| Independence Energy Homes now operating as: |
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Charlestown, MA (PRWEB) April, 2008 -- Designing zero energy homes is their specialty, so last week the company formerly known as 'Independence Energy Homes' shifted to the more appropriate name of 'ZeroEnergy Design'.
ZeroEnergy Design has been providing architectural design and mechanical engineering services for high performance, zero energy, and green homes for several years now. Working across the nation and internationally at times, the firm decided it was time for the company's name to reflect the strongest skill set within the company. Moving forward, the company will be known as ZeroEnergy Design.
Read the full press release
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| Working on the 100k house project |
A team of talented firms have joined together to create a green house in Philadelphia with a total construction cost of $100,000.
LEED Platinum is the target!
and the project is well underway...
ZeroEnergy Design has joined the 100k house team to provide Energy Design services and improve the performance of the home.
The project's blog provides intimate details of every aspect: 100khouse.com
Postgreen, the developer, has done a wonderful job putting together a team that bridges all disciplines.
ZeroEnergy Design is proud to be working with Postgreen and contributing to the success of another challenging green home!
Interior renderings of the project - more at 100khouse.com
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Featured Energy Design - Pennsylvania |
Energy Design for Private Residence in Pennsylvania
With the market in as poor shape as it is, builders and developers are looking for ways to seek market differentiation to better sell the homes they have under development. One way to do this is to have ZeroEnergy Design optimize the energy performance of existing plans before they get built.
Typically, ZeroEnergy Design (ZED) can increase the performance of a home by 40-60% with building and mechanical improvements alone.
A client in northern Pennsylvania saw the value in having ZED optimize his plans. He even had plans from an architect who specialized in passive solar design, yet ZED still improved the home performance by an additional 19%.
The client's questions revolved around: Which high performance windows should I select? What kind of insulation should I install? Should I put money in renewable energy?
ZED built an energy model of the home and developed a package of recommendations. This package was the single answer to the complex questions that weighed performance, cost, and relative impact.
Further, the client's sought a properly sized heating and cooling system to meet the comfort demands of his family. His experience with his existing home's oversized air conditioner was that it would short-cycle, thus running inefficiently and failing to properly dehumidify the air.
To answer the client's question regarding renewable energy, ZED's findings indicated that a solar thermal hot water system was financially feasible for his home, convincing him it was worthwhile to pursue. The graph below however, shows the improved annual utility costs for the home, before including any renewable energy.
As Designed: Passive Solar Design from Architect
IEH Improved: Our firm's performance enhanced, cost effective version.
Professional builders and developers, would you like to increase the energy performance of designs you already use? If so you can contact us here.
1. Bring us your plans
2. Choose your energy target
3. We provide the details on how to get there
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| How much energy does your home office really use? |
 Ditching your commute for a home office may seem like a great way to save money, but working from home isn't entirely free. Running computers, office equipment, heating/cooling equipment, and lighting all day as opposed to just the few morning and evening hours in a day will increase your utility bills.
While most of us shut off the lights and turn down the air when we leave for work, when working from home, these and other large energy draws are run all day. Increasing this energy draw with a regularly used home office will surely increase your utility bills. But there are things that we can do so that working from home doesn't mean your home has to work overtime.
Equipment
- Plug equipment into a power strip so that you can cut power to several pieces of equipment at one time. This way energy isn't wasted on equipment that is not in use.
- Fact: According to Energy Star, 75% of a home's energy is used by electronics that aren't even on since electricity still flows to the equipment even when it isn't being used.
- Use Energy Star office equipment. Check it out here.
- Reminder: Energy Star computers and monitors only save energy when the power saving mode is on, so remember to set this feature up in your computer's operating system.
- Buy a laptop! They are about 0.1% of your annual electricity consumption compared to the 1.5% that a desk top computer uses.
- According to EnergyStar.com, you can save over 75% of your energy usage and cost simply by using Energy Star stamped appliances:
| Product |
Annual Utility |
Lifetime Utility |
| Computer & Monitor |
$49 |
$194 |
| Laser Printer |
$21 |
$10 |
| Scanner |
$9 |
$35 |
| Fax |
$10 |
$41 |
| TOTAL |
$89 |
$376 |
Around the House:
Be conscious of the fact that additional heat, air conditioning, and electricity will used because you are home during the day:
- Heat and air condition only the rooms in use.
- Use lights only where needed.
- Screen savers don't actually save energy, instead shut your monitor off or put it in sleep mode.
- Leaving equipment on does not use less energy than turning it on and off. Older computers used much more energy to turn on and off, but that is no longer the case.
Misconceptions:
Working from home does not have to mean a huge increase in energy use and subsequently utility costs. Taking simple steps, such as using power strips and efficient office equipment, should relieve some of the added stress to your home's energy needs. Next time you step into your home office to work, remember how much harder your home has to work too. |
| Boston Home Magazine |
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Stephanie Horowitz, Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design, was recently seen giving passive cooling tips in the latest Boston Home magazine.
"Implementing non-AC cooling strategies saves money and the planet"
In this article she includes tips for keeping cool without touching the thermostat.
The online version can be found here. |
| Boulder County Sets New High Standards |
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Colorado is pushing toward more net zero energy homes by way of their new building codes.
New homes and renovations that exceed 5,000 square feet are required to essentially be zero energy homes. Read the Energy Efficiency Requirements PDF below.
Exerpt from the official website:
Starting May 1, new residential construction and additions in unincorporated Boulder County will begin to implement requirements of the County's new residential green building code, Boulder County BuildSmart.
Program Description (pdf)
2-Page Summary (pdf)
Energy Efficiency Requirements (pdf) | |
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