Data Not Dogma
How to build a house that reflects our role as stewards of the planet?
A is for Affordable
What Size should a house be?
B is for Building Science
—a field of knowledge that draws upon physics, chemistry, engineering, architecture, and the life sciences.
C is for Climate Zone
The first step to building a (net) zero energy home is a solid understanding of climate zones.
D is for Design
Our DESIGN strategy clarifies architectural issues at the heart of complex processes.
E is for Energy
“In the United States, the buildings sector accounted for about 41% of primary energy consumption in 2010, 44% more than the transportation sector and 36% more than the industrial sector.”
F is for Finance
The housing bubble and ensuing mortgage crisis looms large in the recent memories of architects, builders and homeowners.
G is for Green Chemistry
“Green Chemistry is based on a set of principles that when used in the design, development and implementation of chemical products and processes, enables scientists to protect and benefit the economy, people and the planet.
H is for HERS Index
The HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured.
IJ is for Jevons Paradox
Improved technology doubles the amount of work produced with a given amount of fuel.
K is For Knowledge Base
I am proud of my government.
L is for Life Cycle
This life cycle graph is from the clothing industry.
M is Modeling
Climate data for Kansas City, collected from the Downtown Airport reporting station.
N is For Natural Gas
It is crucial to understand there are no silver bullets in high performance building.
O is for Ozone
The insurance industry is an interesting test case for the impact of climate change.
P is for High Performance Building
There is more data in these areas for commercial construction than for residential and the trends favor high-performance construction:
Q is for Indoor Air Quality
“The bottom line is this: Going forward, energy conservation and Indoor Air Quality must be considered together and have equal priority in the design, construction, furnishing, and operation of a home or building.
R is for Resource
It is no longer enough just to recycle.
S is for Passive Solar
Passive Solar planning and design depends on a dimensional understanding of sun path, site and season.
T is for Thermal Bridge / Assembly
Thick wall building assemblies are tricky.
W is for Water
National Geographic Society (U.S.). "The Water Issue." National Geographic Magazine 217, no. 4 (2010). ngm.nationalgeographic.com
X is for X-Factor: Labor
Labor is the x-factor in construction over the next few years because the labor pool is greatly diminished and it is not clear it will come back.
Y is for Y Axis ASHRE Comfort Range
This graph, a means of quantifying human comfort range, is extremely information rich—as you can see from the inset drawings—and there are two take aways: The range of comfort is dependent on a complicated set of relationships and The range of comfort is greater when people have control over their own interior environment
Z is for Zero
z2o is the research based practice formed, to apply what we have learned (and will learn) to designing, building and dwelling in (net) Zero Energy Homes.
0 is for Zero on the Hype Cycle
Where on the curve do you think is zero energy building?