by aleida, on April 11th, 2010
Image by Aaron at Pixel Planet
On Friday, April 2, the ZENERGY House prototype opened to the public. It was the culmination of years of work by Tammy and Ron Schwolsky, co-founders of Residential Energy Assessment Services (REAS), an energy auditing and consulting company, and the beginning of a living laboratory where the Schwolskys have put every energy efficiency product and strategy in the house to the test, and use the process as a teaching opportunity for the local community.
Tammy tells us that she and Ron, both energy auditors, bought the house in 2007 with the original intention to do a whole house energy efficiency retrofit and put it back on the market within six months. They hoped to use the project as an example to builders and homeowners that a market demand for high performance homes does exist. Unfortunately, their timing could not have been worse. They realized they wouldn’t be able to sell it, so they modified their strategy. Their work had already shown them that it’s sometimes difficult to get people to change long-lived behavior related to buildings if you can’t show them a better way in practice. So, they began to re-envision the house as a tool for them to teach and for others to learn about how to “green” existing homes, getting it to be as close to net-zero energy as possible.
Image by Aaron at Pixel Planet
The house was specifically chosen for its size. At 2,450 square feet of living space, it represents the average size of a single family home in the United States. It’s a one story structure with a large entry area, a living room, a kitchen with a small eating area, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a tiny sitting room, a two car attached garage, and an outdoor pool. Built in 1950, it was hardly a model for energy efficiency. An exhaustive energy audit made use of a blower door, duct blaster and infrared camera, combustion analyzer, and only after knowing the state of the house did the improvements begin. Some of the more notable improvements are:
- All windows and most of the fixed glass block installations were replaced with dual-pane low-E windows.
- Lighting needs were reduced by 30% and all incandescent lights were replaced with CFLs and LEDs.
- All three existing toilets were replaced with dual-flush toilets for water savings and consumption was reduced by 70%.
- A new water heater clocking in at 99.1% efficiency replaced an older model.
- The original 2 3-ton A/C unit and 2 furnace HV/AC system was replaced by a single, new 3-ton A/C unit and combined hydronic heating system.
- New, Energy Star qualified appliances were installed.
- Once all other energy efficiency strategies were exhausted, a set of 12 photovoltaic panels was installed on the west-facing roof. The system is visibly tiny; it takes up less than half of the west-facing roof space, and operates at a 17% efficiency level. Yet, despite all that, the energy requirements of the entire house are so small that the system can easily handle the demand.
Image by Aaron at Pixel Planet
But the greening strategies did not stop at the mechanical level, indoor air quality was also a principal concern. Tammy enlisted the help of manufacturers, designers, and a collection of interested parties. She and Ron begged, cajoled, and persuaded more than fifty companies to provide products and services as sponsorships, among them American Clay, EnviroGLAS, Kirei, and even Steelcase. A full list of sponsors can be found here. Repurposing and resourceful sourcing of furniture were also key parts of their overall strategy. Tammy carefully chose select pieces of their existing furniture with sentimental value and supplemented those with items purchased on Craigslist and at local garage sales.
One participating firm who demonstrates the depth of Tammy’s infectious enthusiasm is Neon Design Collaborative. I spent time with two of three owners, Rebecca and Rachel, during the opening reception. They helped secure additional sponsors and focused on fabric, furniture, and hand-crafted framed art sourced through the web site Etsy. It’s clear that Tammy and Ron’s passion for the project snowballed, creating a climate of collaboration that ensured its impressive results.
Image by Aaron at Pixel Planet
As a case study home, data will be collected and provided to local utilities and continual adjustments will be made as more is learned about how the house operates. Now that the project is complete, the house will also become a hub for educational sessions and tours to get professionals and homeowners on board with greening existing homes. A schedule has not yet been made public, but we hear even a Green Drinks will be hosted there. We look forward to participating in some of those events.
The ZENERGY House is located in Studio City, CA. Make an appointment to check it out if you are ever in the area.
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Working with the Rebecca from Neon Collaborative and Tammy Schwolsky, founder of REAS to get the gorgeous awning created at Zenergy House was truly a pleasure. I cannot wait to have the opportunity to visit the house. The Copper Lemon Drop Parasoleil panels were definitely the right choice for creating the awning. This project should prove to be an outstanding example of what can be done to create a more sustainable energy efficient home.
Theodora,
Thank you so much for your comment. The Lemon Drop Parasoleil panel looks stunning! At the opening reception, we admired the changes that were already appearing on the surface. I cannot wait to visit the house again and see how the copper has continued to transform.
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