First ZNE Multi-Housing Community Opens in Washington

zHomes in Issaquah (source: Multi-Housing News)

A ZNE, carbon-neutral multifamily community has opened its doors in Issaquah, Washington. Dubbed zHomes, these homes use zero net energy and 70 percent less water than other residences. 

According to Brad Liljequist, zHome project manager with the City of Issaquah, this project shows that ZNE is an achievable goal, which could make a big impact on CO2 emissions in the United States. Liljequist says about 40 percent of all CO2 emissions in the nation come from buildings.

With solar panels on top of the homes, the community will be like a mini-power generation plant in the summer, putting solar energy back on the electrical grid. During the winter when the sun is lower, it will be a net-energy user, equaling out energy used to zero over the course of the year.

This community is built in private and public partnership between the City of Issaquah, Built Green, King County, Port Blakely Communities, Puget Sound Energy and the Washington State University Energy Program.

Here Come The New Windows At Our San Bernardino Home

Check out the latest development at our home retrofit project in San Bernardino. In this video, Taft Kintzle of Legendary Doors and Windows explains the benefits of the new energy efficient windows to resident, Dan Thompson. The new windows will keep the house cooler and help cut down on sun damage -- and of course, help contribute to lower electric bills.

Adding Insulation to the San Bernardino Home

Here's another video about the changes happening at our San Bernardino home retrofit project. Homeowner Jamal Abdullah learns from Ron Kliewer, Building Performance Institute building analyst, how new insulation will be added to his home. As a result, Jamal can look forward to being much cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

San Bernardino Home Retrofit Update - Changes to the Electrical Panel

The assessment of our home retrofit project in San Bernardino continues. Here's a video of Ron Kliewer, a building analyst with the Building Performance Institute, explaining to homeowner, Jamal Abdullah the changes that will be made to his home's electrical panel.

Cool Use of Infrared Thermography to Find Ways to Save Energy

You may have heard of infrared thermography - or perhaps we've seen it used in movies by military personnel or law enforcement seeking out the enemy.  Aside from its use in Hollywood, infrared thermography is a real, effective tool to detect heat gain or loss in a building, and SCE is putting it to use at its ZNE Home Retrofit project in San Bernardino, California.

As construction at this project site kicks off this month, infrared thermography is being used to identify wasted energy and other factors that are critical to conserving energy usage in a building.  Not surprisingly, in hot conditions, the greatest source of heat energy is the sun.  Heat can enter a building directly through windows or by heat transfer through a building's insulation.

If you wanted to cool down in hot weather, you could reduce heat by improving shading, using light colored roofing and heat-reflective paints and coatings, installing better windows and using various types of insulation. And if a homeowner were able to find these energy "weak spots" in their home and fix them, they could save money on their utility bills.

Here are a few infrared thermography images of the ZNE Home Retrofit Project, showing the home's weak spots and potential energy improvements that may occur in the weeks to come, such as installing energy efficient windows, improving insulation in the attic and walls and upgrading roofing materials.



This is an image of a bedroom, single-pane window with the curtain drawn.  The infrared shows noticeable heat energy, which means the air conditioning has to work harder on a hot day. Double pane windows with a low energy coating will minimize heat and reduce the need for air conditioning.

This image shows the lack of sufficient insulation in the external wall of the living room, so the outside temperature more easily affects the inside temperature.  Cellulose insulation will be used in the wall cavities in order to better separate the inside and outside of the home.

New construction homes use reflective insulation and foil in the roof and attic space.  These photos show the existing attic floor and the red-orange color shows the area where heat transfer is taking place through the roof due to the lack of a more protective insulating barrier.

Thermal images of the electric water cooler and refrigerator reveal sources of internal heat gain.