y sectors, using a highly regarded economic model and extensive survey data.
Zero-Energy Home Appears at Builders' Show
Homebuilders attending the 2004 International Builders' Show saw a new kind of home -- a highly energy-efficient Zero Energy Home that produces as much electricity as it uses over the course of a year.
A Zero Energy Home combines renewable energy technologies with advanced energy-efficient construction. Like almost all homes, a Zero Energy Home is connected to the utility grid. Because the home produces about as much energy as it consumes during a year, it is considered to achieve "net zero" energy consumption.
Called the Ultimate Family Home, the whopping 5,300-square-foot custom home was built by Pardee Homes and designed by Bassenian/Lagoni Architects. The National Association of Home Builders selected it to serve as a show home for the annual builders' convention and show in partnership with Builder Magazine and Home Magazine.
"The Ultimate Family Home shows that energy efficiency and solar energy can be incorporated into attractive homes that come with all of the features homebuyers are looking for," said Tim Merrigan, Zero Energy Homes program manager at NREL.
The location of the 2004 show -- Las Vegas -- is ideal for building a home powered by the southwestern sun. Photovoltaic panels on the rooftop provide electricity, and a solar water heating system provides hot water. A highly efficient air conditioning system combined with good insulation, air sealing and advanced windows keeps the home comfortable. The home will use 90 percent less energy than a similar home built strictly to code.
Pardee already constructs all of its homes to exceed Energy Star® standards through the ComfortWiseSM program developed by ConSol.
DOE started the Zero Energy Homes initiative to bring the latest research out of its national laboratories and into homes. NREL scientists and engineers are working with four teams to introduce the Zero Energy Homes concept into the single-family, new-home construction industry. In addition to ConSol (Stockton, Calif.), the teams include Davis Energy Group (Davis, Calif.), NAHB Research Center (Upper Marlboro, Md.), and Steven Winter Associates (Norwalk, Conn.).
Other Zero Energy Homes projects in the region include Clarum Homes' Vista Montana community in Watsonville, Calif., Morrison Homes' Lakeside community in Elk Grove, Calif., and the Armory Park del Sol neighborhood, built by John Wesley Miller Companies in Tucson, Ariz.
New Construction Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities
Around the clock operation, infection control requirements, intensive energy and water requirements and a strict regulatory environment make healthcare facilities especially challenging when designers attempt to apply sustainable design principles. Designers, owners and operators will soon have a self-certifying metric tool to benchmark their progress toward creating healing environments that are also sustainable. The tool is called Green Guidelines for Healthcare Construction™ (GGHC™) and is being developed with the support of the Merck Family Fund. Building on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2.1 structure, these new guidelines respond to many issues unique to healthcare facilities and address operations and maintenance as well as construction. The current draft of GGHC identifies 106 total points compared to 69 in LEED 2.1. Public comments on the draft are being accepted until February 29th. More information and the comment form can be found on the GGHC Web site.
EPA Announces Sustainability Competition
To respond to the scientific and technical needs of the developed and developing world in moving toward sustainability, EPA Assistant Administrator for Research and Development Paul Gilman and President of the National Academy of Engineering William Wulf have launched the P3 Award. This national student design competition will enable college students to research, develop and design sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. Support for the competition includes more than 27 p