Sample report products from initial design phase for Heliospiti project in Monument, Colorado (3000sq ft, 2-story, net-zero energy home)...
Impact of air sealing on energy:
Roof options vs energy use:
Passive solar performance showing interior temperatures (black), day-by-day, with mechanical heating and cooling turned off:
Reduction of heat load, day-by-day, after addition of domestic solar hot water:
Energy consumption comparison between conventional "high performance" house (red) and Heliospiti (green):
Energy Design Modeling
Valuable service for both on- and off-grid home construction.
Service pays for itself through energy savings.
Overview
We assist residential building architects, designers and builders in creating ultra-low and net-zero energy homes. Using Energy10, one of the most sophisticated building science modeling tools available, EnerSmart Energy Solutions can provide you:
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Concept Phase: Impact on total home energy consumption of varying combinations of
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Passive solar strategies
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Wall and roof construction and insulation
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Foundation type and insulation
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Level of air sealing
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Type and size of space heating and cooling equipment
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Type, size and location of windows and doors
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Window shading
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Active solar photovoltaic and hot water systems
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Ventilation, active and passive
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Lighting type and daylighting strategies
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Final Design Phase: Assessment of whole-home energy performance and the home's potential to achieve your clients' near and long term energy efficiency goals
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Cost effectiveness of implementing different combinations of construction options
Typical Process
- During preliminary meeting with your clients, designer/architect/builder determine their goals for energy efficiency and basic home style (ranch, multi-story, basement, slab on-grade, size, etc)
- EnerSmart Energy Solutions will build a generic house in Energy10 and perform parametric studies showing the impact and cost effectiveness of a variety of design and heating/cooling strategies.
- Designer/architect/builder completes final design which may or may not include additional modeling iterations as the design gels.
- EnerSmart Energy Solutions will model the final design and
prepare final report showing
- Annual heating, cooling, lighting and baseload (appliances) energy consumption
- Peak heating and cooling loads used to help right-size the heating and cooling equipment
- Impact of passive solar strategy on heating load
- Total annual, and/or month by month, energy consumption
- Estimate of expected energy costs based on current utility costs (Estimate only...actual consumption varies greatly based on home occupant's lifestyle and appliance/lighting use)
More on Energy10 Software
- Developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Center for Building and Thermal Systems in collaboration with the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Berkeley Solar Group
- Performs hour-by-hour energy and heat flow simulations which is essential for modeling effects of passive solar and natural ventilation designs
- Uses site-specific climate data
- Accuracy validated using the BESTEST procedure developed by NREL's Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems
- Employs a system-of-systems approach to building science analysis, showing the combined effects of varying walls, roofs, foundations, fenestration, lighting, and heating/cooling/ventilation
- Advantages of Energy10 modeling
- Can set up a large number of "what if" iterations to study energy impact and cost of changing different building features
- Saves the home buyer time and money: creates the "virtual" house to analyze energy implications of major construction decisions before construction plans are prepared
- Lets the home buyer see the cost savings of employing up-front energy efficient design
- Helps the designer, builder or architect obtain energy credits under the LEED™ program.