Greetings from the 20kv19 Eco Team!
We’re excited to share our progress with y’all! Since our last post, we built a mock up to test the spaces in the house. It really helped us visualize the spaces and see what was too big, what was too small, and what seemed to be the right size as only a full-scale mock up can.
Above is the living/dining space on the right and the left would be the kitchen bar.
After the mock up we were challenged to pare down and synchronize the design into the “one big move.” With that advice in mind, the team decided to really push the comparison between Dave’s House design and the Eco House. If we could change only a few things about Dave’s House in order to make it more energy efficient, what would they be? Our priorities are to make the most appropriate passive design for this climate, maximum occupant comfort all year long, and lower energy usage, respectively. Below are the SIX things that we’re thinking about changing:
Orientation: Broadside faces 10° East of South. This is one of the simplest things to do to increase the shading and minimize the amount of energy needed to heat and cool the building.
Monopitch: Roof faces South. This design varies from the 20k’s usual insulated box + hat approach. It maximizes cross ventilation and allows the hot air to evacuate the space in the summer months.
Windows: Big windows on the south to let the winter sun in and high windows on the north to vent the hot air in the summer.
Insulation: Bring the wall and roof insulation up to 2015 energy code and then add rigid on the outside to get rid of thermal bridging.
Foundation: Put the house on a slab on grade. The slab will help reduce air changes, along with providing a thermal mass to heat and cool.
Porch: Shading the south windows is imperative in the summer. The designed porch will let in a good amount of light from the winter sun as well.
One of the biggest challenges this project faces is what to compare our house to in order to rate the design’s success. Updating Dave’s House design will give us a nice benchmark, since there are 3 different Dave’s House designs available to us.
We’re working on getting the electric bills for these houses and all of the past 20ks. Comparing the electric bills will let us see what a 20k is costing its occupants to heat and cool. Many of our clients use propane to heat their houses in the winter and we’re taking that into consideration.
In the meantime, we’ve been comparing the houses in REScheck and Rem/Rate in order to see how the real life houses stack up.
Peace out from the ECO TEAM. Go enjoy this amazing spring weather. Open a window and turn off a light :)
