In countries with geography and grids as large as the US, going with high-penetration of renewables is actually easier than in NL where the international grids are more constrained and more difficult to manage. In the US large regions of the grid are managed separately (and include parts of Canada), with a richer set of transmission and switching resources.  The wind is ALWAYS blowing somewhere in the midwestern US. Even in the somewhat isolated grid of Texas, the introduction of wind power has made the grid more stable and elecricity even cheaper, while eroding the operating capacity factors of the fossil & nuke fleet.  

Large grid sections have been carefully modeled using historical wind & solar data for different penetrations and different mixes of renewables, and it turns out that it takes less spinning reserves or storage to go with 90% renewables than with half-measures, and that even at the cost/efficiency in 2008 it's the cheapest way to go. (Wind is both cheaper and more efficient now than then, and solar is MUCH cheaper now than then, as is grid storage.) There have been more recent similar modeling looking of sections of the western US grid, which came to similar conclusions.  All-solar or all-wind clearly doesn't work due to the high storage (or spinning reserves) needed.  But nobody would every run the  grid that way.  An optimized mix can be GREAT, and better than what they're doing right now.  Grid storage becoming both cheaper & smarter, which will also reduce the amount of idling standby fossil-burner loss when renewables penetration begins to dominate the grid. In Iowa (just 2-states away from Indiana) more than 25% of all power is currently coming from wind, and that has not increased the amount of spinning reserves needed to keep the grid stable..

It's true that nuclear and coal plants cannot be "...switched on like a lightbulb..." and have glacially-slow ramp-up times, but single-cycle gas is almost like switching on a light, and combined-cycle gas plants can ramp quickly over a substantial range.  Weather modeling is accurate enough over the midwestern region of the US to be predictive of just how much wind & solar will be available, days ahead of time and there is no need to keep all other generators at anything like 40% of the full-on heat rate.   Xcel Energy's direct experience is that by adding more wind they have been able to REDUCE the amount of idling standby, which is the exact opposite of what had been predicted.  This is possible in part due to the wide geographic area they cover, and the pre-existing transmission & switching capacity on their grid.

The grid in Indiana is well situated for importing and exporting power as needed, and would be a prime location for developing large scale wind. But the incumbent power generators with sunk capital costs to protect are fighting distributed renewables pretty hard, and even fighting energy efficiency measures that would not be controversial in most places.

Geothermal heating/cooling can be ridiculously expensive- in new construction it's often cheaper to just improve the thermal performance of the house to where it can be heated/cooled with 1-2 mini-split heads, and in Indiana the seasonal average efficiency of a better-class mini-split is about the same as an average geothermal heating system (if lower efficiency than the absolute best geothermal system designs.)  Putting  a mini-split compressor on the roof is a bad idea in Indiana though, due to high risk of snow & ice build up during certain weather events, weather events that happen more than once per year.

Ductwork has to be sized properly for the air flow needs, and those needs depend on what the actual heating loads are, as well as the equipment you install. There are no universal duct solutions.

Air source heat pumps push very large volumes of air on the outdoor unit- putting it in a greenhouse would only be useful if it were a multi-hectare greenhouse of the types you see near the Schiphol Airport. (Using a greenhouse type solar collector also becomes a liability when you need to cool the house.)  When the greenhouse isn't absorbing as much solar heat as is being extracted by the mini-split, the temperature in the greenhouse goes down, which reduces the net efficiency of the mini-split. It has to be a VERY large greenhouse to have a positive benefit, even in the heating season.

Yes, when the average outdoor temp over the day is +5F or lower, as happened during the cold-snap, the COP of a mini-split will average less than 3, maybe even less than 2.5. A week of bitter cold weather like that is an more expensive and lower efficiency week for heating, but that has little impact on the seasonal averages or annual power bill.

First off, a modern window with a good low E coating gains more heat (from solar energy- direct and indirect) than it loses overall. The amount of window that you want facing south depends on the solar gain of the window( SHGC) , insulation levels, and the amount of thermal mass in the structure. Basically the more thermal mass, the more window area you can tolerate without experiencing over heating in the shoulder seasons.

I would step back a bit and start with overall design. The closer it a 2 story square box the better- less surface area to square footage of living space.
As far as insulation values go, I would look at R-5 window (U=0.2), R 10 under the slab, R 20 in subgrade walls, R 40 in above grade walls and R 60 ceilings- with a ACH50 of 3 or less.
Remember that we are talking about different measurement units than you are used to- BTU/SF/°F for R values
If you do that, you will have an efficient house.
Beyond that, you can look at adding passive or active solar, while making sure shading of the east and west sun prevents overheating in the summer.
The other real benefit to these insulation levels, is that it gives you a lot more flexibility in your heating and cooling choices. Sprawling houses with low levels of insulation require ducted systems that deliver exact amounts of heat to each room to insure comfort, Compact well insulated structures can work well with more centrally located point source heating and cooling systems. The decrease in complexity is worth pursuing if possible.

You really need to figure out what the house shape will be, and the heat loss of the shell- before worrying about the heating and cooling types.
As far as spray foam goes, it is an expensive way to gain r value. I would look at cellulose insulation wherever possible, and figure on using exterior continuous insulation on the walls for a good part of the R value.

Cheers,
Eric

I already have an overall design. It has a square footprint, but just one floor. I know a perfect cube has least wall area. I like 2 floor houses with slated roof much better looking than a 1 floor flat roof house. The reason I'm looking for 1 floor is that I want to get old in the house. My grandmother slept in her living room for 15 years because she no longer could get upstairs. My father had the same for about 3 years. That basically means they could only access half their houses.
An alternative I'm considering is 1 bedroom downstairs and all other ones upstairs.

