Building America Research Teams: Spotlight on ARIES and NorthernSTAR Teams

This issue completes our series of profiles about the Building America research teams—multidisciplinary industry partnerships that work to make high-performance homes a reality for all Americans. Here we shine the spotlight on Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions (ARIES) and the NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership.

Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building America research team Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions (ARIES) focuses on advancing energy-efficiency solutions for new and existing homes in the nation’s affordable housing sector. Led by The Levy Partnership (TLP), the ARIES Collaborative consists of more than 50 organizations that are dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative strategies that reduce energy cost burdens for low-income households. The ARIES team works with the manufactured home industry, public housing, Habitat for Humanity International (HFH), and multifamily retrofit projects to cut energy costs and improve quality, comfort, and durability in these homes and communities. Emanuel Levy, TLP President, explains, “The common theme in ARIES research is our focus on opportunities to improve the energy performance of affordable housing. Builders and managers of affordable homes face severe financial limits and other challenges that often constrain the kinds of technological solutions available. ARIES’s success stems from a strategy of engaging industry partners in an intensely collaborative research process with the singular goal of maximizing efficiency and minimizing cost.”

Factory-built homes have historically been required to meet energy standards that are less stringent than current International Energy Conservation Code-based codes. Thus, the industry has evolved few cost-effective options for reaching ambitious energy-efficiency targets. For many owners of manufactured homes, energy costs can be as high as home payments; this suggests that improved efficiency could greatly enhance their quality of life. To achieve this, the ARIES team is creating and demonstrating new building designs and practices for manufactured homes that: (1) minimize costs; (2) can be successfully applied in a factory setting; and (3) substantially reduce energy use. ARIES is developing and testing envelope and space-conditioning technologies that will reduce energy use by 50%. The team is applying a collective impact approach, partnering primarily with manufactured home builders that together are responsible for 80% of the industry’s home sales. ARIES is also participating in ongoing manufactured home thermal standards development. The team won a Top Innovation award for its work with industry partners Southern Homes and Johns Manville Corporation for a new, manufacturing-friendly method of dense-packing blown fiberglass attic insulation. This simple solution increases attic insulation R-value and promises real hope for industry adoption. With widespread implementation, this technology could save homeowners more than 6 trillion Btu and $190 million by 2030. ARIES’ work with Southern Homes resulted in the first manufactured home built to DOE Zero Energy Ready Home standards, winning an Affordable Builder honor in the 2014 Housing Innovations Awards. This cutting-edge design features the dense-pack blown fiberglass solution, superior wall and floor insulation, and a mini-split heat pump with an innovative thermostat-controlled transfer fan design. The team’s strong support of this industry is reflected in TLP’s long-term alliance with the Manufactured Housing Institute and administration of the Systems Building Research Alliance, the factory-built housing industry’s research arm.

An ARIES survey of 100 public housing authorities (PHAs) nationwide indicated a strong interest in developing low-cost solutions that improve energy efficiency and can be seamlessly included in the refurbishment process between occupancies. To this end, the team developed and evaluated a set of standard unit turnover protocols that housing authority staff can use to make energy improvements. In a project with Islip Housing Authority, the team performed energy audits, developed a low-cost energy-efficiency measure package, and trained staff in the protocol application. The energy-efficiency measures cost $250 per unit and resulted in whole-house energy savings of 10%–15%. In another project, the team worked with Raleigh Housing Authority to determine the most cost-effective way to reduce duct leakage in its 1,723 low-rise housing units. A combination of injected foam sealant and manual sealing cost $700 per unit and yielded energy savings of 17%, or $300–$600/year. ARIES also worked with the Philadelphia Housing Authority to test and implement the energy-efficiency unit turnover protocols in 2015.

