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Title: New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: The Performance House: A Cold Climate Challenge Home, Old Greenwich, Connecticut

Abstract

By working with builder partners on test homes, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program can vet whole-house building strategies and avoid potential unintended consequences of implementing untested solution packages on a production scale. To support this research, Building America team Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) partnered with Preferred Builders Inc. on a high-performance test home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. The philosophy and science behind the 2,700 ft2 “Performance House” was based on the premise that homes should be safe, healthy, comfortable, durable, efficient, and adaptable to the needs of homeowners. The technologies and strategies used in the “Performance House” were best practices rather than cutting edge, with a focus on simplicity in construction, maintenance, and operation. Achieving 30% source energy savings compared with a home built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code in the cold climate zone requires that nearly all components and systems be optimized. Careful planning and design are critical. The end result was a DOE Challenge Home that achieved a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index Score of 20 (43 without photovoltaics [PV]).

Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B) (Building America)
OSTI Identifier:
1220970
Report Number(s):
DOE/GO-102013-4098
6559
Resource Type:
Program Document
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
residential; residential buildings; CARB; Building America; Challenge Home; Performance; energy efficiency; watersense indoor airplus; energy star; leed for home; green; sustainable; accessibility; savings to investment ratio; best practices practiced; hydro-coil heating; condensing boiler; PV; LED lighting

Citation Formats

. New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: The Performance House: A Cold Climate Challenge Home, Old Greenwich, Connecticut. United States: N. p., 2013. Web.
. New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: The Performance House: A Cold Climate Challenge Home, Old Greenwich, Connecticut. United States.
. 2013. "New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: The Performance House: A Cold Climate Challenge Home, Old Greenwich, Connecticut". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1220970.
@article{osti_1220970,
title = {New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: The Performance House: A Cold Climate Challenge Home, Old Greenwich, Connecticut},
author = {},
abstractNote = {By working with builder partners on test homes, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program can vet whole-house building strategies and avoid potential unintended consequences of implementing untested solution packages on a production scale. To support this research, Building America team Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) partnered with Preferred Builders Inc. on a high-performance test home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. The philosophy and science behind the 2,700 ft2 “Performance House” was based on the premise that homes should be safe, healthy, comfortable, durable, efficient, and adaptable to the needs of homeowners. The technologies and strategies used in the “Performance House” were best practices rather than cutting edge, with a focus on simplicity in construction, maintenance, and operation. Achieving 30% source energy savings compared with a home built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code in the cold climate zone requires that nearly all components and systems be optimized. Careful planning and design are critical. The end result was a DOE Challenge Home that achieved a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index Score of 20 (43 without photovoltaics [PV]).},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1220970}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013},
month = {Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013}
}

Program Document:
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