Sustainable Single Family Home
ELEG-490-6W1 Sustainable Energy
Sustainable Single-Family House
By:
Date: 11/28/13
Contents
1.0 Introduction
The class project for Sustainable Energy is to design a stand-alone power system for a single-family house. The stand-alone power system can either be a photovoltaic (PV) or a fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) unit. Without connecting to the power grid either of these units will have to supply the 2,500 square foot home with both heat and electricity. In order to properly select the size of the system needed; numerous parameters need to be considered and evaluated. With these values it is then possible to determine the dynamic power and heat demand of the home.
2.0 Building Materials and Properties
The two story home is thirty five feet long by thirty five feet wide with eight feet tall ceilings. Vinyl siding surrounds the home. The siding is separated from the interior drywall by a one foot thick layer of blown fiberglass insulation. These materials and their properties are listed in Table 1. Typically the most important material property is its thermal resistance or R-value. Thermal resistance is a measure of a materials ability to resist heat flow. The highlighted values indicate the building materials that were assumed for this building.
Table 1. Building Materials and their Properties1
Material
R value [ft2*F*h/(BTU*in)]
Outdoor Air
0.17
Indoor Air
0.68
1/2" dry wall
0.45
gypsum sheathing
0.45
Insulated vinyl siding
2.6
6" Insulstar
38
Air-entrained concrete
3.9
Brick
0.2
Cellulose loose-fill
3 - 3.8
Fiberglass loose-fill
2.5 - 3.7
Glass
0.14
Open-cell polyurethane spray foam
3.6
Phenolic rigid panel
4 - 5
Phenolic spray foam
4.8 - 7
Polyethylene foam
3
Polyisocyanurate spray foam
4.3 - 8.3
Polystyrene board
5
Poured concrete
0.08
Wood panels, such as sheathing
2.5
Together these materials
Sustainable Single-Family House
By:
Date: 11/28/13
Contents
1.0 Introduction
The class project for Sustainable Energy is to design a stand-alone power system for a single-family house. The stand-alone power system can either be a photovoltaic (PV) or a fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) unit. Without connecting to the power grid either of these units will have to supply the 2,500 square foot home with both heat and electricity. In order to properly select the size of the system needed; numerous parameters need to be considered and evaluated. With these values it is then possible to determine the dynamic power and heat demand of the home.
2.0 Building Materials and Properties
The two story home is thirty five feet long by thirty five feet wide with eight feet tall ceilings. Vinyl siding surrounds the home. The siding is separated from the interior drywall by a one foot thick layer of blown fiberglass insulation. These materials and their properties are listed in Table 1. Typically the most important material property is its thermal resistance or R-value. Thermal resistance is a measure of a materials ability to resist heat flow. The highlighted values indicate the building materials that were assumed for this building.
Table 1. Building Materials and their Properties1
Material
R value [ft2*F*h/(BTU*in)]
Outdoor Air
0.17
Indoor Air
0.68
1/2" dry wall
0.45
gypsum sheathing
0.45
Insulated vinyl siding
2.6
6" Insulstar
38
Air-entrained concrete
3.9
Brick
0.2
Cellulose loose-fill
3 - 3.8
Fiberglass loose-fill
2.5 - 3.7
Glass
0.14
Open-cell polyurethane spray foam
3.6
Phenolic rigid panel
4 - 5
Phenolic spray foam
4.8 - 7
Polyethylene foam
3
Polyisocyanurate spray foam
4.3 - 8.3
Polystyrene board
5
Poured concrete
0.08
Wood panels, such as sheathing
2.5
Together these materials
References: 1) “Building Insulation Materials”, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_insulation_materials. 9/22-13. 2) http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/heatloss.html 3) Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Us_pv_annual_may2004.jpg 4) The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/daily/06477?climoMonth=11 5) Solar Panels Plus. American Solar, Polycrystalline 240/245/250/255/260. http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/ 6) Battery Mart http://www.batterymart.com/p-9a35-85-agm-battery.html Appendix A