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Sonoma House: Monitoring of the First U.S Sonoma House: Monitoring of the First U.S. Passive House Retrofit A. German, B. Weitzel, C. Backman, M. Hoeschele, and B. Dakin Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI) December 2012 NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, subcontractors, or affiliated partners makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/bridge Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062 phone: 865.576.8401 fax: 865.576.5728 email: mailto:[email protected] Available for sale to the public, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 phone: 800.553.6847 fax: 703.605.6900 email: [email protected] online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste Sonoma House: Monitoring of the First U.S. Passive House Retrofit Prepared for: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory On behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Program Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 15013 Denver West Parkway Golden, CO 80401 NREL Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 Prepared by: A. German, B. Weitzel, C. Backman, M. Hoeschele, B. Dakin Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI) Davis Energy Group, Team Lead 123 C Street Davis, California 95616 NREL Technical Monitor: Cheryn Metzger Prepared under Subcontract No. KNDJ-0-40340-00 December 2012 iii [This page left blank] iv Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vi Definitions .................................................................................................................................................. vii Foreward ................................................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. viii 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Motivation ................................................................................................1 1.2 Research Questions ..............................................................................................................1 2 House Description ................................................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Energy Efficiency Measure (EEM) Details .........................................................................4 Thermal Envelope ................................................................................................................6 Mechanical and Electrical Systems .....................................................................................8 Lighting and Appliances ....................................................................................................11 Photovoltaic System...........................................................................................................11 2.2 Preliminary Savings Estimations .......................................................................................11 3 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 12 3.1 General Technical Approach .............................................................................................12 3.2 Measurements ....................................................................................................................12 Monitoring Data Points ......................................................................................................12 Short Term Tests ................................................................................................................12 3.3 Equipment ..........................................................................................................................15 Data Logger Specifications ................................................................................................15 Sensor Types and Specifications .......................................................................................15 3.4 Computation of Monitoring Variables ...............................................................................16 4 Results ................................................................................................................................................. 19 4.1 System Commissioning .....................................................................................................19 4.2 Short Term Test Results .....................................................................................................19 4.3 Monitoring Results and Discussion ...................................................................................20 Solar Water Heating ...........................................................................................................20 Load Reduction and HVAC Strategies ..............................................................................27 4.4 Annual Energy Use ............................................................................................................29 4.5 Project Costs and Builder Feedback ..................................................................................33 5 Recommendations and Conclusions ............................................................................................... 37 References ................................................................................................................................................. 39 Appendix A: Building Plans ..................................................................................................................... 40 v List of Figures Figure 1. The Sonoma House is the first certified Passive House retrofit in the United States. ........ 3 Figure 2. Remodel floor plan ..................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3. Floor layers above slab for floor type #1 .................................................................................. 6 Figure 4. Wall construction ........................................................................................................................ 7 Figure 5. Exterior wall showing foil-faced EPS and furring for siding .................................................. 7 Figure 6: Netted blown insulation at roof and kneewall ......................................................................... 8 Figure 7. Mechanical schematic ................................................................................................................ 9 Figure 8. Mechanical closet containing solar thermal storage system and tankless water heater . 10 Figure 9. Sensor location schematic ...................................................................................................... 14 Figure 10. Monthly solar fraction and hot water use for the domestic hot water system ................. 21 Figure 11. Total 15 minute domestic hot water volume draw by size ................................................. 22 Figure 12. Tankless water heater 15-minute efficiency versus hot water draw ................................. 23 Figure 13. Summer water heater system operation .............................................................................. 24 Figure 14. Winter water heater system operation .................................................................................. 25 Figure 15. Contribution of solar thermal and mini-split to space heating and comparison to BEopt heating loads ....................................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 16. Winter heating operation of solar hydronic heating coil and mini-split heat pump ........ 27 Figure 17. Degree day comparison ......................................................................................................... 31 Figure 18. Breakdown of monitored energy
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