Retrofit Net Zero Homes

865 Co. Rd. 6, Phelps, NY 14532 | 800.533.3367 | www.halcoenergy.com

Retrofit Net Zero Homes

Hal SmithPresident

[email protected]

Melissa Kemp, VPRenewable Energy [email protected]



We are located in the heart of the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York where we serve 23 counties between Rochester, Syracuse, & Ithaca

Halco is a 20 Million Design Build Energy Company:• 10 Million - Home Energy Performance• 3 Million - Renewable Energy• 4 Million - Service Department• 3 Million - Commercial / Mechanical

and Electrical Design Build Work


Why Now?


Climate Disruption

“The climate system is an angry beast, and we are poking at it with sticks.”

- Wallace Broecker, Newberry Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and a scientist at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory


Climate Disruption


Decision Point: “Unconventional” Fossil Fuels

• Tar Sands Oil (Canada)

• Arctic Ocean Drilling

• Deepwater Offshore Drilling

• Shale Gas and “Fracking”


Importance of Net Zero RetroFits

• In 2011, homes accounted for 22 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S.


Importance of Production Not Just Reduction

• In order to solve these problems, the transition to a fully renewable electricity system and a fundamental transformation of the grid will be necessary

• Distributed generation (DG) like solar photovoltaics will be crucial and will likely need to make up roughly 30 to 40 percent of production by 2050 (up from about 0.2 percent today)

• Access to renewable electricity supply at home will become increasingly important for the transformation of the transportation system to electric vehicles


Why is DG Important On Every Single Structure?

• In order to deal with the intermittency of renewables like solar and wind the electric grid will need to transition to a smart grid infrastructure

• This will require as wide a geographic distribution of renewable generation as possible to allow supply to be balanced through the distribution grid reducing pressure on the transmission grid


Part 1: Energy Efficiency and Building Envelopes


“Reduce Before You Produce”

The first step is evaluate the home & perform an energy audit on:

• Health & Safety items

•Comfort issues

•Energy leakage (blower door test & thermal image scan)

•Appliances

•Lighting

•Heating & cooling

•Water heating

It is always a better value to tighten up the home and to reduce the amount of energy being used prior to getting involved with Renewable Energy projects.


•We create the interest throughout the audit process

•Customers do not call specifically requesting “I want a net zero home, please come & give me an estimate”

•When we receive call for estimates for specific items such as a furnace, geothermal or solar system, we always strongly encourage & recommend an energy audit

•Home energy performance is the right path for the homeowner and it is our responsibility to embrace this way of thinking full time and always. Not part time when it is convenient.

Most All of Our Net Zero Retrofit Jobs Begin with an Energy Audit


Go together like apple pie, ice cream & caramel syrup!

HVAC/Home Energy Performance AND Renewable Energies


An energy audit is a great way to get this accomplished.

When you are seated you can guide the customer through the process. Always reduce before you produce but every now & again you will get a customer who wants to be at net zero.

Our net zero retrofit projects usually consists of a) Home Energy Performance b) Geo thermal c) Solar Electric Systems

The 1st step is to get a seat at

the kitchen table as a consultant.


We have to deal with many different types of insulation methods to tighten up these older homes. The products we have available are:

• Open Cell Expandable Foam, Closed Cell Expandable Foam, AirKrete Non-Expandable Injection Foam, and Cellulose

These are not “one size fits all” solutions to tighten up older homes.

Home Energy Performance - Insulation Types


Part 2: Renewable Energy


We use both direct exchange waterless and water-based geothermal systems to retrofit these existing homes

The foot print needed to install a direct exchange system is usually only a 12’ circle. We can use a small drill rig on tracks that can get into most spaces. We drill one 4” hole, 100’ deep per 12,000 BTU’s

We can incorporate hydronics and domestic hot water with these systems

GeoThermal


We do pole mount systems as well as roof mounted systems and sometimes a combination of both.

These systems are expandable so that if a customer wants to start with the home performance piece and then add renewables in the future, it is possible. This is why it is important to establish life long relationships with these valuable customers.

Solar PV


A Few of Our Completed Retrofit Net Zero Projects and Common Challenges


17.5 kW Solar Electric, 5 Ton DX GHP.and Spray Foam

Ithaca, NY


12.15kW Solar Electric, 5 Ton DX GHP, and Spray Foam

Ithaca, NY


37 kW Solar Electric & Two 4 ton DX GHPs

New Hartford, NY


12.42 kW Solar Electric & Pre-Existing Water GHP

Honeoye Falls, NY


19 kW Solar Electric & Pre-Existing Water GHP

Romulus, NY


Case Study: Costs and Performance Data


12.15kW Solar Electric, 5 Ton DX GHP, and Spray Foam

Ithaca, NY


Costs and Timing

• Built Winter 2010 - Spring 2011

• Solar Designed to Cover 100% Usage for Home Baseload Electric, Heating, and Cooling

• Geothermal/Envelope Final Cost: $28,000

• Solar Electric Final Cost: $50,000

• Total to Retrofit Net-Zero: $78,000


Energy History and Model Summary

• House Energy Usage Was 900 Therms NG for Heating/Year and 7,500 kWh/Year Electricity

• Depending on the Exact COP, the Heating with GHP Changed From Therms to around 7,000 kWh/Year

• Solar Production Was Modeled to Be 14,500 kWh/year

• Expected Cost Savings in Year 1: $2,000


Monitoring

• All Net-Zero Projects Should Have Production and Consumption Monitoring

• For the Project, Solar Production, GHP Usage and Efficiency, and Overall House Consumption Monitored


Solar Production Monitoring


Geothermal Usage Monitoring (Tech)


Geothermal Usage Monitoring (Customer)


Summary April 2011 – March 2012


Summary March 2012 – February 2013


Other Options

• Myewise,

http://www.myewise.com

• Web Energy Logger, http://www.welserver.com

• Cost and Tradeoffs

Retrofit Net Zero Homes

Documents

Transcript of Retrofit Net Zero Homes