Optimizing Thermal Insulation for the

Net-Zero Energy Home

John R. Abelson
MSE 489, Materials Selection for Sustainability

Why Focus on Buildings?

Buildings represent:
40% of primary energy use (70% of electrical energy use)
17% of fresh water consumption
33% of CO2 emissions
40% of waste generation
Public concern with energy independence, climate
change, and availability of water

From ASHRAE President Kent Peterson presentation, Achieving Energy

Efficiency in the Built Environment Through Standards

Home Energy Requirements

Material and Use Energy May be Comparable

The Zero-net Energy Home:

Equinox House
PV

by Ty Newell (UI MechSE)

Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) Construction:

wood faces, styrofoam core

Walls & roof 12 in thick, ~ R44

80 panels total
Panels pre-cut and sized, follow the pattern
Heaviest panel (8 x 24 ft) weighs ~ 400 lb

Pre-Fabricated Structural Insulating Panels

SIPs: What are the Tradeoffs ?

Reduce the use of wood a renewable material
(there is no 2x4 framing)
Increase the use of styrofoam derived from fossil
fuel (about 4000 cubic feet !)
Question: how much styrofoam insulation is
worthwhile?
==> At some point, does the embodied energy
exceed the use energy?

Heating Degree Days

Cooling Degree Days

What is the Optimum Insulation Thickness?

Local data
T = annual degree-days of heating / cooling
= lifetime of the structure = 100 years
Styrofoam:
embodied energy He = 35 kW-hrs/kg
thermal conductivity Kth = 0.033 W/m-K
Minimum lifetime energy use Eliftime when the embodied energy in the
insulation equals the energy used in heating + cooling over the lifetime !
Elifetime = 2 [ T (H K) ]1/2 for
dfoam = [ T (K / H) ]1/2
What can we learn from the CES database?

Lets Do the Math

Hembodied = !"He ! A#$ % d = c1d
Hoperation = !"T ! AK #$ d = c2 / d
Htot = Hemb + Hop = c1d + c2 / d
Take the derivative wrt d; the minimum occurs when
d = c2 c1
for which
Hemb = Hop = c1 % c2
Alternatively we can minimize cost:
replace Hemb by (Cost/kg) of foam
multiply K by the (Cost of heating energy/J)

CES Calculation: Elifetime at Optimized d

for different insulating materials
Polyurethane, 8 in:
8300 kW-h / year

Paper honeycomb (0.18)

Polyurethane (0.16)
Carbon (0.05)
Vermiculite
Polyurethane (0.08)

at $ 0.10 / kW-h,
that s $ 35 / month
for operation
But Equinox House
uses a heat pump
with COP ~ 2

Phenolic (0.035)
Polystyrene (0.02)
Paper honeycomb (0.035)
Cork board

OK, Not Cork... But We Could Use Straw Bale!

The Straw Bale Home by New Prairie Construction

Main Street, Urbana Illinois

A Housing Block Under Construction

1 inch styrofoam only

enough to sell the building...
Corresponds to T = 1 year,
effective discount rate = 100%

Minimize Cost: Ground Source Heat Pump

Insulation Thickness (inches)

10

20

Insulation Cost ($)

10

20

Geo Heat Pump Cost ($)

Energy Cost ($)

10

1.7

0.5

Total Cost ($)

15 11 10.3 10.5 11

11.7

15

24.5

3.3 2.5

For an expensive and efficient

ground source heat pump, an
insulation thickness of only 3
is near the minimum (!)

Insulation Thickness (inches)

Minimize Cost: Air Source Heat Pump

Insulation Thickness (inches)

10

20

Insulation Cost ($)

10

20

Air Heat Pump Cost ($)

Energy Cost ($)

20 10

Total Cost ($)

22 13 10.6 10

6.6

3.4

10

10.4

13

1
22

The less costly and slightly less

efficient air source heat pump
requires more insulation.

Insulation Thickness (inches)

Equinox vs Conventional Homes

Qelectric (Kwh/day)

250

200

150

Equinox Actual

Conventional #1

Conventional #2

Conventional #3

Conventional #4

Conventional #5

This ground source heat pump

cools the earth!

