Richfield Twp. house earns Ohio’s first Zero Energy Ready designation
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Richfield Twp.: Chris Wehr looks forward to the day when he can warm his house and light his rooms for free — or at least darn close. Wehr and his wife, Lori, are the owners of Ohio’s first Zero Energy Ready Home, a rigorous residential certification awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The house is so energy efficient that once solar panels are added in the spring, Wehr expects them to produce enough electricity to supply virtually all his family’s energy needs. Even without the panels, the roughly 3,300-square-foot house should run up only about $1,080 a year in electricity costs, or about $90 a month. That includes the power to run the Wehrs’ heating and cooling system but doesn’t include the natural gas that might be used as backup, an expense that is expected to be negligible. Wehr works in the energy efficiency field and has a background in renewable energy, so he had a firm idea of what he wanted when he approached custom builder Charis Homes about the project. The Jackson Township company was already building Energy Star certified homes, which are more energy efficient than typical new homes but not quite as high-performing as the Wehrs’. |
One of Charis’ Energy Star home packages was “a very good starting point,” Wehr said, so he worked with the company to make the house even more stingy in energy use. The result, he said, is a comfortable, quiet house that meets his family’s needs in a cost-effective way.
The Wehrs and daughter, Olivia, 7, moved in at the end of January 2015.
“It does cost more to build this way,” which is why few builders do, said Glenna Wilson, who owns Charis Homes with her partner, Todd Scott. Wilson estimated a Zero Energy Ready Home costs about 6 percent more to build than a standard house and 3 percent more than an Energy Star home, but utility rebates and federal tax credits can offset some of the added expense.
Wehr expects it to take less than three years for his energy savings to offset the cost of increasing the home’s efficiency from the Energy Star level to Zero Energy Ready. The family plans to stay in the house indefinitely, so the investment made sense, he said.
The house’s shell was constructed from insulated concrete forms, rigid foam blocks that are stacked like Legos and then filled with concrete and rebar. The system creates a strong structure that holds heat and coolness in well, dampens noise, creates a dry basement and has few openings where outside air can seep in, Wilson said.
The ICF blocks have nailing strips every 6 inches, which will make it easy for the Wehrs to finish their basement eventually. Adding electrical lines will require just cutting grooves in the foam to accommodate the wires.
The house is heated by hot water circulating through pipes under the floors, including the basement and garage floors. The water is warmed by a geothermal heat pump, using heat transferred from the earth as well as electricity.
A tankless gas water heater will provide backup if the power goes out. In summer, the heat pump reverses the heat-transfer process to serve as an air conditioner.
Other energy-saving and earth-friendly features include R-50 attic insulation, expandable foam to seal joints and gaps, insulated fiberglass exterior doors, Energy Star windows, LED lighting, water-saving faucets and zoned heating and cooling. An energy-recovery ventilator exchanges the stale air in the house for fresh, but in the process it captures heat from the escaping air to warm the air coming in.
The Wehrs knew they wanted to add a solar-power system, so they had the house built to handle it. Charis installed roof trusses in the garage that could support the weight of solar panels, ran conduit to the basement to accommodate the wires and installed the base for the meter.
Wehr said he has room for a 10-kilowatt system, but he’ll study his utility bills and choose the right size system to offset his costs. He’ll claim a 30 percent federal tax credit on his 2015 tax return for his geothermal system and plans to put that money toward the solar panels, which will earn him another 30 percent credit.
Getting certified as a Zero Energy Ready Home required an analysis to determine just how efficient the Wehrs’ house really is. The house earned a Home Energy Rating System score of 31, far lower than the 100 score that Wilson said is typical for a new home built to Ohio’s current standards.
For the Wehrs, the effort and expense have paid off.
Shortly after they moved in last winter, the temperature plunged to 14 below. The neighbors were complaining, but their house was comfortable.
Chris Wehr recalls sitting on his sofa looking out at the snow, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m glad to be here,’ ” he said.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or [email protected]. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ.
Article Source:
http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/breckenridge/richfield-twp-house-earns-ohio-s-first-zero-energy-ready-designation-1.649915
The Wehrs and daughter, Olivia, 7, moved in at the end of January 2015.
“It does cost more to build this way,” which is why few builders do, said Glenna Wilson, who owns Charis Homes with her partner, Todd Scott. Wilson estimated a Zero Energy Ready Home costs about 6 percent more to build than a standard house and 3 percent more than an Energy Star home, but utility rebates and federal tax credits can offset some of the added expense.
Wehr expects it to take less than three years for his energy savings to offset the cost of increasing the home’s efficiency from the Energy Star level to Zero Energy Ready. The family plans to stay in the house indefinitely, so the investment made sense, he said.
The house’s shell was constructed from insulated concrete forms, rigid foam blocks that are stacked like Legos and then filled with concrete and rebar. The system creates a strong structure that holds heat and coolness in well, dampens noise, creates a dry basement and has few openings where outside air can seep in, Wilson said.
The ICF blocks have nailing strips every 6 inches, which will make it easy for the Wehrs to finish their basement eventually. Adding electrical lines will require just cutting grooves in the foam to accommodate the wires.
The house is heated by hot water circulating through pipes under the floors, including the basement and garage floors. The water is warmed by a geothermal heat pump, using heat transferred from the earth as well as electricity.
A tankless gas water heater will provide backup if the power goes out. In summer, the heat pump reverses the heat-transfer process to serve as an air conditioner.
Other energy-saving and earth-friendly features include R-50 attic insulation, expandable foam to seal joints and gaps, insulated fiberglass exterior doors, Energy Star windows, LED lighting, water-saving faucets and zoned heating and cooling. An energy-recovery ventilator exchanges the stale air in the house for fresh, but in the process it captures heat from the escaping air to warm the air coming in.
The Wehrs knew they wanted to add a solar-power system, so they had the house built to handle it. Charis installed roof trusses in the garage that could support the weight of solar panels, ran conduit to the basement to accommodate the wires and installed the base for the meter.
Wehr said he has room for a 10-kilowatt system, but he’ll study his utility bills and choose the right size system to offset his costs. He’ll claim a 30 percent federal tax credit on his 2015 tax return for his geothermal system and plans to put that money toward the solar panels, which will earn him another 30 percent credit.
Getting certified as a Zero Energy Ready Home required an analysis to determine just how efficient the Wehrs’ house really is. The house earned a Home Energy Rating System score of 31, far lower than the 100 score that Wilson said is typical for a new home built to Ohio’s current standards.
For the Wehrs, the effort and expense have paid off.
Shortly after they moved in last winter, the temperature plunged to 14 below. The neighbors were complaining, but their house was comfortable.
Chris Wehr recalls sitting on his sofa looking out at the snow, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m glad to be here,’ ” he said.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or [email protected]. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ.
Article Source:
http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/breckenridge/richfield-twp-house-earns-ohio-s-first-zero-energy-ready-designation-1.649915