Building America (BA) partner McStain Neighborhoods built the Discovery House in Loveland, CO, with an extensive package of energy-efficient features, including a high-performance envelope, efficient mechanical systems, a solar water heater integrated with the space-heating system, a heat-recovery ventilator (HRV), and ENERGY STAR appliances. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Building Science Consortium conducted short-term field-testing and building energy simulations to evaluate the performance of the house. These evaluations are utilized by BA to improve future prototype designs and to identify critical research needs. The Discovery House building envelope and ducts were very tight under normal operating conditions. The HRV provided fresh air at a rate of about , consistent with the recommendations of ASHRAE Standard 62.2. The solar hot water system is expected to meet the bulk of the domestic hot water (DHW) load , but only about 12% of the space-heating load. DOE-2.2 simulations predict whole-house source energy savings of 54% compared to the BA Benchmark (Hendron, R., 2005 NREL Report No. 37529, NREL, Golden, CO). The largest contributors to energy savings beyond McStain’s standard practice are the solar water heater, HRV, improved air distribution, high-efficiency boiler, and compact fluorescent lighting package.
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Research Papers
Evaluation of a High-Performance Solar Home in Loveland, Colorado
Robert Hendron,
e-mail: boḇhendron@nrel.gov
Robert Hendron
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393
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Mark Eastment,
Mark Eastment
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393
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Ed Hancock,
Ed Hancock
Mountain Energy Partnership
, Boulder, CO 80304
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Greg Barker,
Greg Barker
Mountain Energy Partnership
, Boulder, CO 80304
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Paul Reeves
Paul Reeves
Partnership for Resource Conservation
, Boulder, CO 80302
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Robert Hendron
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393e-mail: boḇhendron@nrel.gov
Mark Eastment
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, CO 80401-3393
Ed Hancock
Mountain Energy Partnership
, Boulder, CO 80304
Greg Barker
Mountain Energy Partnership
, Boulder, CO 80304
Paul Reeves
Partnership for Resource Conservation
, Boulder, CO 80302J. Sol. Energy Eng. May 2007, 129(2): 226-234 (9 pages)
Published Online: August 8, 2006
Article history
Received:
May 19, 2005
Revised:
August 8, 2006
Citation
Hendron, R., Eastment, M., Hancock, E., Barker, G., and Reeves, P. (August 8, 2006). "Evaluation of a High-Performance Solar Home in Loveland, Colorado." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. May 2007; 129(2): 226–234. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2710248
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