100

50

20

40

60

Toutside (F)

80

100

Use Energy vs. Insulation & Degree-days

200000

Lifecycle Cost Assumptions

100yr lifetime
12.5cents/kW-hr
EPS @ $5/cuft
Ave COP = 2.5
R-value =3.5 per inch
Wall & Roof area=4400 sqft

Lifetime Cost ($)

160000
120000
80000

2000 DD per year

4000 DD per year
6000 DD per year
8000 DD per year
Equinox

40000
0
0

8
12
Insulation Thickness (inches)

16

20

Economics: Value of Future Returns

Integrate [Annual Return] exp(- r t), r = Discount (or Growth) rate
Growth at 6 %

0%

3%
Discounting

3%
6%
9%

Long-time limit
= 1/r

The Classic View of Materials Selection

We thought of these

But we forgot

Conventional House: Energy

Dominated by Conditioning Outside Air

Zero-net House: Energy

Dominated by People & Appliances !

Smart Air Systems

CERV (Conditioning Energy Recovery Ventilator)

Fresh air / energy recovery / heat pump / air conditioner
Ventilates to limit interior CO2 and VOCs

ZEROS Code to Simulate Building Energy

* Free online version at: BuildEquinox.com

People: 2/3 of House Energy

20000
18000
16000

Total Annual House Energy (kWh/yr)

Urbana

14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0

Phoenix
Fairbanks

12,000 EV miles!

Residential Energy Components

1500.0

Wall/Roof
Insulation
Windows (heat)

1000.0

Thermal Energy (kW-hr)

Windows (Solar)
Air Ventilation

500.0

Refrigerator
Freezer

0.0

Heat Pump
Water Heater
People (heat)

-500.0

Other heat
-1000.0

-1500.0
0

Month (Jan = 1)

10

12

Net Thermal
Load
Windows Gain
(Total)
Total latent loads
14

Sensible Loads

Class Team Assignment:

Design a Zero-Net Home for a Given Region

Students vary level of insulation, area of PV, window area

Net Zero House Assignment

Kori, Jin Woo, Kevin, Mitch

House Style: 2-story

House Size: 200 sq.m. ~2000 sq. ft.
Location: Springfield, Illinois
Number of People: 4

Walls and Roof: Choice 2, 30 cm insulation, $350/m3

Total Cost: $36,807 (100 year life)
Choice 1 is more economical (saving ~$5000), but would necessitate a much
thicker wall.

Windows: Choice 2, 20 m2 total area, $350/m2 Total

Cost: $7,000 (20 year life)

Installing super windows is not justified in the temperate climate of Illinois.

Water Heater: Heat Pump Cost: $1660 (20 year life)

Heat pump water heater uses 50% of electricity of electric reisistance type,
which makes a benefit in 20 year life.

Solar energy system: 7 kWh, 35 deg tilt. Total Cost:

$31,850 (20 year life), 9,010 kWh provided annually

Annual electric energy requirement: 8,655 kWh

100-year Life Cycle Cost: $423,468

Solar Electricity Produced vs. Tilt

Student Project with ZEROS:

1200 ft2 Home in Atlanta
Loads (kW-h):
Thermal
Water heater
Dehumidifier

400
6200
1400

PV produced

10,000

Sensitivity Analysis: Change Equinox House

Baseline

No windows no people

38

35

Double South windows

36

Change Equinox House Air Equipment

Baseline

58

38

No CERV
55

No heat pumps

No heat pumps, No CERV

85

Challenges for the Student

Need to determine the basis for optimization:
- energy?
- cost (capital, operating, or value)?
- human comfort?
Recognizing less obvious variables:
- control of CO2 & moisture requires air exchanges!
Complexity:
- the better the thermal design, the more interactive components
- local climate and patterns of use matter strongly
Recognizing the role of thermodynamics:
- PV electricity is low entropy power
- heat pumps minimize entropy loss in heat transfer

Thermal Energy Transport

in Buildings
Reference:
D. Hafemeister, Physics of Societal Issues (2014)
Chapter 11, Energy in Buildings

From Kansas State University Engineering Extension

Heat Flow (Conduction)

Area

Temperature

Temperature

T + T

T
L
dQ A
=
T
dt
L
Thickness

* Ashby uses
in place of

Analogy to Ohm s Law

dQ L
T =

dt A
V =I R

is thermal conductivity in W / m / K

R valueof thickness L 1
=
L

SI units of R value ARE m2 K / W.

