One Sky Homes partners with DOE's Consortium for Advanced Residential Building
July 15, 2009 by Press Release
One Sky Homes has been selected to partner with the US Department of Energy in the Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings. One Sky Homes was selected to participate based on a leading edge, prototype design for a Zero Energy Home to be built in the heart of Silicon Valley in 2010. The home design features many advanced energy efficiency features and is expected to use no more energy than is produced by the solar panels on the roof.
One Sky Homes is working with one of the DOE's regional building science and engineering research partners, Davis Energy Group, to model and fine tune the home design. Construction is projected to start in the 2nd Qtr of 2010 at a home site in the heart of Silicon Valley. Research engineers at Davis Energy Group will install sophisticated monitoring equipment which will continuously log data measuring energy consumption, temperatures and other variables related to energy performance and occupant comfort while the home is occupied.
Many advanced features are included in the design of the mechanical (HVAC) system for the prototype Zero Energy home which will be monitored in detail for performance. Of particular research interest in the Silicon Valley microclimate is the inclusion of a fully-integrated, automatic night ventilation cooling system which automatically uses cool summer night air to remove summer daytime interior heat gains. Design models of the system predict air conditioning will almost never be required and the Night Breeze system may be up to four times as efficient as a standard air conditioner. The data gathered from the home will show exactly how well the system performs and serve as a model of what can be done in future home designs for the Silicon Valley microclimate.
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