Zero Energy Design

Why pay for electricity when you can make your own?

First of all, let us welcome you to the future of advanced building design. For most people, an investment in their living space is paramount, after all, this is where you spend most of your time and this is where family memories are made. We understand that the home must grow with the growth of the family. It must meet you and your family’s changing needs and be responsive to the environment. Our team of registered Architects, Engineers and building scientist are pioneers in their fields of study. With the ultimate conclusion of producing the most technically advanced, energy efficient, affordable design for everyday people, like you.

We would like to introduce the future in home design with the first, LEED platinum certified zero energy home (ZEH), specifically designed for the middle class and low to moderate income families (LMI). Our professionals have spent the last seven years perfecting design and construction techniques and writing directives that will enable superior buildings and home design with standards and specific elements that are crucial for the building performance and overall sustainability. With the lessons learned since our conception in 2003, we have discovered that there is no “plug & play” solution to make a building energy efficient or achieve a zero energy stance. Although it is possible to zero the energy consumption of any building, it is not always cost effective. Consumers are warned to be aware of builders and so-called sustainability experts that try to sell you solar panels and wind turbines as solutions to reduce your energy consumption needs. Without addressing the insulation envelope, equipment & appliance electrical conservation, occupant behavior and the natural climatic conditions of the geographic location. Achieving a reduction in your electrical bill can be extremely expensive and furthermore, after calculating your return of investment (ROI), you will find that it can take more than 15 years to see any substantial savings. During our intensive studies into the building science of traditional American buildings and homes, we have discovered and developed many techniques and guidelines that can be followed in order to, cost effectively, achieve sustainability and zero energy performance. Our patented process enables architects and builders to follow simple design strategies and utilize materials and construction techniques that reduce the price and increase efficiency. This will allow the building or home to be constructed at the lowest possible price and operate at the very highest possible efficiency without limiting architectural styles or aesthetic appeal. UDC’s certified buildings and homes currently on the market typically exceed USGBC “LEED Platinum” standards, exceed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) superior indoor air quality and water ratings and can operate completely off grid. Our primary design goal has always been a building design that has the ability to produce its own electricity on-site without being supplemented with regional electrical power from the power grid. The concept is simple. Your building or home would operate much like your car operates. As with your car, when you turn the key electrical energy forces the starter to engage the engine. To maintain combustion the alternator under you hood constantly provides electrical current to the spark plugs to ignite flammable fossil fuels forcing the piston up and down within the engine driving the vehicle, while providing power for all the other systems and recharging the battery. Understanding this basic operation is the key to understanding the integrated approach our architects take to design our buildings and homes. You see, the building will use a specific amount of electrical energy per year. This can be computer modeled and predicted using documented environmental information for the specific geographic location. We design the building utilizing our patented design process that enables the highest efficiencies in energy retention and conservation and then size a renewable energy system to supply electrical power. The result is a building that can be self-sustainable and operate completely independent of the power grid. The patented design process can be used to design both commercial and residential buildings and does not limit architectural styles.

Residential Building Design

For residential buildings we have started our integrated approach with the series 001 home. The series 001 home design was completely theoretical, created entirely in computer modeling software and was never physically constructed. The series 001 was an experimental design developed by our founder and principal Steve Mueller while he was enrolled in the college of architecture at Texas Tech University. It utilizes passive design strategies first used over 2,000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Soon a new concept was developed and became known as the series 002 home design. This home design was an improvement over the series 001 design by incorporating not only passive design strategies but also a gray water collection and re-use system. Again, our principal Steve Mueller based his integrated gray water system on a German design he saw while on military orders in Stuttgart, Germany. As with the series 001, the series 002 home was theoretical and was never physically built. That was about to change in 2003 with the development of the series 003 home design that incorporated three, of the standard twelve, present day design standards- ADA adaptability. The first series 003 home was designed and constructed in Mr. Mueller’s home town of Jourdanton, Texas for his parents. The home was designed with 3 primary sustainability components- 1) Passive design strategies, 2) Gray water collection, and 3) ADA adaptability. The home was meant to be a retirement home for Mr. Mueller’s parents and was configured to have a reduction electrical consumption by utilizing passive design strategies, conserve water for irrigation of landscaping with the gray water system and respond to any age related needs that may be encountered during the occupation of the space. Only two series 003 homes we built. Today, these homes still yield performance field data for our building scientist to study and the series 003 homes were the foundation for our most current and technically advanced home design the series 012 home.

