Best Practices Research Alliance Lab Home
Our research is rooted in what we believe, and we think that, in time, zero energy neighborhoods will be commonplace in cities and towns throughout the country. It will be a challenge, but we're confident that, with the right combinations of energy conservation and renewable strategies and the right business models in place, homebuilders will be able to take zero energy homes from custom, "special order" projects to full-scale production, driving down the cost of construction and making these homes affordable for the average homebuyer.
Our research with the Department of Energy's Building America program has already shown that focusing on energy doesn't have to mean sacrificing comfort or affordability if you're looking to achieve a standard such as ENERGY STAR® for Homes or Builder's Challenge. Alliance members and partners have found many solutions that prove a more energy efficient home can also be a more comfortable, higher performing home that continues to make great economic sense years into the future.
The next step in our research is to take what we've learned so far, push toward zero energy, choose which solutions make the most sense, and put them to work in one real-life home-so that we can see firsthand what challenges need to be overcome to take zero energy to the production level.
Our ideas make sense in the big picture-but there are a lot of details we need to fill in. What's the right balance between energy conservation and renewable energy in terms of cost and performance? How can we ensure that an airtight house stays comfortable? What heating and cooling systems will deliver the best combo of comfort, efficiency and affordability? How can home lighting systems help keep energy use to a minimum and make the house feel more like a home? And how do we keep construction costs low and adapt what we're learning to large-scale homebuilding?
Each phase of our Lab Home project-modeling, system mock-ups, construction, monitoring, a family in residence-will give us more answers. Best of all, it will bring our vision of zero energy homes for everyone down to where it really counts-real-world performance where the rubber meets the road.