For USA m2 ft2, K F, W BTU
1 ft2 F / BTU = 0.176 m2 K / W

R value of fiberglass

for medium density fiberglass is 0.043 W / m / K

for air is 0.026 W / m / K

R valueof thickness L 1
mK
= = 23.3
L

W
2

mK
1ft F BTU
1m
23.3

= 3.35 in
2
W 0.176m K W 39.4in

Owens Corning Residential Insulation

3.35 in 9.5 in =32

R-30 Unfaced Insulated 23 in wide Roll.

Roll is 25 ft long and 9 in thick. Area is 47.92 ft2.
From http://insulation.owenscorning.com/
The color PINK is a registered trademark of Owens Corning.
THE PINK PANTHER & 19642010 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

R-values of building materials

= 0.8 1.2, 1 cm

Windows
from DOE Selecting Windows
for Energy Efficiency

US Window Energy Consumption (in Quads)

Heating
Cooling
Total

Residential
1.65
1.02
2.67

Commercial
0.96
0.52
1.48

Total Building Energy Use: 40 Quads

Window-Related Energy Use: 4.1 Q + 1 Q Lighting
From Stephen Selkowitz APS Workshop, Berkeley, March 2008

Ideal Windows from

Energy Efficiency Point of View

From Stephen Selkowitz APS Workshop, Berkeley, March 2008

U Value

1
U valueof thickness L =
R valueof thickness L
Performance
dQ
Values
= U A T
dt
Pella Double-Hung Wood
Window Architect Series
NFRC U-Value

0.33-0.82

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient

0.21-0.59

Design Pressure

40-50 psf

STC Rating

27-36

ENERGY STAR Requirements USA

From http://web.pella.com/

RSI = RUSA / 5.67

USI = 5.67 UUSA

ENERGY STAR Requirements Canada

RSI = RUSA / 5.67

USI = 5.67 UUSA

From http://web.pella.com/

Demo of ZEROS

Constant Future Returns

Consider a constant annual income A. This might be
selling PV power to the grid, for example.
Calculate the net present value over all future years.
The discount rate is i:
A#
NPV = ! Aexp("it) = $1" exp("i ! )%&
i
t=0
!

A
i
Could i become negative, i.e., growth in time?
Yes, if annual income increases faster than discounting.

Note that as ! ' (, NPV '

Economics of Levelized Cost, I

e.g. sales, tax credits

Income +

Expenses -

construction*

Cash flow in future F

e.g. fuel, maintenance, taxes

Income +

Bring F to present P

Expenses -

P = F exp ( it )

Economics of Levelized Cost, II

Redistribute all cash flows
uniformly over appropriate
time horizon, T, with

A=

i Pj
j

(1 exp ( iT ))

Income +

Aincome

Expenses -

Aexpense

Levelized

A = Aincome ! Aexpense

Equinox House Features

Sunlit north rooms

2,100 sq ? ranch
12 inch SIPs, ICF foundaFon
Uninsulated slab on grade
Window area ( 10 % of wall)
All LED lighFng
CERV fresh air condiFoning
PV Array
1 ton mini-split heat pump
(yellow for house; red for car)
Heat pump water heater
Heat pump clothes dryer
8.2 kW solar PV array
White steel roof
Winter sunlight concentrator
Summer reector (+10 % PV)
Ford Focus EV (7,000 mi/year
on PV power)
1,700 gallon rainwater cistern
Ford Focus EV

Fancy Italian kitchen

From Stephen Selkowitz APS Workshop, Berkeley, March 2008