Performance and economics of superinsulated houses

Technical Report · Sat Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:6492748

Zehr, F J

The performance and economics of various residential thermal envelope energy-conserving features are analyzed. Variations in external wall construction such as 2 x 4, 2 x 6, double-wall, and strapped-wall are treated. Variations in ceiling insulation, floor insulation, air-vapor sealing, number of window glazings, and window orientation are included. The house thermal envelopes vary from those of present average construction to the extremes in superinsulation. The space-conditioning and water-heating loads were determined for a particular thermal envelope for a given climate location by computer methods. Thirty-three contiguous US cities with their weather data, representing a broad range of climates, are included in the analysis. Energy requirements were calculated for nine space-conditioning and water-heating systems fueled by electricity, natural gas, and oil. Life cycle costs (LCCs) were calculated according to the energy requirements, fuel prices, fuel price escalation rates, and capital and maintenance costs of installed space-conditioning and water-heating equipment. The results show superinsulation to be economically beneficial to the homeowner for a range of US space-conditioning requirements. The selected standard superinsulated house with respect to a reference house shows up to more than three times repayment of the incremental investment over the 25-year life cycle. Payback over a 25-year period occurs in 58% of the 33 cities for gas, 61% for electric heat pumps, 79% for electric resistance, and 82% for oil.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6492748
• Report Number(s): ORNL/CON-148; ON: DE86002934
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320101* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Residential Buildings-- (-1987)
BUILDINGS
CEILINGS
COOLING LOAD
COST
DATA
DEMAND
DOUBLE ENVELOPE BUILDINGS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY DEMAND
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLOORS
HEATING
HEATING LOAD
HOUSES
INFORMATION
LIFE-CYCLE COST
MAINTENANCE
NUMERICAL DATA
OPENINGS
PAYBACK PERIOD
PERFORMANCE
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
SPACE HVAC SYSTEMS
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL INSULATION
WALLS
WATER HEATING
WINDOWS