Three Affordable Housing Case

Studies

Andy Shapiro
Energy Balance, Inc.
andy@energybalance.us
 Ockert Lane
Shelburne Family Housing
 Shelburne Family Housing
Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation

18 units in 9 duplexes, clustered

Shelburne Rd
Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Energy Use
Shelburne Family
Housing
Sq.ft. floor area 1,088
Gas ccf 466
kWh/year 3,026
First Year Energy Cost
with natural gas $1,223
with propane $2,200
Annual CO2 emissions, lbs 10,000
Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Per Unit Energy Cost per year
$10,000
$9,000
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000 As-Built, 5%
$1,000 fuel escalation
$- As-Built, 15%
fuel escalation
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Good
envelope
 Super-
Super windows
envelope From R-3 to
R-5

Add 4 foil-
faced foam
to 2x6 wall Add 2
more
From R-16 inches
to R-40 foam
From
R-10 to
R-20
Good
envelope
 Foam-in-
Super place air
seal
envelope

Add 4 foil-
faced foam
to ceiling
From R-28
to R-54
 Super windows R-5 instead of R-3

Fiberglass frame window, triple + two-low-e +

argon + Superspacers (Accurate Dorwin,
Thermotech, Alpen)
Super envelope Air Leakage (Infiltration) Rate

Air leakage Air Changes per Hour

0.40

Infiltration 0.35

ACH 0.30

Typical 0.35 0.25

Micro-load 0.10 0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

-
Typical Micro-load
 Shelburne Family Housing
As-Built Micro-Load + Cost $/sq.ft. Sq.ft. Total
Walls R-19 R-39 (add 4" iso) $ 4.51 862 $ 3,892
Roof R-30 slopes R-54 (add 4" iso) $ 3.27 52 $ 170
R-40 flats, 12" R-60, 18" cellulose $ 1.46 469 $ 683
cellulose
Slab R-10 R-20 (add 2" EPS) $ 1.93 510 $ 982
Windows R-3 R-5 triple $ 28 138 $ 3,855
Added air leakage control $ 400
TOTAL $ 9,984
Shelburne Family Housing
Incremental Added
Cost mortgage
cost
As-Built $ -
Micro-Load $ 9,984 $ 805
Shelburne Family Housing
Incremental Added
Cost mortgage
cost
As-Built $ -
Micro-Load $ 9,984 $ 805

Energy Costs
Nat. gas Propane
As-Built $ 810 $ 1,900
Micro-Load $ 360 $ 840
Shelburne Family Housing
Financial Assumptions
Interest rate 7.0%
Term 30 yr

Energy Escalation Rates

low high
Natural Gas 5.0% 12%
Propane 5.0% 15%
Wood Pellets 4.0% 12%
Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
As-Built, 5% fuel escalation
Per Unit Energy Cost per year
$10,000 As-Built, 15% fuel escalation
$9,000 Micro-load Low

$8,000 Micro-load Hi

$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$-
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Energy Cost includes mortgage costs for improvements

 Shelburne Family Housing
Now add solar hot water

Actual usage
ccf gas DHW Heat Total
normalized actual energy use 147 319 466
 Shelburne Family Housing
Now add solar hot water ~$7,000/unit
Incremental Added
Cost mortgage
cost
As-Built $ -
Micro-Load $ 9,984 $ 805
Micro-Load + SDHW $ 16,984 $ 1,369
 Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Per Unit Energy Cost per year As-Built, 5% fuel escalation
$10,000 As-Built, 15% fuel escalation
Micro-load Low
$9,000
Micro-load Hi
$8,000 Micro+solar Low
Micro+solar Hi
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$-
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Energy Cost includes mortgage costs for improvements

 Shelburne Family Housing
Now add solar hot water AND central
wood-pellet fired boiler
 Shelburne Family Housing
Now add solar hot water AND central
wood-pellet fired boiler
Fuel cost
nat gas propane wood pellets
$$/unit $ 1.65 $ 3.50 $ 210
per ccf per gallon per ton
$$/MMBtu $ 17 $ 38 $ 13
 Shelburne Family Housing
Energy Costs
Nat. gas Propane Wood pellets
As-Built $ 810 $ 1,900 $ 890
Micro-Load $ 360 $ 840 $ 510
Micro-Load + SDHW $ 160 $ 360 $ 330