The series 012 home design is the most energy efficient, cost effective home currently available on the market today anywhere in the United States. It incorporates twelve sustainable features:

1 Passive Design Strategies

2 Integrated Gray water Collection & Re-use system

3 ADA Adaptability

4 Safe Room/ Storm Shelter

5 Xeroscape

6 Integrated Automated sub-soil drip irrigation system

7 Renewable Energy System (Parabolic Trough)

8 USGBC LEED Platinum Rating

9 EPA indoor air quality superior rating

10 Compressed Earth Block (CEB)

11 Integrated Natural Convection System (INCS)/ Heat exchange

12 Integrated Domestic water filtration and Hot water system

Current research and development is underway in varies stages. As of December 20, 2009 the following areas of building design is being studied. For updated information on building system development and on-going research please visit our research and development page. Series 013 home design will have the Tubular lighting system, currently being studied under field conditions and is projected to be commercially available sometime in late March of 2010.

Lighting

1. Tubular Lighting System (Currently being Developed)

Air Ventilation & Air Conditioning

1. Integrated Natural Convection System

1A. Thermal Collection Chamber (Currently being Developed)

1B. Ground Source Heat Exchanger (Currently being Developed)

Computer Automation, Monitoring and control interface

1. Voice Activated Response (Software)

2. Integrated Media Database (Software)

Renewable Energy Systems

1. Integrated photovoltaic’s (Study Concluded)

2. Wind Turbine (Study Concluded)

3. Parabolic Trough- Hot water production (Currently being Developed)

4. Parabolic Trough- Water filtration (Being Studied)

5. Parabolic Trough- Electrical Production (Currently being Developed)

6. Parabolic Trough- Tesla Turbine (Being Studied)

7. Parabolic Trough- Fuel Cell Configuration (Being Studied)

8. Parabolic Trough- On-site Hydrogen Production (Being Studied)

9. INCS/ In-Line Turbine Generator (Being Studied)

Insulation

1. Retro-Fitted Surface Insulation (RSI) (Being Studied)

2. High Temperature Surface Insulation (HTSI) (Being Studied)

3. INCS/ Attic Conditioning with ground source heat exchanger (Currently being Developed)

Transportation

1. Compressed Air Propulsion (CAP)

2. Hybrid CAP/ small car applications

3. Heated Fuel Injection

4. On-Site Hydrogen/ Fuel Cell

With resource reductions that are the very highest in the housing industry and more than an 90% reduction on water usage and a 125% reduction on electrical usage, these homes are designed to take full advantage of natural renewable energy sources through smart design and construction techniques specific to the geographic location.

Let us introduce you to the world of possibilities

The path to energy independence begins at the design stage with a qualified green architect. A qualified design professional is essential to facilitate a zero energy design without breaking the bank. Your design professional must be trained and skilled in solar architectural principles and passive design strategies. They must have an clear understanding of how to balance solar design with modern technology and be able to select the correct renewable energy source per location and budget.

Designing your zero energy building is a 3 part design problem.

Energy Retention + Energy Conservation - Energy Production = Zero Energy

First, we must address the overall insulation envelope of the building. We must analyze the Energy Retention ability of our building design. Does the building maintain good climate control? Do we have good seals around all penetrations such as doors and windows? Do we have sufficient eave shading around the perimeter of our building? Have we protected the building from intense focused thermal radiation associated with South and West facing walls? Have we taken advantage of passive solar heating? Second, we must look at the energy Conservation ability of the building design. Have we chosen lighting, appliances and mechanical systems that operate at the highest possible efficiency? Have we calculated the average use of these systems per day? Third and most important, is Energy Production. Once we have designed the building to maximize energy retention and energy conservation we can now design a renewable energy production system. This could take many forms and even a collective effort from more than one source to satisfy the building daily electrical needs. For example; we could install a Solar array, Wind Turbine, if near a flowing stream a hydro-electric system or if located atop a thermal region of the world- a geo thermal energy system. Only the location, energy needed, maintenance frequency desired and cost will be the deciding factors.

Once we understand these three basic design parameters, then we can start to develop our zero energy building by choosing the best possible design solutions for the structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and renewable energy systems. Remember, in order to get to Zero Energy and be cost effective, we must reduce the biggest electrical consumption devices in the design. These are the HVAC system (63% of Electrical Bill) and electric water heater (30% of Electrical Bill). If we can develop a design program that will allow the house to operate without the use of these systems (they really are not required) by increasing our thermal shielding, insulation envelope performance and using the suns energy to heat water for domestic use, then it will be easier and cheaper to reach zero energy. If the home requires less energy, the renewable energy system can be smaller resulting in lower construction costs.

