Building Science is continually evolving and getting more efficient so how to get to netzero is subject to change but here is our best for now 🙂 Check out the end of the post for how to renovate your home in stages to NetZero, everyone can have this!

What is NetZero? Why does it make sense?

• A NetZero home is one that produces as much energy as it uses each year so it no longer contributes to global warming.
• Buildings are 45 percent of the global carbon emissions problem so homeowners, architects and building designers have a lot of power to change sea level rise and the other major concerns we are encountering worldwide.

This means a new way of building and innovative thinking.

We need to create a building that uses less energy than before because it is better built and has the ability to generate its own energy.

Let’s look at how to design a house in preparation for NetZero use:

Passive Solar Design: What is this?

It is usually not possible to get this exact, as sites differ, but the intent is below.

• In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer
• Design the house to use the sun, breezes to heat and cool.

• East West Orientation in the northern hemisphere: (Orientation is different in southern hemisphere)
• Design the building long in the east west face, maximizing the south face. The north face has very little windows and more thermal mass.

• South facing sun: in the summer when it is too hot, the angle of the sun is very high so an overhang can keep your house cool
• In the winter, the south facing sun is low in the sky and can bring in the sunlight to the interior to warm the home.

• We can create models on our computers to show where the sun will travel around your home.

Thermal mass: what is this?

• Thermal mass captures the sun’s energy
• In the daytime, the sun comes in and heats up the thermal mass, it soaks the heat up
• In the evening the concrete, stone or other thermal mass material radiates off the heat slowly, heating the home.

Air movement to passively cool:

• Air movement is not always used for NetZero as a really tight and efficient envelope is more energy saving but it depends on individual house design
• we can modify other elements to use passive cooling.

Energy efficient building envelope:

To get to netzero it helps to have a really energy efficient building envelope, basically a blanket over and around your structure to keep heat in when its cold outside and keep cool air inside when it heats up. Insulation can provide half of the heat needed to heat your home.

Does that mean the air is stuffy inside?

No

• there is a system which will bring in fresh air from the outside
• the air goes through a unit that captures the heat content of the air to make it similar to what is inside the house and releases it into the home
• It also removes air continuously from the house so you get a very fresh house
• This system has filters so it actually can be really helpful if you have someone prone to asthma or allergies in your family

How do you get an energy efficient envelope?

• Insulation is cheap and you will lose less energy heating and cooling so you insulate all the building envelope, windows and doors, below slab, walls above grade, walls below grade and roof
• Closed cell insulation has become more and more energy efficient but is higher cost
• We will cover options to super insulate your home in another Orla Studios Guide.
• The diagram below is just one option using regular insulation and double wall construction from fine home building magazine but there are lots of less labor intensive options!
• For windows and doors, manufacturers are bringing out more efficient models every year so you do not necessarily need to use triple glazing anymore to get to netzero.

How do you test for a no leak tight exterior envelope:

• Sealing up the house perimeter is important so there are no air leaks.
• There is a test your contractor can do call a blower test to see how airtight the envelope is.

• There are a number of new products on the market to help seal the natural openings created during construction that we will cover in another Orla Studios Guide.

So how do you make your house use as little energy as possible:

Let’s look at the typical energy users in your house:

Heating and cooling:

• HVAC equipment designers work with the most efficient compressors, fans, and pumps, coupled with advanced controls, to meet the net-zero energy goal. The result is a more efficient system that uses less energy and saves operational costs.
• Smarter controls and the Internet of Things (IoT) are playing a large part in ensuring a building is operating as efficiently as possible.

Here are some of the most efficient and green options for heating and cooling your home:

Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth.

If the ground temperature is warmer than the ambient air temperature, the heat pump can move heat from the ground to the building. The heat pump can also operate in reverse, moving heat from the ambient air in a building into the ground, in effect cooling the building. Ground source heat pumps require a small amount of electricity to drive the heating/cooling process.

Ductless Heat Pumps

Air-source ductless heat pumps (DHPs) require no ducts or water pipes and are sometimes referred to as mini-splits. In addition to saving energy, they cost less to install and create only two penetrations in the building shell. DHPs can be sized accurately to meet the needs of small, efficient homes, which makes them a good match for many zero energy homes.

Radiant heat:

Hydronic radiant heating and cooling is used in 50% of net-zero energy buildings. It’s a cost-effective way to downsize forced-air HVAC systems, cutting energy use yet enhancing comfort.

Use Heat pump water heaters:

Takes heat out of the air and uses it to start to heat the water so you use less energy to get hot water.

Some models have both input and output ducts so you can have a water heater that blows cold air.