Wood pellet fired boiler added maintenance costs

$3,900 per year/ 18 units ($200/unit)
(1.5 hours per week for staff, loaded rate $50/hr)
Shelburne Family Housing
Central Pellet Boiler
total Cost central system $ 150,000
per unit cost, 18 units $ 8,333
less cost of individual boilers $ (3,000)
Net added cost per unit $ 5,000
 Shelburne Family Housing
Incremental Added
Cost mortgage
cost
As-Built $ -
Micro-Load $ 10,000 $ 800
Micro-Load + SDHW $ 17,000 $ 1,400
Micro-Load + SDHW + Pellet $ 22,000 $ 1,800
Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Per Unit Energy Cost per year
$10,000

$9,000
As-Built, 5% fuel
$8,000 escalation
Micro-load Low
$7,000

Micro+solar Low
$6,000

Micro+solar+wood Lo
$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Energy Cost includes mortgage costs for improvements

 Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Per Unit Energy Cost per year
$10,000

$9,000 As-Built, 15% fuel

escalation
$8,000 Micro-load Hi

$7,000 Micro+solar Hi

$6,000 Micro+solar+wood Hi

$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Energy Cost includes mortgage costs for improvements

 Shelburne Family Housing
Shelburne Family Housing
Per Unit Energy Cost per year
$10,000

$9,000

$8,000 Nat Gas As-built Hi

$7,000 Nat Gas Micro Hi

$6,000
Nat Gas Micro+Solar Hi
$5,000
Micro+Wood Hi
$4,000

$3,000

$2,000

$1,000

$0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Energy Cost includes mortgage costs for improvements

 White Pine CoHousing
Six units in 3 duplexes, clustered
tightly
East Montpelier
 White Pine CoHousing
Floor Area 1,200 1,800 sq.ft.
including walk-out
basement
Design heating load <20,000 Btu/hr
Modeled annual heat load 15 20 MMBtu/yr
Modeled total annual heat 35 45 MMBtu/yr
load (heat DHW, standby
and piping)

250 350 gallons oil or 2 3 tons wood pellets

 White Pine CoHousing
R-5, R-20, R-40,
R-60
Windows, Earth,
Walls, Roof
Air leakage rate
0.15 ACH
 White Pine CoHousing
Local lumber
Durisol
foundations
Super-insulated
Passive solar
 White Pine CoHousing
Common wood-
pellet fired boiler
PVs to ~meet
electrical needs
 Passivhaus
These houses are "passive" because the
vast majority of the heat is from "passive"
sources, such as sunlight and heat of
people and appliances. The result is a
high comfort, coupled with a low energy
consumption.
 Passivhaus
A passive house is a building in which the
thermal comfort is maintained solely by
means of heating or cooling the fresh air -
without having to use additional air
circulation."
Passivhaus
Passivhaus-USA
Passivhaus-USA
 Passivhaus
Building Systems
Ockert Lane White Pine Micro- Aachen Passivhaus
Load
Wall 2x6 walls with FG, R-16 double 2x4, 12" cellulose, Masonry with exterior
R-40 Mineral fiber insulation, R-
42
Roof Fiberglass R-slopes R-26 , 18" cellulose R-60 15" mineral wool R-52
Cellulose flat R-35
Windows Double glass, low-e argon, Triple glass, two-low-e, Triple glass, two low-e
R-3 fiberglass frame, R-5 fiberglass frames additional
frame insulation, R-7
Earth insulation Extruded polystyrene 2" Durisol R-24 below grade, mineral wool and
perimeter R-10, perimeter R-28 above grade; sub- polyurethane foam sub-
and sub-slab insulation slab 4" expanded slab and perimeter R-50
Air leakage rate 0.35 ACH 0.15 to 0.1 ACH 0.04 ACH
 Passivhaus
Mechanical Systems
Ockert Lane White Pine Micro- Aachen
Load Passivhaus
Heating system individual efficient central wood pellet efficient gas boiler
propane boilers boiler
Hot water individual efficient central wood pellet Solar hot water, gas
propane boilers boiler backup
Electricity grid supply grid supply + grid supply
photovoltaics
Ventilation heat recovery heat recovery
balanced system, 75% balanced system, 90%
exhaust only effective effective
 Passivhaus

Energy Use Comparison

Shelburne Family White Pine Micro- Aachen
Housing Load Passivhaus
52,000 Btu/sq.ft.-yr 28,000 Btu/sq.ft.-yr 9,400 Btu/sq.ft.-yr
Total energy use per year
164 kWh/sq.m-yr 90 kWh/sq.m-yr 30 kWh/sq.m-yr
Sq.ft. floor area 1,088 1,350 1,635
First Year Energy Cost $2,200 $1,000 $600
Annual CO2 emissions, lbs 10,000 400 3,500

Energy costs assumed: propane, $3.50/gallon

pellets: $210 per ton
electricity: $0.15/kWh