Building an efficient house from the ground up.

Building a house can be a real PITA, so do get an architect who is sympathetic with your goals and has plenty of experience. Experience is crucial! And get references and recommendations from former clients. You are bound to find people on the internet with lots of great-sounding ideas, but many of them will be crackpots, or incompetents who talk a good talk but in the end cannot get anything done right or on time.

All these ideas for materials and styles are great, but they will come to naught without someone who can bring everything together, organize the work force, and make it all happen.

And engage the architect before you buy the land, to help assure that you'll be able to get the building permits. Because some locales may refuse permits for an unconventional house because to some folks, looks are more important than solving the energy crisis.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Nov 20 2007, 08:36 AM) [snapback]541991[/snapback]</div>

This is something often forgotten. What have you really accomplished if you build a house that is a net energy producer, but you have to burn a thousand gallons of gas a year because the only place you could afford the land, or get the building permits, is far from your job?

As for your question on energy-efficient appliances, that's easy: Check out Consumer Reports. You can do that for free at the library, but once it comes time to shop for appliances it'll be worth buying an on-line subscription so that you can search past issues from home. And on-line you can search by appliance type.

 

A bit of tough love is being applied to me currently on PC, so I'll do the same:

Single family residences are, by their very design, more inefficient, overall, than higher density dwellings.

Ummmmmm, why does anything NEW have to be built in the first place; doesn't THAT decision automatically taint any others which come afterwards?

Also, the Sunset houses ---didn't one of them recently use that fake grass?!?--- are mostly greenwash, in my opinion.

 

there's a reasonable line to be drawn here between quality of life and efficiency. as someone who has never once lived in a single family home, i can say that i will look forward to one day not sharing walls/ceilings/floors with someone else.

our first apartment together was an upstairs and we could hear the guys downstairs playing video games at all hours. our second apartment was a duplex, a real step up in the world, but the neighbor was an aging bassist who liked to crank the music up real loud. when we moved here, we had this average sized girl upstairs from us who sounded like a rhino loose in her apartment stomping on the floor, and we could hear the guy next door in the bathroom. next were two young bachelors in their college apartment next door whose music we'd hear through the walls... and finally now the neighbors are fine but everything else isn't good.

i'd kill for a little peace and freakin' quiet in a comfortable home.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jweale @ Nov 20 2007, 09:20 AM) [snapback]541983[/snapback]</div>

This is something I've been collecting information on for years for the day when I do the same. Last month, I attended the Green Building Expo (http://www.greenbuildingexpo.com) and came back with a bunch of literature I added to my collection. I knew I was in the right place judging by the number of Prii in the parking lot, which was a good sign

FWIW, I can give you some pointers to add to your collection:

Windows: Having worked in factory automation Engineering for fenestration manufacturing, I've been around a lot of windows. Like jweale said, they are very important component of an energy efficient house since they will create the most heat loss/gain. Heat Mirror is a brand name for a type of IG (IG=Insulated Glass) unit with dual airspaces created by placing a low-emissivity coated polyester film between two two panes of low-e glass. You can order the 'mirror' film with different luminous transmittance percentages (LT%), from 88% at the high end to around 22% at the low end. You typically want to keep the LT% high so the room does not become too dark, unless you want the shading. You can get R values near 12 in special cases with HM IG's. You should be able to get R3 to R5 without getting too exotic. Helpful Hint: Rvalue = 1/Uvalue. The gas fill (Argon, Krypton, etc) gives a better U value for NFRC (National Fenestration Rating Council) purposes but will outgas within a few years so the performance will decline over time. If you can't get a Heat Mirror IG unit go with the best dual pane low-e glass you can find (Cardinal or PPG). For the frame I would recommend Mikron PVC. Pay attention to the frame material because some are low quality and will fade if they have poor UV stabilizers or will become brittle in cold temperatures. Ask about the warranty for the frame and IG. It should be 10-20 years. Aluminum frame is worthless without a thermal break and wood will have decay issues over time. I have had PVC + low-e for 10 years and it can be 110F outside but the glass is cool to the touch inside. It will keep heat out during the summer and in during the winter.

