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Desert Homes Testing Zero-Energy Technologies
Four demonstration homes in an extreme desert climate in California will be providing builders, manufacturers and municipalities with information on the performance of the energy efficiency and affordability of innovative energy technologies.
Developed by Clarum Homes in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program, ConSol and Davis Energy Group, the Borrego Springs Demonstration Home Project opened to the public on April 17 and will be sharing research results with the green building industry next year after the completion of 12 months of continuous testing.
Using state-of-the-art wall, cooling and solar electric systems, the homes have been designed to reduce energy consumption by 90%.
The demonstration homes were built with three different types of innovative wall systems — Styrofoam T-MASS, Structural Insulated Panels and high efficiency 24-inch on center Optimum Value Engineered wood framing.
The homes, which share the same floor plans, were also equipped with three different cutting edge cooling systems: two of the homes feature Speakman 2 state evaporate coolers; the third home has a Freus water cooled condenser and air conditioner; and the fourth features a Lennox 20.5 SEER conditioner.
All of the homes feature Kyocrera photovoltaic solar systems and exterior shade screens.
The Building Industry Research Alliance, the Davis Energy Group and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will be working closely with the developer and ConSol to evaluate the performance of each of the homes and identify their most cost-effective features.
The test data are also expected to be of benefit in more moderate climates around the U.S.
For updated evaluations and efficiency data from the program, click here.
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