zero energy home would have never been possible if it weren’t for the design process

learned. We applied all the techniques to our decision making process. What it helped us do is create a

very unique but functional self-sustaining system. Our team created a spreadsheet that furthered our

understanding on the cost approximation on energy inputs and outputs. Along with using the design

process, we were able to emphasize on using solar passive technology. With the technique, the energy

source was efficiently harvested through well-chosen solar panels. Further explained we got more in

depth with how vital the spreadsheet was to our team and design.

Getting more specific, we organized our thoughts and progress in the project through the design

process we learned in this class. Our mission statement was like everyone else’s, but after that, the

process’s content proved to be unique towards us. My team and I identified customer needs in the light

of how we think what the customers needed and our metrics were based off of what our team saw as

priorities and necessities for a zero energy home. With the needs and metrics compared, we began

generating concepts through research using all the resources handy. We came up with a lot of key

concepts towards solar passive technology form visiting the Morning Star home on campus. Next, as a

team we screened and scored those concepts to dictate the decision of what will be applied to our

home. Concluding the process, we then applied all the chosen concepts and constructed our project

through our organized design plan.

The backbone behind our self-sustaining system is our corn biomass CHP method. We thought

up as a team that if we had a greenhouse that can function year round and produce corn, it can power

the CHP system. Some might say that is a lot work. Well, one of the key ideas I heard from one of the

creators of the Morning Star is a sustainable home is only possible with active home owners.

Homeowners have an important role to play as well. The team decided solar paneling would be efficient

to cover the electricity as a backup and alternative. After crunching out numbers, we were ecstatic to

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see the excess energy produce. We didn’t design a zero energy home; we designed a positive energy

home.

As analyzed on the spreadsheet, we crunched out a lot of building cost and appliance prices.

That includes cost of corn, solar panels, miscellaneous appliances, and building material. For example,

we chose the solar passive, triple glazed, dual glass windows that were approximated to be $100-500.

Our total home cost estimation according to our location, Glenwood, Iowa, was about $225,000. In the

end, our home is marketable as well as functional.

Passive solar technology was a key to our design. We had it in mind when choosing the floor,

windows, walls, and even insulation. Our floors were chose to be made out of stone that acts as a great

storage unit for heat. Our windows allow the sun’s rays to eliminate heat and serve as a great insulator

to trap it in as well. Window location was well thought out and applied. The walls backed as insulation

to maintain heat loss through a product called structure insulation panels. We even incorporated a

great technique used in Morning Star where you hang multiple glass jars full of water in a sunny

window, which allows the jar to conduct heat and expand it throughout the house. Lastly, our floor

layout had solar passive in mind when we designed it to be open.

For our zero energy home, we used Solar World’s SW 260 2.5 Black Frame Solar Panels. Our

reason for using this type of solar panel was because they are cheap and efficient. Also, as a main reason

for using the SW 260s is because their efficiency decreases astoundingly by less than 0.7% per year.

Overall, our house has a total of 325 square feet of solar panels that will cost about $17,000. Our total

solar electrical output is above 9,000kwh/yr, which is about the average yearly electrical use by a family.

The spreadsheet really helped us stay organized in calculating our home to become zero energy.

By researching the average electrical usage of the appliances and miscellaneous usage, we were able to

calculate the total energy needed. Based on the spreadsheet, we decided that the dryer could be

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eliminated and therefore deducted about 334 kwh/yr from our total energy bill. By organizing our data

in the spreadsheet, we were able to find ways to decrease our total energy usage.

Our project proved to be efficient with not only energy and money, but time as well. The design

process enabled us to stay organized and on top of things. The systems created were chosen as a team

and were proven to work. The numbers in our spreadsheet prove how well our home would function

and its sustainability. Combining the key idea, ethanol generated by corn, ad solar passive technology,

our home creates more than enough energy to sustain itself. In conclusion, Three Engineers and Robert

have constructed and implicated a design for a zero energy home that is credible, functional, and

marketable.