Presentation to University of Nevada-Reno Renewable Energy Minor on Net-Zero Energy Homes as a step toward 100% Renewable Energy. Cost-effective improvements to every home and building provide vast economic benefits. How can Nevada become the global leader in clean energy development and export?
1. Certified Energy Manager
LEED AP BD+C
davidgibson1@gmail.com
Powered by Sunshine:
Net-Zero Energy Homes
as a step toward
100% Renewable Energy
David Gibson
1
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
6. Blower Door
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• Used to measure air
leakage before and after
sealing
• Precisely calibrated
• For every cubic foot
pulled out through the
BD, one cubic foot is
leaking in
• Helps identify air leak
locations and magnitude
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13. Economic Analysis
To determine which improvements should be
made, we compare the upfront cost to the savings
over time:
• Simple Payback – How long does it take the
measure to pay for itself?
Calculation: upfront cost / annual savings
• Return on Investment (ROI) – Can be
compared to other investments (stocks, bonds,
mutual funds, etc).
Calculation: annual savings / upfront cost
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
14. Actual Energy and Cost Savings
System
Before
Improvements
Projected
Costs
Actual
Costs
Actual
Savings
Percent
Savings
Heating $4,022 $2,686 $850 $3,172 79%
Cooling $0 $0 $0 $0 ---
Water
Heating
$549 $549 $385 $164 30%
Lights and
Appliances
$1,138 $968 $950 $188 17%
Service
Charges
$115 $115 $115 $0 0%
Total $5,824 $4,318 $2,300 $3,524 61%
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17. Economic Analysis (LED Lights)
Would you give me $100 today, if I offered to pay
you $10/month for the next ten years?
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
18. Economic Analysis (LED Lights)
Would you give me $100 today, if I offered to pay
you $10/month for the next ten years?
$120/year x 10 = $1,200
Payback: $100/$120 = 0.833 years (10 months)
ROI: $120/$100 = 120%
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
19. Low-Flow Showerhead
• Old (standard): 2.5 gallon per minute (GPM)
• New: 1.5 GPM
• Savings: 1.0 Gallon per Minute
• 30 min showering = 30 gallons per day
• 365 days = 10,950 gallons per year
$100/year savings for electricity and water
(~$60/year savings for natural gas)
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
23. A Great Investment
• Investing in home efficiency is one of the best
investments you can make
• Significantly reduces long-term energy costs
• Guaranteed return on investment, often
exceeding 10%
• Makes you more comfortable while saving you
money
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
25. Economic Analysis
• Efficiency improvements:
– $7,000 cost
– $3,500 annual savings
– 2 year payback / 50% Return on Investment
• Solar hot water:
– $6,700 cost - $2,500 rebate = $4,200 out of pocket
– $420 annual savings
– 10 year payback / 10% Return on Investment
• Home value increased by $52,000 in 2 years!
– At least half attributed to energy improvements
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UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
28. Net-Zero Energy
• The final step to making my house Net-Zero
Energy is to replace the oil furnace.
• Will have a ground-source heat pump installed.
• Exchanges heat with the ground to provide
heating and air conditioning.
• Cost: $33,000
• Federal Tax Credit: 30%
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
34. Economic Development
Nevada spends $8 Billion each year on
imported fossil fuels. (natural gas, coal, oil)
• By 2030, we could have 100% renewable
electricity, and 50% reduction in oil imports
• By 2040, we could have 100% renewable
energy across all sectors
• Retaining $7 billion would create 100,000+ jobs
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
35. Residential
• Nevada homes spend ~$1.5 Billion out-of-
state each year on fossil fuels
• 500,000+ homes in Nevada need efficiency
upgrades x $7,500 = $3.75 billion impact
• 500,000+ homes could install renewable energy
upgrades x $20,000 = $10 billion impact
• Auditors, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, insulation
workers, solar installers needed
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
36. Commercial / Industrial
• Nevada businesses spend $2.0 Billion out-
of-state each year on fossil fuels
• Deep efficiency improvements = 30%+ savings
• Rooftop solar
• GSHP under parking lots
• Solar shade over parking lots
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
37. Transportation
• Nevada spends over $5 billion annually on
imported oil and transportation fuels.
• How can we transform the Transportation sector?
• Improve Bike-ability
• Electric Vehicles
• Light Rail
• High-Speed Rail or MagLev Trains
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
38. Energy/Water Nexus
• Efficiency and renewables reduce water waste
• Covering half of Lake Mead in solar would:
• Reduce evaporation equal to Nevada’s water
allocation from the Colorado River
• Produce more electricity than all of NV
Energy’s fleet of gas and coal plants
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
39. Next Steps
• NSHE Endowment: Divest from Fossil Fuels
• 2017 Legislature:
o Set Statewide Goal (100% renewables by
2040)
o Green Bank to finance projects
o PERS: Divest/reinvest ~$2-$3 Billion
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
40. What can you do?
• Change your lightbulbs to LEDs and install a high
efficiency (1.5 GPM) showerhead today!
• Hire a certified energy auditor to see what other
improvements you can make
• Talk with UNR about how they can save energy
• Contact your elected officials to let them know
that this is the future you want for Nevada!
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
41. Certified Energy Manager
LEED AP BD+C
davidgibson1@gmail.com
Powered by Sunshine:
Net-Zero Energy Homes
as a step toward
100% Renewable Energy
David Gibson
41
UNR Renewable Energy Minor
October 18, 2016
Notas do Editor
This is my projected energy bill ($0) for the month. This includes all home lighting and appliances, hot water, heating, and even my electric car!
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Every load of laundry you run in the dryer costs $0.50 - $1.00 for electricity. Hanging it out on the line is free. It costs ~$10 for 100 feet of clothesline, so this pays for itself within 10-15 loads. How much laundry does your household do in a month?
With the efficiency savings from the first two years, I have installed solar hot water. These provide all the hot water for 6 occupants nearly every day. I only have to turn on the electricity to the water heater for backup when we have extended cloudy weather. Best of all, these solar collectors were manufactured 5 miles from here, by Sunvelope Solar in Sparks. I’ve visited their production facility, and its truly impressive. This is the most cutting edge technology in the world; they have the first panels that water can freeze inside of, allowing their system to draw cold water directly out of the hot water tank and deposit the hot water back at the top. No secondary loop, no heat exchanger, no glycol.
This summer I built a trellis in my backyard.
We had solar installed by a local contractor.
The earth maintains a stable temperature year-round once you get 6-10 feet underground. In Reno, the ground temperature maintains ~55 degrees at this depth. The ground-source heat pump exchanges heat with the earth. To install it, they dug ~250 feet of trenches in the yard, with each trench 6 feet deep x 3 feet wide. A coil of ~2,500 feet of plastic piping was laid in the trench, and will exchange heat with the earth.
Due to all the efficiency improvements, we were able to replace the 105,000 BTU/Hour furnace with a heat pump that provides less than 1/3 the heat output, only 31,000 BTU/hour. Most heating and air conditioning systems are significantly oversized, in part because the home is very inefficient.
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The Toyota Prius is generally seen as one of the most efficient cars available. However, the Nissan Leaf gets more than twice the distance per unit of energy, so it is more than twice as efficient. The Leaf is also powered by electricity, which can be generated from renewable energy sources, like solar or geothermal.
The transportation sector makes up about 1/3 of the energy consumption in Nevada, but represents more than half of the energy costs!
With your help, Nevada can lead the nation to a prosperous clean energy future, powered by sunshine!
