Project Overview:
- Location: Perkiomenville, PA
- Owner/Developer: Jackie O’Neil
- Building type: Single-family residential
- New construction, 2 houses
- Size: 2016 sq ft and 2216 sq ft
- LEED for Homes Gold certified
Two energy efficient, passive/active solar single family residences, integrated climate responsive design, energy modeling, daylighting, radon resistant construction, slab on grade, structural insulated panels, fiber cement siding, 50 yr shingle roof, clad wood ENERGY STAR windows, stained concrete floors, no-VOC finishes, site-harvested wood floors & millwork, salvaged interior doors, geothermal heating system & radiant floor heat, tankless on-demand water heating, energy recovery ventilation & humidity control, passive cooling & geothermal air conditioning, 5.25 kW grid connected photovoltaic system, ENERGY STAR appliances & lighting, high efficiency water saving plumbing fixtures, native landscaping, permeable pavement, rainwater harvesting, non-toxic pest control.
Background
In October 2004, homeowner & visionary developer Jackie O'Neil began the process of creating a prototype “zero energy” home1 that would eliminate fossil fuel use, reduce water consumption, and have healthy air quality—without sacrificing aesthetics or affordability. “I wanted to show people that a green home doesn’t have to cost more, that it is feasible, and that it can be beautiful”. She also wanted to provide a prototype example of green, zero energy homebuilding in the Philadelphia market that would pave the way for future climate responsive development in the region. “In the rest of the world, people are acting on the issue of climate change. Britain will soon require all new homes to be carbon neutral. Since buildings directly contribute to 30% of global emissions, I wanted to do something to make a difference here & show others they can do this affordably with current technology”.
With support from her project team, Jackie developed an integrated, compact design that reduces energy demands to a level where the home is designed to produce as much electricity as it consumes on a net annual basis from PV panels that generate renewable electricity. By optimizing the design through energy modeling, the team learned valuable lessons for other projects: “What we learned from modeling this home can be applied to others, especially new construction, whether you’re shooting for zero energy or just want to reduce energy use. If you reduce air infiltration, use good but by no means excessive insulation levels, use basic ENERGY STAR qualified windows, eliminate thermal bridging and provide energy recovery ventilation (ERV) you can cost effectively reduce a home’s energy demands by half or more from conventional construction. That means a smaller heating & cooling system, and the ERV system ensures healthy air quality & humidity control. Combine that with efficient heating/cooling equipment, water heating, ENERGY STAR appliances and lighting, and your total energy use can be ¾ that of a typical home. A renewable energy system then becomes feasible for producing all the home’s electricity needs, but could alternately be used to offset a portion, however small, of a normal home’s energy usage.”
Construction of the home began in October 2005 and was completed in June 2006. Taking advantage of lessons learned from building her home, Jackie built a second zero energy home next door based on her prototype design that reduced construction costs and timeframe. Because the home features a variety of green building strategies that can be easily replicated in other projects, Jackie has actively sought to educate others so that more zero energy homes will be developed in Philadelphia in the future. The results of her project are summarized below.
Results
The initial development goal was to build an affordable, zero energy home & provide a prototype example of green homebuilding in the Philadelphia market. Results are quantified in terms of: green building excellence, energy performance, affordability and education.
Green Building Excellence: The home received a GOLD rating from the LEED2 for Homes pilot certification program, becoming the first LEED certified home in Pennsylvania and the first GOLD rated home in the nation. The comprehensive LEED for Homes certification addresses issues of community integration, sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy use & atmospheric impacts, materials & resource impacts and a healthy indoor environment, with the GOLD rating verifying the high level of green building performance achieved. The second home Jackie developed also received a LEED for Homes GOLD rating.
Energy Performance: Jackie has been a net producer of clean electricity since moving into her home in June 2006. The 5.25 kW roof mounted PV system is connected to the power grid and her PECO bill is credited with the PV power generation according to Pennsylvania net metering laws. To date, the home is very close to net zero energy, using gas for a cook top & fireplace only because Jackie particularly wanted these features, and emissions offsets are purchased to defray these impacts (a renewable bio-gas source was sought but not located). In the first six months of operation, Jackie’s PV system has provided 102% of the home’s electricity needs on balance (2,911 kWh generated to 2,845 kWh consumed) to achieve a small surplus in electricity generation and slightly greater than net zero electricity use.
Affordability: The home was built for typical mid-market custom home cost in the Philadelphia area ($167/ft2) using conventional construction loan financing. A SDF grant covered half the cost of the $40k PV system (which is included in the above price). A second home based on Jackie’s prototype that accounted for many of the lessons learned in building her home was constructed next door for $155/ft2.. The initial cost premium compared to conventional construction was negligible. In terms of operating cost affordability, both homes have effectively eliminated utility bill payments due to the on-site PV power production: in the first six months of operation, Jackie has received an average net payment of $55/month & the second homeowner has received an average net payment of $45/month because they typically produce more power than is used & the solar power is purchased at a higher rate than conventional utility power by The Energy Co-operative of Philadelphia. The third-party power buyback arrangement eliminates both homeowners’ utility bills, provides excess income, improves the system economics considerably and is available to other homeowners in the area with renewable energy systems.
Education: Jackie has shared her experience building a net zero energy home by giving guided tours to over 400 individuals, including school groups, and by giving presentations to interested homeowners & professional audiences through the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, which recently formed a residential committee catalyzed & chaired by Jackie. She welcomes any & all inquiries and provides full details about the cost of building the two homes. Her project has also been profiled in local media. Jackie’s educational efforts are helping pave the way for the construction & renovation of other low-energy homes in the Philadelphia region.
In summary, we believe Jackie O’Neil’s dedication & vision in building two net zero energy homes merits wider recognition and that recognizing her efforts would help further the goal of making Philadelphia more sustainable.
