[Greenbuilding] PassivHaus and NZE comparison

Wed Jan 26 12:39:32 CST 2011

Hi Gordon, 

This Passive House in Ottawa does indeed have everything already in place
for the PV panels (excuse me, modules) and solar hot water to be installed
in the Spring as part of its LEED Platinum certification (so might end up
being NZ or pretty close to it without being a "science project" - and don't
get started on LEED, that's a whole other program you can criticize). So
nobody was feeling "threatened" (don't be paranoid, we're all on the same
side), I'm not a "PH people with an anti-NZ agenda", both Chris and I are
just interested in building homes the way they should be, which certainly
includes what you're doing out West. My experience with an actual net zero
home on the ground is limited to the Minto Equilibrium house. 'nuff said? I
remember attending a presentation by CMHC after a couple of years of
Equilibrium and all they had accomplished at that point was millions of
dollars worth of meetings and photo ops across the country for middle aged
consultants in suits & ties (oops, maybe you were one of those guys? Sorry,
no offence intended), so that sort of influenced my impression of the
practical nature of the exercise. Anyway, I really do appreciate the facts
and knowledge you've passed along here about the progress you're making in
Edmonton, and we hope to see something similar here in Ottawa if we can get
the bureaucrats out of the way, they don't actually build and sell houses
like you do, they create "research projects". And by the way, I've been
involved in this since all the way back to the 1978 Saskatchewan house, and
I know how slow progress has been since then, so I'm glad to see all of
what's going on today, PH, NZH, R-2000 and even tract-house ESNH, and hope
the next 30 years don't end up like the last 30! I hope to see your NZ homes
next time I'm out your way.

Obsolete refers to the almost-fact that most of the mechanical systems in
the early energy-efficient homes have all gone by the wayside, including
perfectly good PV panels that don't work with current inverters. But I
really do hope you're right in saying YOUR modules will still be in
operation in 100 years.

By the way, it's good manners to delete all but the posting you're replying
to.

Ross Elliott 

From: Gordon Howell -- Howell Mayhew Engineering [mailto:ghowell at hme.ca] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 12:23 PM
To: greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org; Ross Elliott; John Straube
Subject: PassivHaus and NZE comparison

Hello Ross and John:

May I recommend that comments on solar PV on NZE homes be made in the
company of facts and knowledge.

The first NZE home in Edmonton cost $110k more than standard construction,
see < www.riverdalenetzero.ca <http://www.riverdalenetzero.ca/> >.  If we
built it as standard construction, it would have cost $250k for the solar PV
system (in 2008) and have been 205 m2 in area.  No-one in their right mind
would do something like this ... instead we added energy efficiency measures
(envelope and appliances) until the incremental capacity cost ($/kWh/year)
of energy efficiency was roughly equal to the incremental capacity cost of
PV at the time.  Then because energy efficiency is so vastly cheaper than PV
(even now) then the incremental cost of the house was reduced to about $25k
for energy efficiency and $35k for solar thermal, and $50k for solar PV.

The next two NZE homes, Mill Creek < www.greenedmonton.ca
<http://www.greenedmonton.ca/> > and Belgravia, are in around the $70k
incremental cost... why?  Same energy efficiency measures, more passive
solar (south windows), very simple solar thermal (on Mill Creek) and zero
solar thermal (on Belgravia) and price of PV continues to plummet.  Add to
this that the Alberta government provides a $10k incentive for EGH 86 houses
and the incremental cost to the homeowner is around $60k.

So I wish PH people would get off the pot on their comments about "The Net
Zero homes use exorbitantly expensive renewable energy systems to push them
to zero"... we only put on solar PV when the ultra energy efficiency
measures are in place... and these measures roughly equal the PH standard.

NZE homes aren't political statements or science experiments... they are
homes that people are desiring to purchase... you wouldn't go around and say
that granite counter tops or BMWs are political statements and yet PV has
superior economics than these products...  dismissively referencing these
houses as "science experiments" is not appropriate.

