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Carver Communications - Index

Carver Communications - 3.1.09 - Index

Vol.XXVIII, No.5 © Carver Communications, Inc. March 1, 2009
New Concept Homes Are ‘Living Laboratories’
By Samuel Taylor
Imagine purchasing a home in the
future that uses about half the energy used
in most homes today and have appliances
that save energy and money each month.
Suppose that state-of-theart
equipment could
detect when and how
energy is being used in
the home every day. Now,
picture this: A home that
could produce some of its
electricity requirements
with solar energy panels
that blend in with the
style of other homes in
the neighborhood.
Stop dreaming, it’s
becoming a reality. CPS Energy and
Woodside Homes are planning to unveil
three newly constructed homes the first
week in March that will model and test
these energy-saving innovations. CPS
Energy will hold a morning press conference
followed by an open house for realtors
in the afternoon. The open house will
give realtors a “sneak peak” inside the
new peak performance homes. For more
information about the open house, call Julia
P.O. Box 33862
San Antonio, Texas 78265
Jones, CPS Energy technology transfer
manager, at (210) 353-3797.
The three homes, including two concept
homes with energy efficient features
and a control home with normal construc-
Photo Credit: Vincent McDonald
tion features, will act as “living laboratories”
to test and measure the benefits of
highly energy-efficient building materials
and solar energy panels. The homes are
being built simultaneously in the Avalon
Subdivision off Old Prue Road near
Bandera Road.
One concept home will have energyefficient
building materials and appliances
with integrated solar tiles that blend in with
the surrounding roof tiles.
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
San Antonio, Texas
Paid Permit #1957
“The solar tile is a new type of solar
product for Texas,” said Dr. Valerie Von
Schramm, senior research manager. “The
tiles were built right into the roof of the
home to provide a renewable energy source
that complements the style of other
homes in the neighborhood.”
The other concept home will
have energy-efficient features without
solar panels. Some of the energy efficient
building features of the concept
homes include tankless gas water
heater, spray foam insulation and
ENERGY STAR appliances. The concept
homes also have compact fluorescent
lighting and infrared wall switches
to add even more energy savings.
The two concept homes can
save up to 50 percent of the energy used in
an average home. However, the solar home
will produce up to 20 percent of renewable
energy to offset the energy
used by the air conditioning
unit.
The Peak Performance
Home project, which is the
first of its kind in Greater San
Antonio, will help CPS Energy
identify effective ways to keep
new homes from increasing
the peak demand for energy on
the CPS Energy electric system.
CPS Energy uses “peak energy load”
to describe times when customers require
the most electricity such as the hottest days
of summer or the coldest days of winter.
Through its energy efficiency and conservation
efforts, the company plans to reduce
the growth in peak demand by 40 percent
by 2011.
After they’re built, CPS Energy will
monitor the test homes for 12 to 15 months
to quantify the energy savings of various
materials, building techniques and appliances,
and weigh their benefits against their
costs. A complex instrumentation system
will be installed to measure the air conditioning
and heating systems’ performance
and the energy use of the various electric
and gas appliances. The system will consist
of 10 time-of-use gas meters, four electric
meters and a computerized data logging
system installed in the attic or garage of the
homes. A weather station near one of the
homes will monitor local conditions.
“Equipment installed in each home
will track energy use by time of day and
specific appliances or systems as well as the
corresponding weather,” says Von
Schramm. “Data from the test homes will
enable many more such homes to be built in
future San Antonio subdivisions.”
CPS Energy will use data from the
concept homes to reassess its customer
rebate programs and their impact on achieving
energy-efficiency goals.
“This project will be instrumental in
providing local home builders with information
they need to competitively build and
market high efficiency homes in San
Antonio,” said Julia Jones, technology
transfer manager. “In addition, the study
results will help educate buyers on what to
ask for when building or buying a new
home.”