Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Zero energy ready homes are coming

energy.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 454 posts

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#41

Post by amluto »

jabart wrote: post #8
giantg2 wrote: post #2

Interesting. Is there a good consise page detailing the main differences between this and older standards? Stuff like cost and ease of maintenance comparisons?

Things switched from insulating the wall cavity to insulating the outside of the house. Engineers started to factor in the insulation value of a 2x6 compared to the insulation it was next to and the heat loss in cold climates. Same applies for hot climates. Now these homes are being wrapped in insulation on the outside with all joints sealed, then insulated on the inside and essentially pressure tested for air leaks.…

> You have to have a system to cycle in fresh air in a way that it heats/cools it with the air that is leaving.

This is quite nice regardless. Houses are unlikely to be so drafty that the air inside is always fresh, and a real ventilation system will deliver fresh, filtered air all the time.

> You also need a makeup air vent for things like a stove hood.

You need this anyway, at least in CA, if your hood exceeds 400cfm, and it’s probably a good idea regardless. Sadly, high end hoods seem to mostly have way too much airflow, and decent makeup air systems are rare and complex.

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#42

Post by tick_tock_tick »

potmat wrote: post #33
s1artibartfast wrote: post #13

This is a pet issue of mine, having lived in two off grid homes going back to the 80's. The barriers are not materials, technology, or labor, but purely regulatory. I could take my current home off permanently grid with solar today for less than 10k but to do so would be illegal. Permitted grid connected solar costs 5x that and disconnecting from the grid is not permitted.

> disconnecting from the grid is not permitted Wait, what? What happens if you just don't pay your bill? Edit: Or just disconnect internally, meaning you use no power.

They are most likely referring to many/most counties require a grid connection for the home to be considered "habitable". Refusing and living in a un-habitable home can have all sorts of fun consequences up to and including the seizure of your own children by the state.

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#43

Post by yourapostasy »

dabber21 wrote: post #9

Like a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house ?

Passiv Haus (or loosely equivalently the US Passive House) is supposed to be a shorthand to express it takes less energy than conventionally required to achieve Net Zero. But not all Passiv Haus designs are necessarily Net Zero, and not all Net Zero designs necessarily use Passiv Haus to accomplish their rating.

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#44

Post by giantg2 »

Syonyk wrote: post #15
giantg2 wrote: post #2

Interesting. Is there a good consise page detailing the main differences between this and older standards? Stuff like cost and ease of maintenance comparisons?

https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/zero-energy-ready-home... seems to be the main landing page, and it's a bit handwaving... > A DOE Zero Energy Ready Home is a high-performance home that is so energy efficient that a renewable energy system could offset most or all the home's annual energy use. "Most or all" and "annual energy use" allow for some massive wiggle room. Annual energy use by who? A family with a coup…

I was really interested in the insulation part and building design. The only thing I could find was that it has to be energy star, which is only 10% better insulation than code.

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#45

Post by mattnewton »

potmat wrote: post #33
s1artibartfast wrote: post #13

This is a pet issue of mine, having lived in two off grid homes going back to the 80's. The barriers are not materials, technology, or labor, but purely regulatory. I could take my current home off permanently grid with solar today for less than 10k but to do so would be illegal. Permitted grid connected solar costs 5x that and disconnecting from the grid is not permitted.

> disconnecting from the grid is not permitted Wait, what? What happens if you just don't pay your bill? Edit: Or just disconnect internally, meaning you use no power.

Not OP but in many municipalities the dwelling would be no longer up to code, and therefore illegal to inhabit

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#47

Post by paiute »

Those dehumidifiers make these places uninhabitable for me. Constant low humidity is really unhealthy. Without them these ultra insulated homes have major vapor and mold issues. Being highly insulated is good but at a point it's just silly. I'd rather see efforts to insulate old trailers, manufactured homes, etc. Rich people experimenting with zero energy homes don't need a credit.

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#48

Post by orangepurple »

orcajerk wrote: post #40

[flagged]

If leadership is affiliated with whoever commissioned the Georgia Guidestones the plan is as follows:

1. Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

2. Guide reproduction wisely – improving fitness and diversity.

3. Unite humanity with a living new language.

4. Rule passion – faith – tradition – and all things with tempered reason.

5. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.

6. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.

7. Avoid petty laws and useless officials.

8. Balance personal rights with social duties.

9. Prize truth – beauty – love – seeking harmony with the infinite.

10. Be not a cancer on the Earth – Leave room for nature – Leave room for nature.

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#49

Post by boringg »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #31
boringg wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair - technology is lacking for people living in the city to be able to go off grid in a meaningful way. Disconnecting from the grid - that sounds like there's some kind of clause in the area that you live that essentially ties you to the utility. You must live in on the pacific coast or SW. EDIT: To all the responses - I'm talking off grid as in all functionality. Sure you can add solar / solar thermal etc th…

> for people living in the city to be able to go off grid in a meaningful way. Everyone has a use for hot water. You can always have off-grid solar heating an auxiliary tank to take the load off the primary water heater.

Having a hot water heater isn't the equivalent of going off-grid in a meaningful way.

You are talking about incremental improvements.

Re: Zero energy ready homes are coming

#50

Post by kibwen »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #13

This is a pet issue of mine, having lived in two off grid homes going back to the 80's. The barriers are not materials, technology, or labor, but purely regulatory. I could take my current home off permanently grid with solar today for less than 10k but to do so would be illegal. Permitted grid connected solar costs 5x that and disconnecting from the grid is not permitted.

> disconnecting from the grid is not permitted

In the context of the OP, which is a federal agency, whether or not you can build a house that is disconnected from the electrical grid is determined first by your local laws, and secondly by your state laws. You can certainly build houses in the US that aren't on the electrical grid, demonstrating that there's no federal prohibition against it.

Post reply on HN