A young Loudon County, Tenn., family has just moved into a Habitat for Humanity home that is not only brand new, but also contains state-of-the-art energy efficiency technologies developed at nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The home, located in a Lenoir City subdivision about 15 miles from ORNL, is part of the Department of Energy's Building America and Zero Energy Building programs.
"This house is made of structurally insulated panels in the floor, walls and ceiling," said Jeff Christian, director of ORNL's Buildings Technology Center, during the home's dedication ceremony. "If assembled correctly, this makes for a very tight envelope. It's much harder for air to leak out."
Christian said the improved envelope energy efficiency resulted in the installation of a smaller than normal air conditioner that allows for better dehumidification. A duct is connected to a heat pump that distributes ventilating air through a filter and into each room, creating better air quality throughout the house.
"The heat pump water heater should save at least 60 percent in water heating energy costs," Christian said. "This method of installation also will allow the refrigerator to operate more efficiently."
A heat exchanger in the crawl space allows for warm shower drain water to preheat new cold water on the way to refilling the water heater, saving even more money on water heating. Solar photovoltaic collectors also were added by the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide solar energy and help reduce peak cooling and demand on the energy grid.
The home was turned over to its new family through the Habitat for Humanity program in Loudon County.
During the ceremony, Christian noted that DOE and ORNL staff hope to help design and construct additional homes in the subdivision, testing various new buildings technologies.
"We hope to learn as we build these houses to ultimately reach the goal of affordable zero energy buildings by the year 2010," Christian said.
Christian also said DOE and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have expressed interest in setting up similar programs in all 50 states.
ORNL is a multiprogram science and technology laboratory managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.
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