The team applies its expertise in domestic hot water, air distribution, and ventilation systems to help multifamily building owners and operators improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings and comply with local and state programs. For example, ARIES partnered with NeighborWorks America affiliate Homeowners’ Rehab Inc. to improve the central hydronic heating system in a three-building, 42-unit housing development. The heating control systems were upgraded, which reduced energy use by nearly 20% with a payback for all three buildings of less than three years. In another study that involved a steam heating system, the team explored the effectiveness of thermostatic radiator valves to control space temperatures and reduce heating fuel use. This research provides valuable insight into common steam system imbalance and resident behavioral issues that should be addressed in conjunction with thermostatic radiator valve retrofits. The team’s study of mini-split heat pump feasibility in multifamily retrofits identified technical barriers, costs, benefits, and market potential and concluded that mini-split heat pumps present a viable retrofit opportunity for some low-rise to midrise multifamily buildings.

ARIES is currently planning projects with HFH affiliates throughout the country. The research will consist of developing and demonstrating ultra-high energy performance homes with very efficient and tight thermal envelopes; small-capacity, high-efficiency heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning equipment; and controlled ventilation. The ARIES team is working with HFH affiliates to formalize an information sharing and research process to accelerate the leap to building practices that routinely achieve 50% energy savings relative to standard code-compliant construction.

NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership

Led by the University of Minnesota, the NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership focuses on developing efficiency solutions for homes and communities in cold and very cold climates. The team uses a holistic approach that integrates the building system, construction and delivery, and market/user interface to drive significant change in the marketplace. NorthernSTAR combines laboratory testing with real-world demonstration projects to develop innovative building technologies, evaluate home retrofit program strategies, and advance building science education. A unique resource is the university’s Cloquet Residential Research Facility, where the team explores ways to improve the energy efficiency of assemblies for basements, walls, and roofs. In a “Best of NorthernSTAR” project, the team is working with Urban Homeworks in Minneapolis to incorporate three of its proven innovations into an existing home that will also serve as an educational tool and training site for the community.

Exterior foundation insulation in homes saves energy and improves structural integrity, indoor air quality, and comfort. Building scientists endorse exterior foundation insulation as the best method to enhance the hygrothermal performance of new homes. But this approach can be costly and disruptive when applied to an existing home because it requires deep excavation around the entire house and can heavily impact the landscape and structures. NorthernSTAR’s innovative solution to this challenge is a cost-effective, minimally invasive excavationless exterior foundation insulation upgrade technique. This approach combines two mature technologies—hydrovac excavation and pourable insulating foam—into a new process that is proving to be up to 50% less costly and much faster than traditional excavation methods. The hydrovac technology cuts a precise 3- to 4-inch wide trench to a desired depth while it loosens and extracts the soil and slurry. Then the trench is filled with liquid foam insulation. This measure has broad market potential and is applicable to tens of millions of homes with uninsulated foundations. Homes with finished basements, expensive landscaping, and barriers such as stoops and porches, as well as homes in need of waterproofing, drain tile, or repair, could also benefit from this technology.

The team also investigated the performance of high-efficiency combination (combi) systems that simultaneously meet space- and domestic water-heating needs. For this study, the team created a combi system laboratory to identify proper system components, designs, operating parameters, and installation procedures to ensure field-installed systems are highly efficient. The laboratory also provided a place for contractors, utility representatives, weatherization agents, and codes officials to view the systems and become familiar with their installation. Also, the team monitored 20 homes to measure how combi systems performed compared to the previous systems. After a full year of monitoring, the team found that the combi systems saved 19% of natural gas usage for space and water heating and showed an annual average combined efficiency of 87%. Because these systems are new to the market, future research will focus on options to reduce on-site design and engineering, improve efficiency, simplify controls, and increase system capacity.

NorthernSTAR’s whole-house overcoat technique is an external insulation for existing houses that uses a peel-and-stick membrane as an air and water barrier and then layers of exterior rigid foam as the thermal barrier. It is applicable to foundations, walls, and roofs and has yielded air leakage reductions as high as 81%; whole-house leakage was reduced by 20%–60% when the roof alone was retrofitted. This technique supports the scientific basis of the advantages of foam sheathing, furthers the acceptance of this material by the codes community, and fosters understanding of installation best practices for the building industry. NorthernSTAR garnered a Top Innovation award for its overcoat technique.

