Campbell Creek Energy Efficient Homes Project: Summer 2011 Performance Report

Abstract

The Campbell Creek research project supports the retrofit residential housing goals of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the U.S. Department of Energy. Data from the first year of the project, which was initiated by TVA in March 2008, were collected from three houses of similar size, design, and solar and wind exposure, all with simulated occupancy and all located in the Campbell Creek community of Farragut in west Knox County, Tennessee. This progress report covers the period from May 1, 2011 until September 30, 2011. All of the houses have simulated occupancy—automated mechanisms replicate the occupancy of a family of three, including regularly opening and closing the refrigerator, using the oven, running the clothes washer and dryer and dishwasher, or taking a shower. The three study houses can be characterized as follows. • The “Builder House” (baseline house, or CC1), representative of a standard, IECC 2006 code-certified, all-electric house built by the builder to sell around 2005–2008. This house has not been modified since the beginning of the project and continues to serve as the base house for comparisons. The only addition is the installation of a Plasma TV of which is operated remotely 8 hours and 15 minutes each day. Prior to this installation the TV energy was simulated in the electric heaters on the first floor. • The “retrofit house” (or CC2), which included modifications that could be made to existing houses to improve energy efficiency. The data collected from CC2 are used to evaluate the impact of energy-efficient upgrades to the envelope, mechanical equipment, or demand-response options. Each retrofit is evaluated incrementally by both short-term measurements and using a calibrated computer model. During this reporting period this house has undergone a change out in space heating and cooling to a Mitsubishi multi split system with an ERV. In addition a LCD TV was installed in this house for comparison purposes. • The third house (or CC3) was designed as a transformation of the CC1 (builder house) with the most advanced energy-efficiency features, including solar electricity and hot water, that market conditions are likely to permit within the 2012–2015 period. This house has also had a change out on the space heating and cooling equipment by the installation of a ducted Daikin inverter heat pump system. A LED lighting package was added to this house. A LED/LCD TV was installed in the family room. Waste heat recovery equipment was installed to help preheat the water before entering the water heater. This included a GFX on the grey water sewer line, pump, 30 gallon storage tank, and plumbing connection to the heat exchanger installed on the clothes dryer during construction. This report covers data collected from CC1, CC2, and CC3 during the performance period from May 1, 2011 until the end of September 2011. TVA will use these data to determine the benefits and utility incentives of retrofit packages. The data will also help builders and homeowners make smart decisions about products and technologies when retrofitting existing houses and building new high performance houses.