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Building
America
Systems
Evaluation
Simple,
Non
‐
Distributed
Heating
Systems
in
Cold
‐
Climate
Homes
P
REPARED
FOR
:
N
ATIONAL
E
NERGY
T
ECHNOLOGY
L
ABORATORY
3610
C
OLLINS
F
ERRY
R
OAD
M
ORGANTOWN
,
WV
26507
‐
0880
&
M
IDWEST
R
ESEARCH
I
NSTITUTE
,
N
ATIONAL
R
ENEWABLE
E
NERGY
L
ABORATORY
D
IVISION
,
1617
C
OLE
B
OULEVARD
,
G
OLDEN
,
CO
80401
‐
3393
P
REPARED
B
Y
S
TEVEN
W
INTER
A
SSOCIATES
,
INC
.
FOR
THE
C
ONSORTIUM
FOR
A
DVANCED
R
ESIDENTIAL
B
UILDINGS
(CARB)
S
TEVEN
W
INTER
A
SSOCIATES
,
I
NC
.
50
W
ASHINGTON
S
TREET
N
ORWALK
,
CT
06854
T
EL
:
(203)857
‐
0200
/
F
AX
:
(203)852
‐
0741
C
ONTACT
:
R
OBB
A
LDRICH
D
ATE
:
D
ECEMBER
2009
2
Table of Contents
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 3
1.1.
Overview ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.2.
Key Results ................................................................................................................... 3
1.1.
Gate Status .................................................................................................................... 3
2.
PROJECT OVERVIEW – RDI WISDOM WAY SOLAR VILLAGE ..................................... 4
2.1.
Plans .............................................................................................................................. 4
2.2.
Basement ...................................................................................................................... 4
2.3.
Above-Grade Walls ....................................................................................................... 4
2.4.
Attic ................................................................................................................................ 5
2.5.
Windows ........................................................................................................................ 5
2.6.
Heating Systems ........................................................................................................... 6
2.7.
Ventilation Systems ..................................................................................................... 6
2.8.
Water Heating ............................................................................................................... 7
2.9.
Solar Electric Systems ................................................................................................. 7
3.
SHORT-TERM TESTING .................................................................................................... 7
3.1.
Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 7
3.2.
Blower Door, Airflow, and Power Measurements ...................................................... 8
3.3.
Tracer Gas and Temperature Distribution Testing Procedure ................................. 9
3.4.
Air Distribution Results ............................................................................................... 9
3.5.
Thermal Comfort Analysis and Results ................................................................... 11
3.5.1.
Thermal Design Considerations ............................................................................................................. 11
3.5.2.
Thermal Comfort Test Results ............................................................................................................... 12
3.6.
Recommendations to Residents ............................................................................... 17
4.
LONG-TERM MONITORING AND EVALUATION ........................................................... 17
5.
GATE CRITERIA .............................................................................................................. 17
5.1.
“Must Meet” Criteria ................................................................................................... 17
5.1.1.
Source Energy Savings and Whole Building Benefits ............................................................................ 17
5.1.2.
Performance-Based Code Approval ....................................................................................................... 18
5.2.
“Should Meet” Criteria ............................................................................................... 18
5.2.1.
Prescriptive Code Approval .................................................................................................................... 18
5.2.2.
Cost Advantage ...................................................................................................................................... 18
5.2.3.
Reliability Advantage .............................................................................................................................. 18
5.2.4.
Manufacturer/Supplier/Builder Commitment ........................................................................................... 18
5.2.5.
Gaps Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 18
6.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS TO DATE ............................................................... 19
7.
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................... 19
7.1.
Mechanical Plan .......................................................................................................... 19
3
Building America System Evaluation
NON-DISTRIBUTED HEATING SYSTEMS IN 50% COLD-CLIMATE HOMES1. Executive Summary
1.1. Overview
As
envelope
performance
dramatically
increases
in
cold
‐
climate
homes,
design
heating
loads
become
very
small.
Building
America
teams
have
struggled
to
find
systems
small
enough
to
meet
these
loads
efficiently,
comfortably,
and
cost
‐
effectively.
At
Wisdom
Way
Solar
Village
in
Greenfield,
MA,
Rural
Development
Inc.
(RDI)
is
building
homes
with
exceptional
thermal
envelopes.
To
heat
each
home,
a
single,
gas
‐
fired,
sealed
‐
combustion
room
heater
is
located
in
the
central
living
space
of
each
home.
There
is
no
heat
provided
directly
to
bedrooms,
though
a
simple
ventilation
system
provides
some
thermal
equalization.
CARB
has
performed
short
‐
term
testing
in
conjunction
with
NREL
in
February
2009,
and
long
‐
term
monitoring
is
under
way
for
the
winter
of
2009
‐
2010.
1.2. Key Results
Short
‐
term
test
results
from
February
2009
indicated
that
temperature
distribution
throughout
the
tested
home
would
be
acceptable
under
nearly
all
conditions.
At
outdoor
temperatures
above
10
‐
15°F,
tests
showed
that
modest
internal
gains
(125W)
will
keep
bedrooms
within
3
‐
4°F
of
the
temperature
of
the
central
living
space.
At
lower
temperatures,
near
the
design
temperature
of
2°F,
if
rooms
have
very
modest
internal
gains,
occupants
may
want
to
leave
bedroom
doors
open
or
use
portable
electric
heaters
(very
sparingly)
to
keep
upstairs
bedroom
temperatures
higher.
The
space
heating
system
will
require
a
different
level
of
resident
awareness.
CARB
has
presented
information
to
residents
about
recommended
practices
(such
as
keeping
bedroom
doors
open
when
unoccupied,
avoiding
extreme
daytime
temperature
setbacks,
etc.).
Only
one
home
was
occupied
during
the
winter
of
2008
‐
2009,
and
CARB
was
not
able
to
monitor
temperatures
throughout
this
home.
For
the
winter
of
2009
‐
2010,
four
homeowners
have
agreed
to
let
CARB
monitor
temperatures
and
interview
them
about
comfort
and
energy
issues.
One
key
result
in
the
cost
‐
effectiveness
of
the
system
is
that
RDI
saved
approximately
$4,500
on
mechanical
systems
for
each
home
when
compared
to
a
conventional
home
with
a
boiler
and
hydronic
baseboard
convectors.
To
date,
results
have
shown
that
simple
heating
systems
with
minimal
or
no
distribution
can
effectively
provide
comfort
in
some
super
‐
insulated,
cold
‐
climate
homes.
1.3. Gate Status
Table
1
shows
the
Gate
criteria
for
advanced
system
evaluations.
At
the
current
stage
of
analyses,
this
system
appears
to
meet
all
“must
meet”
and
most
“should
meet”
criteria.
The
two
“should
meet”
criteria
listed
as
“recycle”
are
pending
further
results
from
long
‐
term
monitoring
during
the
winter
of
2009
‐
2010.
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