The “Best of NorthernSTAR” demonstration project exemplifies the team’s goal to implement home performance upgrades while it educates and engages community and industry partners. In a renovation project with Urban Homeworks, NorthernSTAR will demonstrate its three capstone innovations—excavationless, combi, and overcoat—and initiate guidance for the affordable housing community to replicate these innovative technologies. The house will also be used as an educational resource and training site for housing program managers, contractors, and code officials. NorthernSTAR team lead Patrick Huelman emphasizes, “For me, the “Best of NorthernSTAR” project embodies what the Building America program is all about. Our team has moved these innovations from research in the laboratory through development, demonstration, and ultimately, deployment in a real-world home.”

In addition, the team is a strong supporter of the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home program. It provides focused education and training events in the Upper Midwest market to help builders recognize the value of high-performance homes. Through high-visibility events such as the Parade of Homes and a prominent exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair, consumers gain the needed awareness and confidence to demand these same high-performance homes. In the end, Zero Energy Ready Home success is achieved when a willing buyer meets a willing seller.

Read spotlights on other Building America teams on the Research Team page.

Race to Zero Student Design Competition: Inspiring the Next Generation of Building Scientists

Image of students carrying a model home.

In the second annual Race to Zero competition, more than 300 students competed for the winning zero energy home design.

Brains. Passion. Enthusiasm. Perseverance. These are just a few of the qualities describing the 33 teams from 27 universities who came together to participate in the second annual Race to Zero Student Design Competition on April 18–20, 2015, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The teams included more than 300 students from the United States, Canada, and China who competed to design, analyze, and document a Zero Energy Ready Home that is affordable and consistent with mainstream builder construction practices. The students were led by faculty members who are committed to using building science and design integration in their university curricula.

The University of Minnesota’s Opti-MN team captured the Grand Award prize for its Impact House—a flexible, high-performance, affordable house that can be easily built by a local nonprofit housing organization for low-income residents. Along with this award and four Grand Winner finalists, prizes were given for excellence in design, analysis, and systems integration. Read about the competition and winners.

DOE Invests $4 Million to Strengthen Building America Industry Partnerships

On May 4, DOE announced that it was awarding $4 million for new team partnerships to develop and demonstrate new energy-efficiency solutions for the nation's homes through the Building America program. Building America works with industry partners to develop cutting-edge innovations and resources to spur the residential buildings market to adopt energy-efficiency measures that will provide 50% savings in new homes by 2025 and 40% savings in existing homes by 2030. The teams will focus on developing and implementing solutions to three technical challenges: building envelope assemblies and systems; optimal comfort systems for heating, cooling, air distribution, and humidity control; and ventilation systems and other strategies for indoor air quality.

Building America May 20 Webinar: Resolving Codes and Standards Issues to Energy Innovations

Building America brings you free monthly webinars highlighting the latest advances in residential building technologies and practices, presented by Building America research team and national laboratory experts. The May 2015 webinar will provide an overview of how Building America has impacted codes and standards through technical and market innovations. Learn about new content on the Building America Solution Center that will help builders to meet code requirements and code officials to apply codes to new and emerging innovations.

Date/Time: May 20, 2015; 3–4:30 p.m. ET
Our presenter:
Pam Cole, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who focuses her work on adopting and complying with building energy codes. Ms. Cole is currently involved in Building America’s efforts to resolving codes and standards barriers to innovations and manages the Building Energy Codes Program technical support function, which addresses questions from builders throughout the United States about compliance with the residential and commercial energy codes.

Visit the Meetings page to keep current about upcoming webinars and view recordings of past webinars.

Buildings XIII Conference—Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes: Call for Abstracts by May 29, 2015

The 13th annual conference will take place on December 5–8, 2015, and is sponsored by DOE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and ASHRAE. The conference will present tracks on principles that are devoted to research and practices that focus on practical applications and case studies. You are invited to submit an abstract for papers in either track; the deadline for abstracts is May 29, 2015.