Structural Systems

While traditional homes are constructed with light wood frame construction (2x4 and 2x6), which is typical throughout the United States, there are other options. These alternative options, in most cases, offer a higher degree of energy efficiency, sound control, stability, ease of construction, reduced cost and are naturally available in most cases. Some of the building systems that UDC has experimented with in association with our partner members are: Insulated Concrete Form (ICF), Adobe, Compressed Earth Block (CEB), Rammed Earth, Light Straw Clay and Strawbale. UDC is currently researching two new experimental systems, Earthbags and papercrete.

Mechanical Systems

While most houses are configured to utilize a forced air circulation and climate control mechanical system, most are not properly designed. A report generated by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) reports that the average American mechanical system operates at 63% efficiency. For most us, we never consider the efficiency of our mechanical unit- we simply want it to cool and/or heat when we turn it on. However, consider this, a mechanical system operating at 63% over a 12 month period could end up costing you $1,200 or more yearly. How is this problem solved? Easy- simply have your mechanical designed and sized by a competent registered professional mechanical engineer. A building designed with a “high performance” mechanical system will operate at or near 98% efficiency. What is high performance? High performance deals with the ease in which the air can travel through the duct work unimpeded, the amount of times the air can be replaced in a interior space, the quality of the air, and the proportional size (in tonnage) of your unit in relation to the total cubic volume of air needed per space. We recommend and design into our homes, high performance mechanical systems that run at peak efficiency. We specify round metal duct work that offers the greatest reduction in air disturbance and allows the home owner the flexibility in cleaning the duct work as needed. (Flex duct and fiberglass duct can not be cleaned and produce more air friction). We offer natural solutions to facilitate the need to have a reduced sized HVAC or no mechanical system in the form of Passive solar gain, Geo Thermal heat pumps and solar radiate systems. This is further expanded to the water heater by utilizing on-demand water heating systems, solar water heaters and in some cases geo thermal heating systems. If we can remove a traditional HVAC configuration from a building we save big! There are alternatives to heating and cooling your building.

Plumbing Systems

Have you ever thought of how much water is used by an average American? The national average is 30 gallons of water per day per person. That is close to 11,000 gallons of water per year! What if I told you that are low cost systems that could reduce your water bills up to 80% or more? Surprisingly, it is very easy. It is called a gray water return system. It works by collecting water from you showers, bathroom sinks, washer discharge and natural run-off from you roof. From that point you can use the water for landscaping or filter it and return back to house to be used to supply toilets. The only water that can not be collected and reused is water discharged from toilets and the kitchen sink (black water). If you decide to use collected water for irrigation, you could use it in conjunction with a xeroscape landscaping plan with a underground drip system for maximum results, or simply water the yard with it through standard means. Another mean of reducing your daily water usage is to employ efficient faucets, shower heads and toilets. Collectively, these green alternatives can reduce your water usage up to 90%.

Electrical Systems

Components and devices that are associated with it is our focus. We must be smart about designing a building that takes full advantage of natural light, either though the use of skylites, lite tubes or lite wells in order to reduce the amount of artificial light needed during the day. We only want to utilize artificial light at night and reduce the amount we use during the day as much as we can. A lot of research and development has been focused on this problem at UDC and we are currently developing a new advanced natural light system that uses no artificial light during the day and only uses a single high watt lamp at night for the entire building. A production model should be ready in late 2009. Essentially your building will have only one big light bulb to light your interior spaces in low light conditions and at night.

It is important to always be aware of the amount of natural light you are allowing into a space; consider the natural light source proximity to and/or the orientation, placement and size in relation to a direct sun. Consider a shading device that could allow the natural light source to be regulated during peak sun concentrations during the day. In additional, be aware that the suns ultraviolet light (UV) and how it can damage and/or fade carpet and home furnishings. There are window tints available that reduce or eliminate ultraviolet light (UV). Once you have taken full advantage of natural lighting and safeguarded against excessive unwanted passive solar gain and ultraviolet light (UV) damage, then we can choose our artificial lighting fixtures and lamps. We want to choose fixtures that are energy star rated. Select lamps that produce the greatest amount of light at the lowest wattage possible and have the greatest life span. Some of these lamps are Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) and Light emitting Diode (LED) It is also important to consider the wattage of ALL electrical appliances to include electrical devices found in the kitchen, bathroom, garage and most importantly, all devices used for recreation such as big screen televisions, video equipment and games. We need to calculate the amount of energy in watts each of the devices will use and estimate the amount of time each device will be used for on a daily basis. This could be time consuming and confusing so, UDC offers an energy analysis service for identifying a building average energy requirement for both new and existing residential and commercial buildings. Contact us for a Energy Analysis.