There are a lot of choices for ICF's (Insulated Concrete Forms). You can get an R value of 30+ with most of these and not have to worry about termites (not that they are a problem in your area). Some ICF manufactures have house plans you can order then have an architect who has worked on LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects modify to suit. Check out Design Basics for some house plan ideas using ICF's: http://www.designbasics.com/altcon/altcon-01.asp

Here are some other links and references you might find useful:
Smart Homes Alliance: http://www.smarthomesalliance.com
NAHB's Concrete home building council: http://www.nahb.org/concrete
Grey Water Conservation: http://www.watercasa.org/publications.php

If you want to take a trip to Washington in December or to Anaheim next May:
EcoBuild trade show: http://www.ecobuildamerica.com

Other cool stuff:
Micro-capillary radiant heating and cooling:
http://www.bekausa.com

Bonded cotton-fiber insulation:
http://www.bondedlogic.com

Daylight tracking skylights:
http://www.ciralight.com

Plumbing: I would recommend a dual-flush or water-free toilet (Kohler, Toto, etc.)

Paints: Look for low or zero VOC paints for the interior.

If you go with LED interior lighting, you could keep the lighting circuits low-voltage to run directly from batteries and not through an inverter (less power conversion = more efficient). Also, you'd be off-grid with the lighting so wouldn't have to worry about a 'blackout'. Then do a grid-tie AC system with net metering for the rest of the house. Or if you prefer simplicity keep it all AC.

The technology of photovoltaic solar panels is changing rapidly, so the best technology at the time you are ready to install a system might be different than what is available today. A few PV panel manufacturers that come to mind include:

First Solar:
http://www.firstsolar.com

Sanyo Solar:
http://us.sanyo.com/industrial/solar/

Kyocera Solar:
http://www.kyocerasolar.com/

Uni-solar:
http://www.uni-solar.com/

BP Solar:
http://www.bp.com/genericsection.do?catego...ntentId=3050766

Sanyo's panels are rated around 17%-22% efficiency, Kyocera's are around 16%, and First Solar's are around 10% to 12%.

Kyocera's are Polycrystalline, which is an offshoot of the original crystalline PV cells made since the 50's and have proven performance for 20+ years. Sanyo's are a hybrid crystalline/amorphous silicon which is a 'newer' technology but like polycrystalline uses a lot of silicon (driving up the $/W). First Solar's PV panels are thin-film Cadmium Telluride which have a significant cost advantage since they only use 1% of the silicon required for traditional modules, but are very new to the market so don't have the historic performance data of the others. The selection drivers will be cost, performance, how much area you can devote to the panels and probably who does the installation.

There are new multi-junction cells coming out of R&D that are hitting 40% efficiency by using a multilayer process where each layer is optimized to capture a different component wavelength of light. Whether this will be in volume production by the time you install your system remains to be seen.

I would also recommend that you install a central vacuum system (Hoover, Beam, etc), with the power unit in the garage. All the house dust goes outside keeping things much cleaner inside. And install structured cabling (Cat6e+fiber+audio+tel+coax in one bundle) in all rooms, fed to a central location to future-proof your house. If you are into computer control, you can set yourself up to do some slick home automation projects while you are still in the construction phase. If you really want to get carried away do an A-bus audio distribution system as well.

At this point you'll probably be broke, but it'll be great fun and a worthwhile endeavor. Please post pictures when you build!


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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Nov 21 2007, 02:37 PM) [snapback]542525[/snapback]</div>

What you are describing is typical for the American apartment dweller but it doesn't have to be this way. In the US, apartments are seen as a temporary place to live until you can afford a single-family house. These housing units are built to "Code" which means they are built to the lowest spec allowed by law. The walls, floors, and ceilings are usually wood framed and only 4 inches wide, with no sound deadening.

Again, it doesn't have to be this way. Having traveled extensively through Europe with my last job, I've seen how apartments should be made. The walls are 1 to 2 feet thick brick with insulation between units. The floors and ceilings are reinforced concrete. Since the majority of Europeans will live in multi-family housing, they are built to be homes. It also helps that many people own their apartment or flat, so there is the need for quality construction not found in a building built to house transient people at the greatest profit.

OH, you may also find that a single family house is not as you may think. My wife and I have lived in an apartment, townhouse, duplex, and 2 single family homes. Our first house, which was on a 1 acre lot was the loudest place we have ever lived. We had a family next to us with a couple and 2 kids. The mother spent all day yelling at the kids from the front porch and the kids would yell back "NO!". This went on for 4 years until they lost their home to the bank and the neighborhood rejoiced. Our current house is on a tiny suburban lot and the houses are spaced about 10 feet apart. We are surrounded by retired people and it is a quiet as can be until Saturday when the neighbor across the street spends 4-5 hours running gas powered yard equipment. The 5 HP gas sidewalk edger is the worse, I swear it must be 100 to 110 decibels.

