We’ve moved in and are enjoying living in the first NewenHouse. We were curious about what it would really feel like to experience this house and we have lots of news to report. Here’s a first floor view just prior to us moving in. The kitchen window faces North and the storage three season room. Beyond the North door is the 6 x 14 foot breezeway leading into the three season porch and storage room.
Electricity: After a month we received our first electrical bill. We consumed 350 kWh and produced 384 kWh, receiving a credit on our bill. Our solar hot water installer, Full Spectrum Solar http://www.fullspectrumsolar.com, suggested that we unplug the electrical water heater backup system and see how long we can last with using only the sun to heat our water. It’s been 73 days and we have not needed to plug in the back up electric water heater. We take showers every day, do multiple loads of laundry when the sun’s out, wash our dishes after every meal, and have yet to run out of hot water. There was only one day when we took a “Luke Skywalker shower” with lukewarm water. My guess is that in November when the string of shady days begins to descend on Wisconsin we will need to plug into the electrical grid.
Air exchange: This past Friday, (October 21) The Alliance for Environmental Sustainability http://www.alliancees.orgheld a tour here thanks to a Zehnder sponsorship http://www.zehnderamerica.com/products/comfounit_home.asp. After the house tour we listened to presentations by our Green Rater, Laura Paprocki (www.trinity-environmental.com, the EMF (Electro and Magnetic Fields)consultant Spark Burmaster http://e-options.info/Home.html, and the Passive House consultant Carly Coulson. In the morning we conducted the final duct blaster test and reached .51 air changes per hour at 50 Pascal’s! So we passed the preformance measurement for Passive House certification which allows .6 air changes per hour. It’s harder to achieve this number with a small house as our air volume is much less than most homes. This number is thus particularly impressive. See Joe giving us the thumbs up below.
Heat Recovery Ventilation Unit (HRV): We balanced the HRV with the help of Joe Nagan who is a leading energy expert in Wisconsin. It’s important to balance the air flow for optimum performance. Balancing the HRV took longer than expected, but now I understand the system much better and know how to change the filters and adjust the air flow if I need to. One of the filters was dirtier than I expected but Carly explained that it was most likely due to the construction dust. The Zehnder HRV we installed from the Netherlands is so efficient the sound meter could not pick up an acoustical reading. When we first moved in we weren’t sure it was running because we didn’t hear it until I put my ear directly up to the unit. Cecil stood on a chair and put his hand to the fresh air diffuser and felt the air move. That was our low tech way to know it was working. In a small house it’s especially important that your HRV is quiet. If it’s not you may be inclined to shut it off, thus making the unit completely ineffective and potentially harmful to your health. When we turn it on the highest setting (while we shower and cook) you can hear it faintly. Below Laura is balancing the HRV in our bedroom. Under this blue devise is a fresh air diffuser.
Jason LaFleur, the Alliance for Environmental Sustainability Tour organizer, and two of the Chicago group tour attendees spent the night and we had loads of fun staying up until 12:30am talking about energy efficient green built homes. From our discussion I learned that the NewenHouse will be particularly suited to people who are concerned about their health. Below I’m standing next to Al (peeking), Jason and Pam.
Noise: Alvin Meroz (a member of Passive House Alliance-Chicago) http://www.meetup.com/Passive-House-Alliance-Chicago and Pam Garetto http://www.nachicagonorth.com/CHI/April-2011/Extreme-Green-Kitchen-Makeover were also impressed by how quiet the house is and had the idea that the home might be suitable for noisy areas, such as near a train track or airport. The 16 inch thick walls, triple pane windows, and Energate triple pane doors sure help reduce sound.
Doors: Another comment that most people share when entering our home is how the doors feels like vault doors when you open and close them since they are so air tight and beefy. The doors are 5 inches thick so when you open the 36 inch door, it only gives you 31 inches of clearance. I will change the design for the next home to include 40 inch doors. This will make it easier to move in furniture too. Lucky I have a few inches to spare in the floor plan to allow for this change. The doors are wood, have insulated frames, and a triple closure mechanism. Thanks to H Window http://www.passivehwindow.com out of Ashland WI for giving us a discount on them for the prototype.
Our next NewenHouse OpenHouse is Friday, November 24, the day after Thanksgiving from 4-6pm. We’ll head to the Driftless Café for dinner afterwards. Please call or email if think you may attend (608) 638-2012 or sonya@madisonenvironmental.com.
Following are three videos of the NewenHouse prior to moving in furniture — a tour of the first floor, a tour of the second floor, and a tour of the three season porch and storage room.
http://www.youtube.com/user/sonyanewenhouse?feature=mhee#p/u/2/RIw9OYPjqHA
http://www.youtube.com/user/sonyanewenhouse?feature=mhee#p/u/1/x2Y3QbpWCvM
http://www.youtube.com/user/sonyanewenhouse?feature=mhee#p/u/0/dgkzrMpyTkQ
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