Huge energy savings. Standard electric water heaters uses $500 per year for family for four, heat pump is $208 per year.

Cooking:

Induction cooktops are instant on, instant off and all electric so you can use your solar panels to operate them. They use magnets and are really efficient using special pans the cooktop stays cool always so it is safer for your family.

WHAT IS A HEAT PUMP DRYER?

A heat pump dryer works as a closed loop system by heating the air using it to remove moisture from the clothes and then reusing it once the moisture is removed. Rather than releasing warm, humid air through a dryer vent to the exterior of the home as a conventional dryer does, a heat pump dryer sends it through an evaporator to remove the moisture without losing too much heat. Making use of a refrigerant as part of this process means less electricity is used to generate heat.

HEAT PUMP DRYER ADVANTAGES

• Easy to install since they don’t require ventilation
• Can reduce energy use by at least 28% compared to standard dryers
• Dries laundry at low temperatures, so they are gentler on clothes

Lighting:

There are many wonderful LED lighting options now to light your home using very little electricity.

How does your home generate its own energy?

Solar Panels:
This is where you generate power and we can do calculations to figure out how many panels you need to get to NetZero. It depends on the local utility how they value the energy you provide and how much you can save.

Wind power:

More and more affordable options are being developed every day. Wind power has about a quarter of the carbon footprint of solar panels which means the manufacturing process contributes less to global warming.

• An advantage of the microturbines required for home use is that they need less wind to begin turning than their commercial cousins.
• Being smaller they generate less power
• Small wind turbines are defined as producing less that 100 kilowatts per hour, usually less than ten, with quite a number generating more like 1.5kW/hr.

• The higher above the roof the turbine can be positioned the stronger the breeze will be. Wind speed increases at the seventh power above effective ground level.

Electric car: Not really part of the netzero equation but will save you money if you build a netzero house

Netzero will be a requirement in California for new houses starting 2020.

How the home above got to Netzero:

• High-performance rain screen building envelope with continuous exterior insulation
• Over insulated roof beyond required Washington State Energy code minimums
• Radiant floor heating and Energy Recovery Ventilation System
• 10 kWh PV Solar Panel array, engineered for Tesla Powerwall battery backup system
• Use of rustic materials, including stone, Cor-ten steel, and reclaimed barn wood with modern detailing
• Exposed steel and wood structure throughout the main spaces
• Radiant Heat
• Heating and ventilation system can be monitored and adjusted remotely
• Massive board-formed concrete fireplace
• LED lighting
• Energy efficient aluminum-clad wood windows and doors
• Electric car charging station

NetZero Renovation:

You can also renovate your home to NetZero in steps: check out one of our favorite Canadians who does just that:

#renovate #netzero #globalwarming #stopglobalwarming #cop24 #cop25 #solar

#gonetzero #energy conservation, #energy efficiency, #green buildings, #green homes, #heat pumps, #insulation, #renewable energy, #solar, #Sustainability, #windows #orlastudiosowner #orlastudiosowner #orlastudiosowner

Orla Huq

Orla Huq

The Big U – BIG Teams Vision for Rebuild by Design from BIG on Vimeo.
Designing for Flood Risk focuses on preparing buildings to withstand the threat of coastal flooding, while ensuring that they support everyday livability and quality of life. The devastation wrought in waterfront communities from recent Hurricanes and storm surge has brought a new level of urgency to this work. Flood tolerance is the capacity to remain undamaged and functional when flooded, which requires adapting the built environment to floods.

For a diagram of the Sea Level Rise impact to your community see maps below prepared by Union of Concerned Scientists: (all of maps referenced here are continuously being updated as new data comes in)

https://ucsusa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=cf07ebe0a4c9439ab2e7e346656cb239

The USA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/

or climatecentral.org:

https://choices.climatecentral.org/#12/40.7116/-74.0010?compare=temperatures&carbon-end-yr=2100&scenario-a=warming-4&scenario-b=warming-2

a completed home is raised up on a steel frame, above ground level

• allows the site to flood, protecting from potential damage
• flood water flows freely underneath the building- development does not adversely impact the flood plain as a whole and excess water isn’t pushed elsewhere

Learning lessons from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, a residence in New Jersey was designed as follows:

• critical wet-flood proofing measures were incorporated in the design to mitigate heavy flooding, property damage and disruption of vital services
• The flood resilient landscape is built outside the sea wall to prevent soil erosion and to stabilize the natural shoreline
• Native plants, establishing a dense network of root systems, surround the site to help the fragile dunes and create a sustainable, flexible approach to long-term maintenance
• Bioswales are strategically planted to help prevent overwash from flowing directly back to the sea
• They also trap stormwater runoff until it can be safely drained into the soil. Wood decking can temporarily capture runoff and maximize groundwater recharge, a defense against coastal subsidence
• Rising 14 feet above sea level, the residence is accessed through a flood vent that allows for the equalization of pressure from unexpected and rapid surges and flooding

RIBA competition entry above: flood solution

Permeable Paving:

Permeable pavers are specially designed paving units—often concrete or stone—with gaps between them filled with permeable aggregate. These gaps allow water to seep through into a subsurface reservoir or directly into the soil.