 

I second (or third?) the importance of getting a good architect. To ground yourself in how they can help, when I was house shopping I found it useful to bone up a bit on the Not So Big House movement by reading the series of books by Susan Susanka. Even just reading the first book (The Not So Big House) gave an excellent grounding on neat features to make a house that works without being big. My wife and I ended up buying a 1700 sf house that feels far larger than it is. And yes, 1700 sf actually is on the big side but it feels as big as some of the 3000 sf monstrosities our realtor kept dragging us to!

What climate are you building in? This has a major impact on what works out as most efficient. In the midwest, where you have as much cooling as heating to do, a ground loop heat pump works pretty well (if you're not going hard core enough on the shell and including a thermal storage tank to the point you just need a wood stove for a couple weeks a year).

 

Don't have time to peruse the thread to see if this was mentioned....

I was watching a show from the Science Channel last night about green solutions. The most interesting concept that I learned of was a construction process called the Enertia system. Here's the link.....

http://enertia.com/Science/HowItWorks/tabid/68/Default.aspx

Besides the energy efficient manner in which the house allows the residents to reside, there is minimal byproduct trash with this construction and the wood is harvested from FSC sources.

I haven't performed any research yet to know of any drawbacks to this kind of construction but thought it was worth a mention.

 

I'm having my first house built right now, they are just about to begin pouring the foundation. It's being built by Imagine Homes (not custom by any means at all, just one of the communities where you pick a lot and a floor plan and they build on site).

What I was most interested about in this builder is the standard features, you can see them on their website:
http://www.imaginehomessa.com/

They use the R-13 cellulose insulation made of recycled paper treated to be fire retardant (they have a demo where they set a penny on a pile of the insulation and heat the penny to glowing red with a blow torch and the insulation does not catch fire). It also appears that the house is very well sealed, so they use a MERV-8 filter in the HVAC system, with an air return in every bedroom for positive pressure in the house (no slamming doors and when an exterior door is opened it forces air out of the house rather than drawing outdoor contaminants in). The house itself is tested at the front door for a tight seal, then they test just the ducting. Supposed to use a gas tankless water heater but since the community does not have gas lines and the company does not yet trust the electric tankless heaters they have opted for the good old fashioned tank heaters (bleh... may have to go solar some day). They have good choices for supplies, they just recently said they will now be using dual flush toilets, insulated garage doors (at no extra cost, they found a new supplier where the insulated doors cost them less than the standard doors did previously) and they also have a carpet supplier that makes the carpeting from recycled plastic bottles and then can be returned and recycled again when worn out. Double pane glass windows, CFL light bulbs throughout, dual knob faucets, 14 SEER A/C unit with heat pump, low VOC odor free paint, energy star appliances, programmable thermostat and another good feature... about 2/3 of leftover materials (lumber scraps) are shredded on site and used for erosion control, then sod is eventually put down (I think it's Bermuda, drought tolerant low water consuming grass) which helps to fertilize it with the wood shavings.

Anyone have any suggestions of things I should try to slip in while building? I know these types of builders don't like to let you do anything to it without them doing the work and charging a lot extra for it. Just looking for ideas of the must be done during construction type of things. Sounds like a good start, it should tide me over for the next 8-10 years then I may consider doing something more like the original poster is planning to do and I can rent this house out for some supplemental income... Sorry for hijacking, but I thought we might be able to brainstorm together!

 

I don't know if it is too late to help you, but there is a drain water heat recovery system. One brand is http://gfxtechnology.com/ and might possibly be available at Home Depot. If you can get it installed when the plumbing is going in it is much better than trying to retrofit.

 

Why ground up? Why not ground down? I say this b/c a friend recently bought a pre-existing energy efficient home that's built into the side of a mountain. Only a portion of the front is visible from the outside.

He said energy bills are very low even though it's a large home and he lives in an area with four distinct seasons.

I don't know if I'd adjust to no windows very well. He seems well adjusted and adaptable to almost any new situation though.

 

Good idea - why not both? Earth sheltering and passive solar could work very well together to provide a bright and energy efficient home.

 

I designed my own home a dozen years ago. I've got a web site with a lot of details posted at www.enerjazz.com/house

I have a presentation linked on the home page that might be helpful.

Remember, mine was designed for the climate and latitude of Dallas. Design for your local climate and use local materials where possible.

If I had it to do over again I would be even more clever about square footage. Go for quality over quantity. A well designed modest size home is cheaper to build and maintain and has a lighter footprint on the planet.