8. Heating with electricity makes sense!?
Many Cape residents no longer or never had access to natural gas for heating. We can’t make natural gas on our roofs, but we can make electricity by utilizing solar photovoltaic panels. If we are serious about getting to net-zero, it’s important to heat/cool/heat water with electricity. Fortunately, there are great options for heating these days. We use mini-split heat pumps for heating and cooling as well as heating hot water for most projects. They are two-to-three times more efficient than the electric resistance baseboard heating of the 1970s and 80s. There are options for ducted and ductless units.
9. Ventilation is VERY important
Finally, a note about ventilation. The first question we often get is “Don’t you want the house to breathe?” Yes, of course we do. However, we want to control that. We don’t want the house to breathe through walls and windows. If you add insulation and don’t consider ventilation there can be problems. We want ventilation – whether from a simple exhaust-only Panasonic bathroom fan or a more sophisticated intake/exhaust whole-house ventilation system that controls how the house exchanges air. Old houses breathe, but new energy-efficient house do too. They do it in a smarter more efficient way.
About the author:
Alison Alessi is a architect with A3 Architects, Inc. in Dennis MA. She is a Certified passive house designer and is passionate about creating low-energy projects for the Cape and Islands and beyond.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
http://energy.gov/eere/energybasics/articles/air-source-heat-pump-basics
http://www.phius.org/
http://selfreliancefuelcoop.org/
http://energycodehelp.com/
http://www.capelightcompact.org/
http://www.masssave.com/