ORNL Buildings Crowdsourcing Community: Provide Feedback by May 31, 2015

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has launched its new Buildings Crowdsourcing Community website, a new tool to share ideas for innovative energy-efficient technologies for homes and commercial buildings. ORNL invites all innovators—entrepreneurs, designers, buildings scientists, students, and other big thinkers—to submit ideas, comment about posts, and vote for favorite entries by May 31, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Housing Innovations Awards Application Deadline May 31, 2015

The DOE Housing Innovation Awards recognize the very best in innovation on the path to zero energy ready homes. Applications are now being accepted for homes in the categories of custom, production, multifamily, and affordable homes; apply by May 31, 2015. Winners will be announced at the 2015 Housing Innovation Awards ceremony held on October 6, 2015, at the EEBA Excellence in Building Conference & Expo in Denver, Colorado. Leading builders who have certified zero energy ready homes within the last year (April 1, 2014–May 31, 2015) will be recognized and will receive complimentary registration to the full EEBA conference, a networking poster session following the ceremony, and opportunities to present at the conference education sessions. Winners receive a customized case study highlighting their winning home that is featured on the Housing Innovation Awards website and in their profile on the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Partner Locator. Questions? Contact zero@newportpartnersllc.com.

New Building America Code Compliance Brief: Continuous Rigid Insulation, Sheathing/Siding

Cladding attachment over thick insulating sheathing has been a challenge for builders and code officials as sheathing exceeds 1.5 in. Codes have historically left prescriptive requirements for siding attachments to manufacturer installation recommendations; however, many of these instructions have limited the thickness of continuous insulation (c.i.) applications to 0.5–1.5 in. of thickness or not addressed it at all. This results in warranty, liability, and potential code conflicts when thicker (>1.5 in.) levels of continuous insulation are used because of the limitations cited in manufacturer installation instructions for exterior finishes and code provisions that prescriptively require c.i. >1.5 in. in certain climate zones. Newer codes are beginning to provide engineered prescriptive solutions for use by builders, designers, code officials, and siding manufacturers. The Building America Solution Center now offers a new Building America Code Compliance Brief to address c.i. cladding/furring attachments that provides additional guidance for code-compliant installations. See additional Code Compliance Briefs on bathroom fan ratings, double wall framing, and insulation of floors.

New Features for Building America Solution Center: Checklists, Building Science Sales Tool

The Building America Solution Center provides builders, contractors, code officials, and homeowners with best practice guidance for home construction and renovation based on research conducted by the Building America program. The Solution Center team will be doing some remodeling of its own this summer with revisions to the home page and building components navigation, along with several updated features. For example, ENERGY STAR® is updating the ENERGY STAR Certified Homes checklists to Version 3 Revision 8. Several guides in the Solution Center will include those revisions, which can be accessed through the ENERGY STAR expanding checklist from the left navigation bar on the home page. Also, a new resource—the Building Science to Sales tool—will be added to help builders and their sales staff describe the benefits of building science improvements to homeowners. Check the Solution Center to see all the improvements!

2015 Green Builder Magazine Home of the Year Awards Call for Entries

Green Builder magazine is seeking entries for its 2015 Home of the Year Awards, which will be bestowed on the top green homes that demonstrate sustainable features, innovative design, whole-home performance, and integration with the natural environment. Applicants may submit to one of three categories—general, mainstream, and alternative—and the homes must be completed or have first occupancy between January 2014 and July 2015. Winners will receive coverage in the December 2015 issue of Green Builder magazine, on www.greenbuildermedia.com, and through the magazine’s social media outlets. The deadline for entries is July 24, 2015..

This Month’s Residential Successes: ARIES and NorthernSTAR Research Projects

This month’s residential successes provide examples of impactful research conducted by ARIES and NorthernSTAR teams.

