Performance House -- A Cold Climate Challenge Home

Technical Report · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1096120· OSTI ID:1096120

Puttagunta, S. ^[1]; Grab, J. ^[1]; Williamson, J. ^[1]

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1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Working with builder partners on a test homes allows for vetting of whole-house building strategies to eliminate any potential unintended consequences prior to implementing these solution packages on a production scale. To support this research, CARB partnered with Preferred Builders Inc. on a high-performance test home in Old Greenwich, CT. 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 adapt with the homeowners. The technologies and strategies used in the 'Performance House' were not cutting-edge, but simply 'best practices practiced'. The focus was on simplicity in construction, maintenance, and operation. When seeking a 30% source energy savings targets over a comparable 2009 IECC code-built home in the cold climate zone, nearly all components of a home must be optimized. Careful planning and design are critical. To help builders and architects seeking to match the performance of this home, a step-by-step guide through the building shell components of DOE's Challenge Home are provided in a pictorial story book. The end result was a DOE Challenge Home that achieved a HERS Index Score of 20 (43 without PV, the minimum target was 55 for compliance). This home was also awarded the 2012 HOBI for Best Green Energy Efficient Home from the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Connecticut.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1096120
• Report Number(s): DOE/GO--102013-3944; KNDJ-0-40342-00
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
Accessibility
Best Practices Practiced
Building America
Buildings
Carb
Challenge Home
Condensing Boiler
Energy Efficiency
Energy Star
Green
Hydro-Coil Heating
Led Lighting
Leed For Home
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
PV
Performance
Residential
Residential Buildings
Savings To Investment Ratio
Sustainable
Watersense Indoor Airplus