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Nathaniel M. Newman ’09 (Danville, Pa.), a chemical engineering major, is performing an independent study to design a cost-effective, energy-efficient home under the guidance of Javad Tavakoli, professor of chemical engineering.
For my independent study, I am designing a cost-effective, energy-efficient green house. I spent the fall semester of 2008 creating my house based on design heuristics from energy research scientist, Larry Hartweg.
Per his design, an envelope is constructed around the interior, conditioned living space of the home. This envelope is called a thermal buffer zone or TBZ. The TBZ acts as a barrier between the comfortable, temperature-controlled interior of the house and the harsh exterior temperatures of the winter and summer. By design alone, the house is thermally more stable in comparison to a conventional home and can lead to dramatic decreases in heating or cooling bills as shown by Hartweg’s success in this field for three decades.
I set about this independent study with two specific objectives in mind. The first was to assess the thermal integrity of the house and estimate the ultimate savings in energy. The second was to determine if the house was cost-effective. That is, would the energy savings over the life of the house surpass the initial capital investment to construct the envelope?
I can call my house my own because I have improved upon the design initially outlined by Hartweg. My design includes an interior trombe wall for heat storage, a green roof section for additional cooling during the summer months, as well as evacuated-tube solar collectors to supply hot water year round.
Into the spring semester of 2009, I am relying heavily on my chemical engineering background to evaluate the energy-efficiency of the design and complete the project. The preliminary energy modeling suggests that I have been highly successful in creating an energy-efficient and cost-effective house design. I plan to enter the Lafayette/Lehigh Research Symposium held April 1 to present my work.