Zero Energy Ready Home News and Trainings

DOE offers two Zero Energy Ready Home technical training webinars in May:

Lighting Efficiency

Date/Time: May 21, 2015; noon – 1 p.m. ET
Description: Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) offer efficiency and performance benefits we've never seen in traditional lighting technologies. Commercial buildings have seen rapid growth in LED deployment, and in the residential arena leading builders are now integrating LED packages. And, as with any new building system, LEDs present integration challenges along with the process of consumer understanding and acceptance. This webinar will discuss builder integration of LEDs, including specifications, costs, design approaches, energy-related benefits, and consumer reactions.
Presenters: David Brignati, architect (Newport Ventures); Brooke Silber, professional lighting designer (Jan & Brooke Luminae)

Zero Energy Ready Home Virtual Office Hours

Date/Time: May 26, 2015; noon – 1 p.m. ET
Description: Get the answers you need quickly and efficiently! Whether you’re new to DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes or have been involved for a few years, our partners often have questions about qualifying a home. Beginning in late May, we are rolling out Virtual Office Hours. The webinar-based Virtual Office Hours will allow raters and builders to ask our program experts specific questions about rating and certifying DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes. The attendance for each session will be capped at 15 participants to allow for conversation and the sharing of ideas and solutions.

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Continues Study on Indoor Air Quality Through September 20, 2015

There is still time to participate in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) Citizen Scientist Project—the Range Hood Roundup—that gathers information about cooking patterns and kitchen ventilation in U.S. homes. Scientists from LBNL have spent decades exploring how everyday activities affect indoor air quality. Their recent study, described in Addressing Kitchen Contaminants for Healthy, Low-Energy Homes, found that cooking without proper kitchen ventilation often produces air pollutant levels in homes that exceed outdoor air quality standards. Please help this effort by completing a short survey. LBNL will use the information you provide to develop recommendations for improving indoor air quality and health through better building codes and product standards. The survey will run through September 30, 2015.

Building America in the News

Here are recent Building America-related articles in popular local trade publications.

New Publications From Building America

The Building America Publications Library offers an extensive collection of technical reports, measure guidelines, case studies, and other resources to help you boost energy efficiency in new and existing homes. On the library page, you can subscribe to the RSS feed that delivers reports as they are published. Also, the Building America Solution Center links you to expert building science and energy efficiency information based on Building America research results. Here are samples of our most recent publications:

Strategy Guideline: Proper Water Heater Selection
This guide to proper water heater selection provides step-by-step procedures for evaluating preferred cost-effective options for energy-efficient water heater alternatives based on local utility rates, climate, and anticipated loads.

Measure Guideline: Deep Energy Enclosure Retrofit for Interior Insulation of Masonry Walls
This guideline describes a deep energy enclosure retrofit solution for insulating mass masonry buildings from the interior, including the retrofit assembly, technical details, and installation sequence. Interior insulation of masonry retrofits has the potential to adversely affect the durability of the wall; this guideline includes a review of decision criteria that are pertinent to retrofitting masonry walls from the interior and the possible risk of freeze-thaw damage.

New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: EcoVillage: A Net Zero Energy Ready Community, Ithaca, New York
The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings is working with the EcoVillage cohousing community and builder AquaZephyr in Ithaca, New York, on its third neighborhood called the Third Residential EcoVillage Experience. The community is pursing DOE Zero Energy Ready Home, U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Gold, and ENERGY STAR certifications for the entire project.

Technology Solutions Case Study: High-Performance Walls in Hot-Dry Climates
In this project, the Alliance for Residential Building Innovation team worked with California builders to to implement wall assemblies meeting a U-value lower than 0.050 Btu/h-ft²-°F. The team observed and documented construction methods and obtained construction costs from builders to inform cost estimates for a range of advanced wall system types and insulation types.

Additional reports and case studies published recently:

Visit the Building America Publications Library to access the entire catalog of publications to help improve the efficiency of new and existing homes.

Want to learn more about Building America or help us spread the word about the program? View the video, “What is Building America?” on DOE’s YouTube channel to learn about how Building America aims to bridge the gap between homes with high energy costs and homes that are healthy, durable, and energy efficient.

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