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New Jersey Zero Energy Remodeling Project Points the Way to Gains In Residential Energy Efficiency

An energy-efficient restoration project on run-down structures on a 24-acre Victorian farmstead in Lebanon, NJ, is expected to produce the nation’s first rehabbed zero-energy home, Bill Asdal, president of Asdal and Builders of Chester, NJ, told an audience at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. last month.

Asdal’s company is working with the NAHB Research Center through the Department of Energy's Building America Program for Existing Homes to restore a 19th century, two-story, 1,500-square-foot home that will serve as the innkeeper’s residence in a bed and breakfast project. The remodeling research initiative also includes a 4,000-square-foot Victorian home, a garage and a barn.

The project is using readily available renewable energy systems that produce electrical and thermal energy, including photovoltaic roof panels, an active solar hot water collector and geothermal heating and cooling. A map of area wind speeds showed that Bergey wind turbines could also add energy to the grid, Asdal said, although the need to obtain a height variance for the 120-foot tower is a challenge.

“Consistently, we waste wind, we waste sunlight and we waste water,” Asdal said, describing underutilized energy resources that are being tapped for his project.

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With the exception of liquid propane for a fireplace, no fossil fuels will be used in the two houses, he said.

The annual net energy use of the smaller test home is now predicted to be zero over the span of a year. Current demands on the system are light, and the building is operating as a residential power plant, metering a negative 185 Kilowatts of power after its first month of operation.

A careful analysis by Research Center engineers of the acquisition and installation costs of the energy-efficient features versus their operation and maintenance costs suggests that there will be a double-digit return on investment for the technology that was selected for the project.

Other technologies from the PATH Technology Inventory that are being used by the project include microprocessor controlled ventilation, air-sealing techniques, blown cellulose insulation and energy-efficient appliances.

As it becomes increasingly difficult to find places to build housing, Asdal predicted that the emphasis on retrofitting the nation’s 116 million existing homes will steadily increase. “The streetscape will look very much the same in 10 years, 50 years or more,” he said, but the homes themselves hold the potential for dramatically improving their energy efficiency.

Good systems and responsible behavior could easily cut in half the costs of operations and maintenance, which are the only costs associated with owning a home that the consumer can control, he said.

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2004 National Green Building Conference

The National Green Building Conference, March 14-16 in Austin, TX, explores cutting-edge building technologies and looks at the future of green building in America. The conference includes education and networking opportunities and explores why a growing number of home builders are “going green” by making cost-effective business decisions that also help the environment. Click here for more information.
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