Energy modeling in new home design, construction and renovations can be a very effective tool to weigh the cost effectiveness of any design strategy used to improve energy efficiency in a home.  Actually most energy auditors use some form of energy modeling to show their customers what kind of financial payback they could expect when implementing any of the recommended improvements.  So why is this tool not used more within the design industry?  Energy modeling is a standard service I provide with any home design work that I do, as well as a service that I provide to other design and construction professionals.  I offer this because some jurisdictions do require an energy compliance certificate.  Granted most design professionals and builders use REScheck as their preferred method.  However, REScheck will only demonstrate compliance using the trade-off approach and the prescriptive packages approach as described in the energy conservation codes.

More advanced software packages such as REM/Design which I use takes this a step further.  REM/Design and other software packages will not only provide you with a compliance certificate, but it will provide design loads along with estimated energy usage and cost to operate the home.  This can be helpful as a preliminary sizing tool for your heating and cooling systems.  What is also valuable about this feature is it gives you the ability to weigh the cost effectiveness of “upgraded” insulation levels or more efficient systems.  The software will even break up the loads into building components, so you know where most of your energy is being lost in the homes envelope.  For instance a recent project I was consulting on, I was able to determine that the six skylights the homeowner wanted in their passive solar home were more of an energy penalty than an overall gain.  So there was a compromise and the number of skylights was reduced to 3 as a daylighting strategy instead of one for heat gain in the winter time.

In an article posted on the American Institute of Architects website (Sustainable AIA: 2031–Why Energy Models Don’t Predict Actual Energy Use), it discusses the criticisms that energy modeling does not predict the actual energy usage of the building or home.  To some degree that is expected, energy modeling simulates the energy usage of a home to determine design loads based upon your geographical region.  Each software package takes into account occupants; however they cannot take into account occupant behavior which has a huge impact on the performance of any building or home.  Of course each software package has its flaws and performs some calculations better than others.

In the coming weeks, Chris Laumer-Giddens with Energy Vanguard in Georgia who is a licensed architect and HVAC designer will tell us the basic differences in some of the more widely used energy modeling tools.

A picture and comment posted on twitter reminded me of that.  It sparked a conversation with John Morefield (@Arch5cents) of Architecture 5¢, he is quick to remind us we don’t work for sexy, we work for our clients.  And that is what makes our job difficult.  What is not aesthetically pleasing to our trained eyes may be beautiful to our clients.  After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  With each project we spend lots of time with our clients to personalize their home, and at times it can be hard to not get personally attached to the project because you have made some sort of personal connection with that person, couple, or family.   So we have to remind ourselves that every aspect of our job is about design, we are designing our clients new way of life and it goes way beyond the exterior facade.  We design spaces, solve problems and in general improve our clients way of life by accommodating their needs and wants.

Now I don’t claim to be a strong designer, nor do I have a style.  My style is what the clients’ style or needs are; I solve the problem handed to me.  And sometimes aesthetics takes a back seat to budgets, programming needs and site constraints.  Again, we as designers may not be satisfied by the final solution, but in the end, if the clients life has been improved and they are happy, then it was a successful project.

View more photos of this project on our facebook page.

As I am now performing home energy audits, I am inspecting way too many homes built before the 1960′s with small to large additions or alterations.  Yet the majority of the original structure in not touched.  This is why I am visiting these homes, they have these brand new additions and brand new high efficiency furnaces, yet they are not comfortable.  No surprise when a newly insulated addition is added to the home and the original structure stills sits uninsulated.  But what may be more disturbing is the rare addition built within the past couple of years that are extremely under-insulated at the ceiling.  And what amazes me even more is that home owners are so conditioned into thinking that they are uncomfortable because they have “bad” windows.

In the case of the under-insulated additions that are only a couple years old, I am not sure who is to blame.  Is it the home owner not informed by their designer/architect of the current standards, or is the contractor cutting corners to save on cost.  In either case, why is the building inspector not flagging the low levels of insulation in the new addition?

The discomfort in the original section of the home and increased utility bills can easily be remedied by insulating the existing structures exterior walls and ceiling.  Now I must admit when working for architectural firms, I did not know the history of insulation and when it’s use and levels began.  However when performing field measurements, it’s an easy thing to take note of and at least bring up with the home owner.

Now this is where the change in thinking takes place and going beyond code minimums.  The building code does not require upgrading untouched portions of an existing home to increase energy efficiency.  My question is why wouldn’t we?  If work is already being done to the house, why wouldn’t the investment be made to add wall and ceiling insulation to the original home?  Because it always kills me going into an open attic and see the addition with code minimum levels of insulation that just stops as soon as it reaches the existing structure and drops virtually nothing.  Now come on, how much would it really cost the project to insulate the entire attic.  Especially since the contractor is already up there doing work.  In the overall scope of the project, insulation is a small investment and actually has a return in energy savings and reduced utility bills.  In most cases I see a 5 year or less payback to insulate existing exterior walls and even less time for ceiling/attic insulation.

I understand that most of the time, budget is an issue or the designer may not want to compromise their vision to pay for efficiency upgrades.  In the case of a $100,000 plus addition to a home, $2,000-$4,000 to completely insulate the exterior walls and ceiling of the existing home is a drop in the bucket, especially when it provides comfort to the home owner and will provide a savings in utility bills for the life of the home.