Renewable Energy System

A Renewable energy system is the most important element of a reduced energy or zero energy building. After designing our building to maximize energy retention and energy conservation, we now need to calculate the daily average amount of electricity that the building will require.

This is done by examining our insulation envelope and amount of conservation designed into the building. What are our exterior walls and roof R- values? Have we been able to successfully reduce the amount of interior air climate from escaping out of the building through poorly sealed windows, doors and other wall penetrations? Have we provided adequate building orientation in reference to seasonal sun positions? Have we allowed for passive solar gain during winter months and allowed for protection for the building during the summer months when the sun is at its hottest? What is our average daily electrical usage? What is our average daily water usage? Have we reduced the amount of water usage in the interior of the building by utilizing efficient faucets and plumbing fixtures? Have we designed an efficient landscaping theme?

Once we can answer theses questions, we can now design the electrical production system. They will be site sensitive, depending on where you are located in the world. The best advice is to pick a renewable system that takes full advantage of natural resources indigenous to your buildings environment. For example, if you are located in the South West part of the United States, the most prominent renewable energy source is solar power or the wind power. Both can be harnessed and utilized effectively to energize your building. To add to these, you also have Biofuels, Biomass, GeoThermal, Hydro Power, Tidal Power, and Wave Power. The most common and easiest to maintain renewable energy source is solar power. To some degree all of the other renewable energy sources are directly and indirectly influenced by solar energy. It is important to note that not all renewable systems can be used for every building since they are building codes, home owners associations, city ordnances, available land, geographic locations, and EPA regulations to be considered, just to name a few. However, do not be discouraged. If you find no directives in your area concerning renewable energy sources, you may be the first to propose it!

UDC utilizes a solar array for all of our residential and commercial projects. Primarily, because the system does not require routine maintenance, is designed to withstand a 1” diameter hail impact at 140 MPH, is covered under the building owners insurance, and has a life expectancy of 40+ years. Most photovoltaic (PV) manufactures will warranty the panels for 15 to 25 years. How long does a solar panel last? There is no definite answer to that question, No one really knows. Some of the earliest panels are still functioning today (80 years after the creation). How does the solar system work? The solar array collects sunlight on the panels and converts it to direct current (DC). The electrical current then flows through an inverter that converts the direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). Once this is accomplished, the building uses the amount of electricity it requires to operate per day. All electricity not used during the day is put back into the electrical grid. The electrical meter runs backwards when this occurs. During the night, the electricity that the system has stored in the electrical grid is pulled out of it and used by the building. Essentially the electrical grid is utilized like a battery- as the storage mechanism for electricity for nighttime usage. The electricity that is not used by the start of the next solar day is calculated as an energy credit.

Does the electrical company have to pay you for kilowatts that you produce? Yes, the electric company is required to reimburse the home owner for all extra electricity produced by their renewable energy source at the same rate that they charge the energy customer, this is done by issuing a energy credit. This is called Net metering. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, under Sec. 1251, all public electric utilities are now required to offer net metering on request to their customers. Most of UDC designs typically produce between $100 to $150 a month of energy credit.

History of the Solar Energy

The first solar panel was crafted in the 1900’s by William Grylls Adams after he discovered that when light shined on Selenium, the material shed electrons, thereby creating electricity, but it was not until 1953, Bell Laboratories (now AT&T labs) scientists Gerald Pearson, Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller developed the first silicon solar cell capable of generating a measurable electric current. In 1956, solar photovoltaic (PV) cells were far from economically practical. Electricity from solar cells ran about $300 per watt. (For comparison, current market rates for a watt of solar PV hover around $3.) The “Space Race” of the 1950s and 60s gave modest opportunity for progress in solar, as satellites and crafts used solar paneling for electricity. Some of the solar panels used for research by NASA are still in operation today on both ground and space based platforms and solar panels have found their way into every aspect of life around the world as the premiere renewable energy source.