Portfolio

 

Ball State University

Second Year 

 

Net zero and carbon neutral country house - Dallas, Texas.

 

Concept of Design

 

This net zero-energy example (ZEB) is a 1500 square foot country, single family residence located in Dallas, Texas with greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency gains such that the balance of energy needs can be supplied with renewable technologies. The goal is to design a house that could only use energy generated on site and be an inspiration to others in country environments. In this case, a photovoltaic system will act as the main source to provide power for this building. Also design considerations like orientation of the building, floor plan design, amount and coefficients of glazing for solar heat gain and effective daylighting, as well as insulation in the structural system and passive cooling strategies have been considered to manage building heat gains, losses and loads. This building design shows the big incentive to reduce building loads and encourages as a primary goal energy efficiency considerations available for the life of the building and then the use of renewable energy sources available onsite. Having a zero annual net energy, this building can be considered as a onsite net Zero Energy building, meaning the building produces exact or even more energy than it consumes during a year.