This is where home energy audits and energy modeling plays a role.  Home energy audits should be the first step before any work is done to the home to help identify where efficiency improvements can be made, and also identify any situations that can potentially be hazardous, especially when heating and cooling systems are being altered.  Many home energy auditors can also provide energy modeling relatively inexpensive for residential projects.  Like for commercial building it can help right size systems and show financial payback for improvements made to homes.  Some consultants can even provide system and duct work sizing which can actually provide a cost savings at time of construction because it is not left to the HVAC contractor to do the design work.

So I challenge the design and construction industry to look beyond the scope of work and use your training and the tools available to look at the big picture and how by making changes to an existing home is going to change its overall performance not in terms of energy usage but comfort and durability as well.

Overall my family and guests enjoyed our time at the lakeside cottage in upstate New York.  The open floor plan flowed nicely and left plenty of room for the 5 kids to run around and play.  The 4 bedrooms gave both families plenty of room and allowed them to have their own private space.  This will be nice for the owners as their family grows in size and is passed along between generations.  The bunk room was a hit with the kids and the open railing served its purpose to monitor the little ones from sneaking out.  My wife liked how she could lock the first floor bathroom and Master bedroom can act as a Master Suite by opening the pocket door.  During the planning and design I was skeptical of the placement of the laundry in the main entry.  Although spacious, the main entry is very utilitarian and is only used as a transition between spaces and the laundry goes almost un-noticed.  Plus being only a summer home, you tend to overlook the utilitarian nature of the space.

The large South facing windows provide a great view of the lake (a far cry from the original design provided by a drafter that was originally hired).  And with the clerestory windows, plenty of daylight was available in all areas of the home.  This also took advantage of the prevailing winds and is a very effective way to naturally ventilate the home.  At times it felt as if we were sitting on the screened in porch.

Overall the experience staying in the home was good and it was a fun project to work on.  Therefore  looking back, I really wouldn’t change anything that I did.  As a designer, our job is to solve problems and create places.  We were given the task to add two bedrooms and an additional bath to and existing cottage, and I think we came up with the best solution possible.  However the only complaint from the owner is they wish they had more storage space in form of cabinets and a larger deck that will soon be rectified.

Sym-Home is now providing residential design services, home energy audits and consulting.  Sym-Home specializes in energy efficient, healthy & durable homes.  Joshua Lloyd, owner of sym-home, draws from a decade’s worth of experience in the architectural field. In addition, his experience includes producing construction documents and coordinating LEED documentation for Ohio’s first LEED Platinum Home, located in Columbus, Ohio.

Sym-Home also provides home energy audits, helping home owners to take control of their homes energy usage by providing them the appropriate information after a thorough inspection and test on the home to see where the most energy is used and prioritize a list of recommended projects in terms of financial payback.  Joshua Lloyd, is a certified Building Analyst through the Building Performance Institute (BPI) to conduct home energy audits.

Sym-Home also provides consulting services to homeowners, builders and other design professionals.  Sym-Home can assist project teams with issues related to high performance structures, from building science issues, schematic level energy modeling for both commercial and residential structures, and LEED documentation and coordination.

Sym-Home considers residential design and home energy audits as a complimentary service to each other, especially for home owners looking to renovate or add on to an existing home.  Home energy auditing tools can be a valuable resource during the design and construction phases of a new home and renovation.

For those of you who have been following the renovation process, we will be re-posting all the projects with more images and information regarding each project in a series called “To Kill an Energy Hog”

About the Building Performance Institute
The Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) is the nation’s premier building performance credentialing, quality assurance, and national standards setting organization. BPI supports the development of a highly professional building performance industry through individual and organizational credentialing and a rigorous quality assurance program.

About Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)
LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

Catherine Mohr makes her decisions to building a green home by analyzing the numbers and examining the embodied energy of the materials and systems going into the home. So watch her presentation, and ask yourself this; if you are building a new home home, what is important to you, and where would you draw the line?

Catherine Mohr builds green

Check out Catherine Mohr’s blog as she ventures into green home building.

With over 400 entrants, the competition is stiff.  Public voting began on March 2nd 2010, and will close on March 18th.  The top 3 submissions will receive $5,000, a chance to develop the design and offer it on their new for sale plans site.  All entries are 1,800 square feet or less and in two separate categories.  The first, “The Starter House” for a young married couple looking to expand their family.  The second “The Not So Empty Nest” for an older retired couple looking to downsize, yet still want to accommodate family gatherings and take into consideration potential mobility issues by the homeowner.  I had the chance to enter a submission in both categories, one with an old co-worker and friend, as well as a submission on my own.  So please take some time to review my submissions as well as others, and I would appreciate your support and vote.  You can vote for each entry once per email address.

The Starter House

This submission was done in collaboration with Brad Pauling and he deserves most of the credit since he did the heavy lifting on the project.  Our intent was to provide a recognizable/traditional exterior form with a more modern approach to the interior spaces.  We utilized simple strategies to increase the solar gain and improve the natural lighting within the home.  You can learn more and vote for this submission here.

The Not So Empty Nest

The design of this home separates the public living spaces from the more private sleeping areas by an entry and utility area.  This home is a more modern design taking it’s inspiration from an old wooden salt shed.  The design also incorporates the use of increased South facing glazing to improve the solar gain and natural lighting levels and also incorporates a trombe wall within the main living area to help even out the diurnal temperature swings.  For more about the design and to vote, go here.

AIA OHIO AFFORDABLE GREEN HOME DESIGN COMPETITION

It has been a difficult but rewarding experience to organize and coordinate an event like this.  My only hope at this time is that we receive a good amount of submissions and that we can raise enough money to provide the stipends necessary for our winning design teams to produce final documents of their designs.

So I encourage you to visit the competition website at www.aiaohiogreenhome.com and consider entering if you are eligible.