How They Help with Flooding

• Reduces Runoff: Water infiltrates through the pavers, reducing surface runoff and minimizing flood risk.

• Improves Drainage: Subsurface layers temporarily store water and slowly release it into the ground.

• Pollution Control: Filters out pollutants before water reaches local waterways.

• Urban Resilience: Ideal for cities with limited green space and high impervious surface coverage

• reduces the risk of flash flooding by slowing down the flow of rainwater to help to discharge it back to the ground at a reduced flow rate

Drainage swales to prevent and ease flash flooding from heavy rainfall:

Swales can be part of an area’s natural landscaping, or they can be created to help ensure proper drainage, minimize runoff or capture storm water. In simple terms, they are generally shallow ditches that have gently sloping sides.

• swales are a cost effective and more natural solution to traditional drainage construction
• provide an opportunity to introduce more native species to a site
• the swales can be seeded with a mix containing species suitable for seasonally wet soils

Green corridors/temporary holding ponds for flood waters:

Water Boulevards, a concept developed in England, creates a network of green corridors to manage and passively reduce flooding, integrating Green Infrastructure and Water Sensitive Urban Design into City streets. It can be applied as a network of green corridors to any city at risk of flooding. Water Boulevards is a project by Baharash Architecture.

Water Boulevards from Baharash on Vimeo.

Parks as water holding areas:

Parks can be designed to double as a water holding area during a flood event. Parks, designed like this one in Copenhagen, allow recreational areas like skate parks to become temporary holding ponds for flood waters:

• allows buildings in the flood zone to be designed to allow floodwaters to enter and leave the structure without the use of any mechanical equipment.
• Spaces that are below grade on all sides are prohibited, and the lowest occupiable floor is required to be elevated above the BFE
• To prevent the collapse of building walls, a wet-floodproofed building allows for the equalization of hydrostatic forces on both sides of the wall during a flood event. This is achieved with openings at the ground level called flood vents see Orla Studios Guide to Flood Vents
• All emergency exit stairwells and corridors shall be wet floodproofed and designed with hydrostatic openings (flood vents) to maintain the operation of the exit door. Emergency exits must open at grade. Evacuation points from elevated
• floors are not acceptable as emergency exits.

Dry floodproofing:

• Dry floodproofing makes a structure watertight up to at least the level of the BFE through the implementation of sealants, flood shields, aquarium glass and strengthening structural components to resist hydrostatic forces from floodwaters, and protecting utilities from flood damage
• Unlike wet floodproofing, the first floor of a dry-floodproofed structure can be at
• an elevation below grade or below the base flood elevation.
• Through dry floodproofing, building access can be maintained at grade with no apparent differences from a non-floodproofed condition
• Any of these conditions will generally entail higher construction
• costs. Dry floodproofing can present safety hazards during a flood event by blocking egress, so it is not allowed in entirely residential buildings
•  

Helping neighborhood vibrancy when first floors need to be elevated above base flood plain:

• Architectural elements like turns in an entry stair, porches or decks for one and two family buildings can mitigate the distance between grade and the first occupied floor of a building, introduce an additional horizontal visual feature that gives the façade more of a pedestrian scale, and bring “eyes on the street” with a semi-private space closer to the sidewalk

• Access elements such as stairs and ramps can be integrated into the landscaping to make a more seamless transition from sidewalk to building. Grading should be designed that does not create drainage problems for adjacent properties

Architect Alejandro Aravena in Chile devised a coastal solution to a city devastated by a tsunami, plagued by annual flooding, protecting the City with a park/forest with water capture:

For Cities trying to protect Utilities and Wastewater plants, excellent guide from US Environmental Protection Agency:

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/flood_resilience_guide.pdf
New York Cities Video about their flood resilience strategies:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFEJJFsDpvI&

#flood #floodplanning #floodvent #resilientarchitecture #greendesign #sustainable #resilientbuildings #flooddesign #retentionponds #flooding #wetproofing #dryproofing

Orla Huq Orla Studios Guide to Flood Resilient Design

Orla Huq

#orlastudiosowner #orlastudiosowner #orlastudiosowner