NetZero Passive House (in need of owner)

Southwest view of the NetZero House

This NetZero energy passive house was designed to meet the requirements of the client but was never built because access to the site was encumbered with wetland areas including adjacency to DNR waters. As a result the approvals process was long and costly and although we were able at length to obtain all necessary permits, the client elected not to proceed. During the design and permitting phases of the project we engaged numerous manufacturers and contractors in an exhaustive Value Engineering effort which resulted in a relatively affordable construction cost (under$200/sf in 2008). Since we have essentially completed construction documents, with minor changes this design could be adapted to another site and built at a reasonable cost. 

Details of the Project

The NetZero House incorporates a sculptural shape that exists harmoniously in the natural environment and mimics a softly rolling neighboring terrain. Its passive design features large expanses of south-facing arched “Sun Gathering” windows and with broad curvilinear overhangs for seasonal solar control. The centerpiece of the plan consists of an orchid Conservatory that protrudes from the building’s otherwise monolithic glass-clad passive solar shell. Its open plan is arranged around the central three story high conservatory space which can be opened on two sides extending the dining and great room areas when desired. 

The NetZero House will function as a smart house in which all major functions are autonomously controlled and can be monitored and programmed from a Website.

An efficient envelope integrated radiant heating and cooling, utilizing water thermal storage and powered by a highly efficient ground source heat pump will be the high performance centerpiece of the building. Other emerging technologies include an advanced T-Mass foundation wall system which is like an inverted ICF (insulated concrete form) wall. This wall with exposed concrete on the interior behind the surrounding three foot high landscape berms, offers significant thermal storage. All exterior walls and roofs consist of prefabricated SIPs (structural insulated panels) and supported by a recycled steel frame. The windows are triple-glazed low-e windows made from Certified wood from sustainable sources and provide net positive energy flows. Clerestory windows providing natural ventilation and filtered daylight are operated automatically by the Smart Home Automation system. The first and second floor slabs housing the radiant heating tubes will have a highly polished finish eliminating the need for applied floor finishes and maximizing thermal storage. The building also features many other alternative technologies such as high efficiency lighting, natural ventilation, and daylighting throughout. Some of the strategies and systems that have been proposed and sourced or investigated for this project include:

View from Southeast

Site and Water Management Strategies and technologies

• Green Roof Technology Reduces runoff from roof by 70-80%
• Use of rainwater for landscape irrigation and use of native plants
• Permeable Paving Materials at driveway approach and turnaround

Selected High Performance Building Envelope Technologies

• T-Mass foundation and Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) exterior wall and roof systems
• Green Roof system provides cooling through evapotranspiration
• Engineered steel structural frame with high recycled content
• High-efficiency triple pane low-e doors and windows
• Window frames made from certified wood from sustainable sources

High Performance Interior Finishes and other IEQ components

• Polished concrete floor finish
• Low toxicity, low VOC paints formulated for chemical sensitivity
• EMF mitigating removable wire chase baseboards
• Recycled glass content bathroom floor and countertop surfaces
• Whole house air filtration and circulation
• Integrated central vacuum cleaner system
• Daylighting throughout
• Electromagnetic field/Radio field (EMF/RF) Radiation shielding strategies

Water Conservation and reduced septic outflow goals Supported by these Selected Strategies:

• Rainwater Harvesting system for plant watering, fountains and pools
• Low water consumption plumbing fixtures
• Grey Water Re-cycling System for exterior irrigation and service water

High Performance Appliances and Equipment

• Commercial grade and Energy Star-rated appliances
• High efficiency Gas Range
• High efficiency range hood exhaust system with Waste heat recovery
• High-efficiency LED and CFL lighting and control systems
• Low Voltage Power over Ethernet plug and play lighting and IT

Selected High Performance Mechanical Systems

• On-site solar assisted ground source Heat Pump System
• In-floor radiant Heating and Cooling (snow melt systems optional)
• Passive Solar Heating with high thermal mass walls and floors
• Roof Integrated Solar PV (thin film) technologies
• Solar Thermal Integration Assisted Domestic Hot Water with Pool Thermal Storage
• High efficiency computer monitored humidity control
• Centralized displacement ventilation
• Full fresh air dual core ERV-HRV system
• Passive solar high thermal mass floors and roofs
• H2O Thermal reservoir with water-to-water heat exchanger technologies
• Self-contained high efficiency conservatory environmental units

Selected High Performance Smart Home Automation System

• Demand-response distributed intelligence systems controls
• Environmental monitoring for Cooling and Humidity Control integration
• Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) controls
• Web-based systems monitoring and control
• CAT 5e backbone ELAN and coaxial networking  all rooms and equipment
• Power over Ethernet for low-voltage lighting and controls
• Auto-actuated solar shading systems
• Intelligently operated windows for natural ventilation

Other Alternative Technologies

• Biological (non-chemical) pool water treatment
• Locally sourced materials

For more information please contact me at loren.abraham@abrarch.com

Light - the stuff of creation

            In my life's work and studies, no one thing has dominated more or prefigured my purpose and intent, than the simple but incomprehensibly vast subject of LIGHT. Light powers our planet, invigorates our bodies, illuminates our environment and our understanding, restores our psyche and our soul. Light is both physical and spiritual at the same time. Without it there is no life. It was here from the beginning and will be irreplaceable til the end of time. For the bible in its opening statement clearly establishes its preeminence:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.      _Genesis 1:1-5 (HCSV) 

Although we see the world physically with light we also apprehend truth by it and we know the difference between good and evil by exposing our works to it. As Francis Bacon put it:

“The first creation of God, in the works of the days was the light of sense; the last was the light of reason; and his Sabbath work, ever since, is the illumination of the spirit.”

Centuries before Einstein ascertained Light's inextricable link to matter, Robert Grossteste, 13th century theologian and philosopher expounded on their interconnectedness…

“The first corporeal form which some call corporeity is in my opinion Light.”                                                 - From De Luce, by Robert Grossteste  1235 AD

The architect who would be successful must study this critical design element incessently. One of my heroes and guides, Louis Kahn said in an interview in Time Magazine, Jan. 15, 1973…

"We are actually born out of light, you might say. I believe light is the maker of all material. Material is spent light."                                                                      _Louis Kahn

As I noted earlier, Einstein was the scientist who understood light perhaps more than anyone after winning the Nobel Prize for his paper on the Photo Electric effect in 1907 and in the same year published his general theory of Relativity establishing the interwoven relationship of light, matter, energy and time – i.e. the elegant and simple formula “E=MC^2.” It was years later that he finally lamented:

“All the fifty years of conscious brooding have brought me no closer to the answer to the question, ‘what are light quanta?’ Of course today every rascal thinks he knows the answer, but he is deluding himself.             - Albert Einstein, 1951

Our ability to consciously apprehend the divine attributes of God cannot fully be expressed without referring to Light. Plato said it most succinctly when he said:

                                               “Light is the shadow of God.”

Then there was Milton who proclaimed:

“Hail! Holy light, offspring of heaven, first born.”

So what does all this mean to 21^st century man, who does not understand any better than Einstein, what is the substance and action of light or what we call electromagnetic energy? It is perhaps in the sacred text of scripture where light is most fully expounded upon and most completely elucidated. In the Hebrew text of the Tenakh - the Torah (teaching or law-the five books of Moses) the Nevi'im (prophets) and K'tuvim (writings) what most of us refer to as the Old Testament, there are eleven different terms used for light and each sheds a unique perspective on its understanding and application. Coincidentally, in the Greek text of the new testament writings, there are also eleven terms used to convey the different aspects of light. In a future post I will explore this a bit further and review all of them.