[Greenbuilding] Link to Identifying Affordable Net-Zero-Energy Housing Solutions

[John Straube]

I am not sure they "know" something, but Gary was not constrained by PH rules.
Their goal is to get the lowest cost solution with available technology for cold north american climate zones for north american housing types and sizes.
PH have to meet an arbitrary heating energy target of 15 kWh/m2/yr, which was developed for different types of housing in central Germany.
PH is not interested in cost trade-offs: you meet the target numbers even if it is more expensive than generating power with your own PV or wind turbine.
R40 sub-slab insulation, to pick on a favourite one, costs a lot more than PV even at $10/W.
The goal of NZE houses is to get to ZERO kWh/m2/yr total source energy.  The goal of PH is to get under 120 kWh/m2/yr.

Many PH features (developed from Canadian and US super insulation work in the 70's and 80's BTW) are similiar, but the more extreme ones are because of their unique rule set.

PS.  I dont agree with all of the "optimums" in this report, mostly because I dont see the same costs in my work.  I also have found that some sub-slab insulation (even R5, although I always just spec R10) makes a huge difference in comfort and summer moisture, something Gary did not consider.

John


On 12-03-15 8:22 AM, John O'Brien wrote:
>   With my previous Green Building List submission regarding the recent report,
>> "Identifying Affordable Net-Zero-Energy Housing Solutions" by Gary Proskiw,
>> Proskiw Engineering<pel at mymts.net>  in Winnipeg, I had attached a copy of

>
>
> R50 walls, r80 ceiling, and 0.0 subslab insulation? Minimal south glazing...
>
> Do they know something that the passive house folks don't know?
>
> John
>
> ___
-- 
Prof. John Straube, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Faculty of Engineering
Dept of Civil Engineering / School of Architecture

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