Welcome to CARB-SWA: Leaders in Advanced Residential Building Research & Design
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building America Program is a partnership between researchers and the various facets of the residential building industry with the intent to improve the quality and energy efficiency of homes. The goal is to develop cost effective solutions that reduce the average energy use of housing by 40% to 100%. Ultimately, Building America research will lead to net zero energy homes, which produce as much energy as they use over the course of a year.
The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) is one of six residential research teams that are funded through this program, with Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) as the lead team member. The primary focus of SWA’s research is systems-integration and new technologies, all with the ultimate goal of achieving net-zero energy homes. We invite you to take a look at our case studies and newsletters to learn more about our homes and projects that have been a part of this research program.
Current Research
High-R Walls
It is evident that there is a steady increase in the use of High-R walls in cold climate residences. Reduced utility bills, increased indoor thermal comfort and a growing interest in energy efficient homes are some of thereasons why builders and homeowners are moving towards incorporating high performance wall systems in their homes. Although various such wall systems are available, CARB researchers, based on their experience working with builders in cold climates, discuss three well established wall systems – double walls, foam sheathed frame walls and Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) in this paper.
Increased levels of insulation in the walls come with a set of challenges which is the focus of this research. It highlights the pros and cons of each wall system including material choices, structural stability, moisture issues, code concerns, cost considerations and implications for builders and related trades. This paper titled “Residential wall Systems: R-30 and beyond” is being presented at the BEST2 conference (Building Energy Science and Technology) in Portland, OR in April 2010.
A condensed version of this paper can be accessed here.
Current Builder Project
Monitoring a Zero Energy Home
Steven Winter Associates Inc. (SWA) is partnering with WPPI Energy to monitor the energy performance of the Chambers’ GreenMax house for a period of at least 12 months. Energy monitoring enables tracking of the energy performance of the house and analysis of the energy consumption data gives an indication of how much energy is saved due to the energy efficiency measures incorporated into this project. This data is being used to commission and fine tune the various systems within the home. SWA engineers set up a data logger and sensors that collect real time energy consumption data for the various domestic appliances, lighting and plug loads, HVAC equipment including ground source heat pump (GSHP) and other integrated systems like the desuperheater, water heater, drain water heat recovery, and energy recovery ventilator. This all – electric GreenMax home has PV arrays which are also being monitored to collect energy generation data. Data collection began in June of 2009. Read the full ‘Long Term Monitoring Summary to Date’ report here.