Solar PV modules (which are not called "panels") have warranties of 25 to 30
years (and they are working on 40-year warranties) and degradation rates of
about 1/2% per year... so 100 years from now they will be 1/2 as good as
they are now... (with today's technology).  "obsolete" merely means "not
manufactured anymore"... so big deal.  Most items you own are obsolete:
clothes you wear, TV you own, stove, fridge, house, carpets, toaster,
computer, software...  cars become obsolete (not made any more) at a max of
1 year after you've bought them... yet we don't hear perjorative dismissive
comments about cars do we?... so what's with the dismissive comments about
PV being "obsolete"?

I don't want subsidies for solar PV... I just want all energy sources to pay
for their true cost of energy production and energy generation -- and then
renewable energy economics will take care of themselves thank you very much.
My estimates are that solar PV will be the least-cost electricity option for
homeowners in Alberta within 2 to 4 years (and if I'm wrong then it is 6
years) -- all without subsidies to solar PV.  see also <
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/dpw_lushetsky.pdf
<http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/dpw_lushetsky.pdf> >

PassivHaus is merely an organisational structure and training programme that
shows people where and how to become ultra-energy efficient (which is
great)...  ultra energy efficiency has been around since 1978 (with the
Saskatchewan Conservation House in Regina)...  we've just not previously
been interested in it because we didn't care about the environment.  Anyone
can become ultra energy efficient if they know what to do... PH is great,
and so is NZE and R2k and others.

Edmonton now has some 12 NZE houses under development by various builders
(shown below)... We look forward to anyone's comments on them.  You see some
of my presentations on NZE homes at < www.hme.ca/presentations
<http://www.hme.ca/presentations> > to see what we've learned with the first
three.  My gut feel is that NZE-ready homes are the least-cost energy option
for homeowners in Alberta right now... I am working on the economics
analysis to vet this.  NZE-ready is ultra energy efficient plus solar PV
ready.  So why doesn't the PassiveHaus standard incorporate PV-ready too?
It should be a no-brainer.  Talk about "obsolete" houses?  How about PH in 5
years without being PV ready...!  Imagine: being in a PH house where you
can't put on a $20k solar PV system to generate all your electrical energy
(which isn't "power") because the designers were feeling threatened by PV
when it was designed and so didn't accomodate it... ("threats" have to do
with our ego-states and not with technologies or costs)

Edmonton's NetZero Energy Houses
======================
Riverdale NetZero Energy Project (duplex), Habitat Studio and Workshop ...
completed and occupied by the homeowners < www.riverdalenetzero.ca
<http://www.riverdalenetzero.ca/> > < www.riverdalenetzero.ca/equilibrium
<http://www.riverdalenetzero.ca/equilibrium> > <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_energy_building
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_energy_building> >

Mill Creek NetZero Energy Home, Habitat Studio and Workshop ..... completed
and occupied by the homeowners < www.greenedmonton.ca/MillCreekNetZeroHome
<http://www.greenedmonton.ca/MillCreekNetZeroHome> >

Belgravia NetZero Energy Home, Habitat Studio and Workshop ...under
construction

Parkland NetZero Energy Home, Habitat Studio and Workshop ...under
construction

Larch NetZero Energy Home, Habitat Studio and Workshop ...under development

Belgravia Green NetZero Energy Houses (3 separate houses), Effect Homes,
...under construction

Ritchie Net Zero Ready house ...under construction

Sherwood Hills NetZero Energy Home ...under development

Shafraaz Kaba NetZero Energy Home ...under construction

Mike Turner NetZero Energy Home ...under construction
======================

Mike Holmes: very interesting comments.  You might be interested in one of
his latest projects <
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Verde-in-Clearview-Ridge/174181109278587?ref=t
s
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Verde-in-Clearview-Ridge/174181109278587?ref=
ts>  > .

I welcome any comments and challenges to what I've written.

+Gordon Howell

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