The Design of Net-Zero-Energy Affordable Housing in Philadelphia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Background
3. The Proposed Low-Income Housing Design
4. A Comparative Analysis of the Proposed Design
4.1. Creating Model Assemblies
4.2. Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) Using the Athena EcoCalculator
4.3. Energy Analysis and Improvements to Baseline Model
4.4. Comparison of LCA of Baseline and High-Performance Models
4.5. Comparison of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of Baseline and High-Performance Models
4.6. Comparison of Design Results to Guiding Principles
- Experience: The house is creating a pleasant view of the street and helping to provide a better and healthy environment for the residents.
- Facts/performance: The design encourages a heathy interior environment with minimal monthly utility costs (i.e., energy and water savings) and uses recycled and recyclable materials for construction.
- Culture: The proposed design provides an affordable building in the neighborhood and saves money on utility bills. If replicated, this prototypical housing unit may stimulate local social and economic development.
- Systems: The house has a closed-loop water system with rainwater harvesting and treated water, and is off grid, generating its own electricity.
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Experience | Facts/Performance |
Contribute to creating a pleasant view of the street and help to provide a better and healthy environment for the residents. | Have a healthy interior environment with minimal monthly cost in utilities, saving water and energy and using recycled and recyclable materials for construction. |
Culture | Systems |
Improve affordable construction quality building in the neighborhood. Incentivize the community to save money on utility bills and help improve neighborhood economy. Create a prototypical housing unit that can be replicated in other places to stimulate social and economic development. | Design with the climate to save and conserve natural resources like water and electricity. |
Experience | Facts/Performance |
Create a house where people are thermally comfortable; feel safe and secure; have abundant access to daylight; can experience the city from street and roof levels; experience a connection to nature via a modest outdoor space. | Achieve net zero energy. Collect 100% of harvested rainwater from roof and use it to offset water consumption. |
Culture | Systems |
Improve residents’ and neighborhood quality of life. Front porch to engage with community. Provide opportunity to generate savings from costly utility bills that can be used to invigorate the local economy. | Produce 100% of energy via onsite renewable sources (PV) to help achieve net zero energy. Install PV system. Install and use water conservation system including low-flow fixtures, the reuse of greywater and a treatment system. |
Assembly Type | Materials—Baseline | Materials—High-Performance |
---|---|---|
Foundation wall | 8″ Cast-in-Place Vapor Barrier | 8″ Cast-in-Place R10 Polyisocyanurate Foam Continuous Insulation Vapor Barrier |
Foundation slab | 4″ Poured Concrete Slab | 4″ Poured Concrete Slab |
Footing | Poured Concrete Footing | Poured Concrete Footing |
Intermediate floor | Wood Joist w/Oriented Strand Board (OSB) Decking (uninsulated) Vapor Barrier | Wood Joist w/OSB Decking R19 Cavity Insulation Vapor Barrier |
Exterior wall | Clay Brick Cladding w/1” Air Space R13 Cavity Insulation Weather-Resistant Barrier ½ Gypsum Board + 2 Coats Latex Paint | Clay Brick Cladding w/1″ Air Space 3 ½″ Structural Insulated Panels (R19) (SIP) Weather-Resistant Barrier ½ Gypsum Board + 2 Coats Latex Paint |
Windows | Aluminum-Operable Low-E, Argon Filled | Vinyl clad wood Filled Low-E, Argon Filled |
Interior walls | Wood Stud 2 × 4 16″ on center (o.c.) ½″ Gypsum Board 2 Coats Latex Paint | Wood Stud 1 5/8 × 3 5/8 24” o.c. ½” Gypsum Board 2 Coats Latex Paint |
Roofs | Wood Joist w/OSB Decking Asphalt Shingles, Fiberglass Felt-based, 20 year R38 Cavity Insulation ½″ Gypsum Board + 2 Coats Latex Paint | Wood Joist w/OSB Decking Asphalt Shingles, Fiberglass Felt-based, 20 year R38 Cavity Insulation ½″ Gypsum Board + 2 Coats Latex Paint |
Model | EUI (kBtu/sf/yr) |
---|---|
Baseline | 63 |
Interior Walls R-value = 11 sf·°F·h/Btu | 63 |
Basement Slab R-value = 40 sf·°F·h/Btu | 61 |
Basement Walls R-value = 48 sf·°F·h/Btu | 58 |
Exterior Walls R-value = 48 sf·°F·h/Btu | 52 |
Roof R-value = 58 sf·°F·h/Btu | 51 |
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Ozcan-Deniz, G.; Fryer, R.; De Castro Amorim Ferreira, A. The Design of Net-Zero-Energy Affordable Housing in Philadelphia. Designs 2018, 2, 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs2030026
Ozcan-Deniz G, Fryer R, De Castro Amorim Ferreira A. The Design of Net-Zero-Energy Affordable Housing in Philadelphia. Designs. 2018; 2(3):26. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs2030026
Chicago/Turabian StyleOzcan-Deniz, Gulbin, Robert Fryer, and Ana De Castro Amorim Ferreira. 2018. "The Design of Net-Zero-Energy Affordable Housing in Philadelphia" Designs 2, no. 3: 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs2030026