A Net Zero Energy Home at Conventional Cost
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The Iowa Nest Residence is featured on the SketchUp Blog as a case study in Net Zero Energy design. The article includes key lessons that were learned during design, including the importance of the overall shape of the home on performance and cost, and the importance of looking at passive measures and HVAC system holistically.
Continue reading “Press: Iowa Nest Residence featured on SketchUp Blog”
What does it mean to be “comfortable?” This presentation at the DAAPx Symposium on Experiential Design in September 2020 uses the Iowa Nest Residence to explore the idea of designing for “thermal delight” (a term coined by Lisa Heschong in her book of the same name). It discusses how comfort is far more than just air temperature, and how these additional physical sensations were used in the Nest Residence to maintain comfort largely through passive measures.
The Iowa Nest Residence was featured on the cover, and in a feature article, of the May/June 2020 issue of ICF Builder Magazine. The issue focuses on green building, energy efficiency, and Passive House projects.
The Nest Residence won the 2020 ICF Builder Award in the category of Small Residential. The annual project-of-the-year competition is widely regarded as the biggest event in the Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) industry.
The 13th edition of Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings (AKA “MEEB”) has just been published by Wiley. Chapter 1 on Design Process prominently features the Iowa Nest Residence as an exemplar of high-performance design — incorporating much of the material that has been discussed in detail on this blog.
Continue reading “The Nest Residence is Featured in the New Edition of MEEB”
We were pleased to host the Iowa Building Enclosure Council (BEC) once again to show our progress on the house and review the design process we used to meet our ambitious energy and cost goals.
The group toured the house previously in 2017, and we were delighted to be able to show our progress.
Below is the slideshow I presented on April 20, 2017 to the Iowa Building Enclosure Council, and to a sustainable construction class from Hawkeye Community College.
The version below is slightly edited to make it easier to follow online. (I tend to avoid text in my presentations, which can make them difficult to follow without accompaniment.)
Continue reading “Slideshow: Achieving Net Zero Energy at Conventional Cost”
We were pleased to host the Iowa chapter of the Building Enclosure Council (BEC) for a house tour and presentation, as well as a sustainable construction class from Hawkeye College. Many thanks to everyone who came out — including for the many excellent questions and kind words about the house.
This webinar from December 2015 provides an overview of the design processes and analyses that were used to set the project on track toward Net Zero Energy during Conceptual and Schematic Design. The studies include “simple box” energy modeling to determine the best passive design measures, comparison of design options, analysis of shading strategies, and optimization of envelope parameters like R-values and glazing. I used a variety of tools including Climate Consultant and the CBE Thermal Comfort Tool — but mostly I used Sefaira Architecture. (Full disclosure: I worked for Sefaira for nearly five years; that’s where this webinar comes from originally.)