As I wrote above I already have a floor plan, but that wasn't made with energy efficiency in mind. I've just recently started looking into energy efficiency, but I already know for a fact that 'rules of efficiency' have a large influence on the layout of a house. So it's my newbie-opinion I now need to learn, let's say, 10 main design rules for energy efficiency and try to implement them in my house.

I know what R and U is but am totally clueless about ACH.

While I agree with everything you wrote about east, west, sun etc it's a bit difficult because my only view is west. In other directions lots of huge trees. Good for summer shade. They are without leave in the winter so perhaps some sunshine is possible. But the 3 feet tree trunks will make planning very hard.
I think it also will spoil my chances for solar panels with good performance.

is there a possibility for ground mounted panels?

Even without solar panels, your highest financial return is with increased efficiency. Look at the Building Science.com website. Their fearless leader, Joe Lstiburek is a Canadian building scientist living in the Boston area. He has written an excellent book called "Builder's Guide to Cold Climates".

ACH is a measure of air volume; how much cold air is entering your house("infiltration") and displacing heated air. The goal is to keep that cold air out and the heated air in; the less air you have coming in through cracks, the less heat you use. Minimizing infiltration is almost as important as insulation in keeping your house warm; lots of insulation + lots of infiltration will give you drafty cold house. A Blower Door is a fan set up used to measure infiltration, and needs to be used when you are building to find the leaks before you finish the house.

I understand the desire for single story- I built the same for myself. It can be a worth wile trade off.
Other things to think about are insuring all doors are 36” wide and using levers for door opening. You can look at guidelines for universal design for understanding how to make a house work well as you age.


Other things to think about- you are probably used to thermostatic mixing valves for showers, in the US they are harder to find and you have to specify them if you want them, most here are pressure balance valves which don’t work as well.

As far as design rules go, here would be mine

1. Min roof pitch 4/12 overhangs of at least 18”

2. Longest wall/roofline facing solar south

3. Gutters with water lead away from structure + landscaping sloping away from foundation

4. Compact structure with min # of corners and bumpouts

5. R-5 window (U=0.2), R 10 under the slab, R 20 in subgrade walls, R 40 in above grade walls and R 60 ceilings-

6. ACH50 of 3 or less. 1.5 is better Verified by blower door

7. Sealed combustion appliances (modulating and condensing preferred) for furnace/ boiler/Water heater

8. Heat Recovery Ventilator

9. Bath ventilation ~50- 80 cfm per bathroom quiet and on a timer or humidity sensor

10. Range/ stove ventilation 2-400 cfm on high with a capture hood that extends past the front burners

11. Built in mechanism for dealing with power outages

I fully concur with Eric’s list of suggestions. A rectangular single-story works very well provided you adhere to Eric’s rule 2). I would recommend NOT having any skylights or open fireplaces and considering flat 9’-10’ ceilings in lieu of cathedral/vaulted ceilings. Make sure that you have the required energy heel in the trusses to allow getting the R60. Consider designing the room layout so you can eliminate or minimize windows on the West, North and East walls.

Even though it's written from a retrofit perspective, the Mass Save Deep Energy Retrofit Builder Guide (compiled by Building Science Corporation for the state of Massachusetts), has a lot of details on how to build a high-performance home, at R/U levels appropriate for  a climate comparable to northern Indiana.


Your exact location in Indiana matters a bit- southern Indiana is in US climate zone 4A, which won't have as much heating season energy use as the far northern corners of Indiana.  Heating season energy use in zone 4A would be comparable to that of NL. (The extreme low temperatures in Indiana are colder, but the heating season is shorter.)  Heating season energy use in zone 5A (most of Indiana) is comparable to Scotland (at the warm southern edge of zone 5), Denmark, or southern parts of Norway/Sweden:

Bob,

Thanks for the site. Insulation and infiltration is what I'm least concerned about. I think I got that covered. Likely I will get a brick* house with a cavity wall. Or a poured concrete inner wall and a brick outside wall. Especially if I use dense concrete I will have lots of thermal mass. Closed cell foam. Roof also concrete. That's my Dutchy mind. No wood and vinyl siding on my house :-)

I think that will reduce the leaks to zero. Except for the doors of course.


*= The following may sound like a horror movie or something religious.... :-)

Somehow brick feels better than concrete. It has a spirit. It feels better. Maybe the word is feels nor natural. I also want to minimize the need for AC. I never experience one that I would rate above acceptable. Not in houses, not in expensive cars, not in offices. Manmade cold never seems to match up with a cool summer breeze created by mother nature.

"infiltration is what I'm least concerned about"
Infiltration does not just occur at framing or in insulation areas. Ignoring it when you build and assuming it is not an issue can lead to disappointment.

I share your feeling about AC, but most areas in the US are experiencing heat waves that are greater than ever. We recently installed two minisplit heat pumps in our older home - primarily for heat, but we have used them on a few hot, muggy days and have found them to be quieter, much less obtrusive and, since the temperature is dial-able, much more comfortable than I have ever seen with my limited experience. We always shut them off at night and open the house, but we are very glad we have them available. My wife grew up in southern Florida in the days before AC, so she is not unused to heat, but very glad to have these.

Eric,


Good tip about the door; but unfortunately I already knew that very well. Some inner doors in my parents had to be replaced for my father's electric wheelchair.



I might import mixing valves. Maybe even light switches :-) I think I'll rent a sea container. Quite something like 35 m3 when pickedup in Chicago habor or 70 on site.



1. Pitch roof. Been thinking about water cooling it during the summer. I will have well water. So a small pump...? Do you have a gravel roof? I hope is spelled that right. The pebbles used in concrete.




2. That would break the sqaure house rule. I understand the aim is solar gain but trees, trees beautifull trees...



3. Never causes any trouble here and trust me I do know what rain is! Seriously now. When i read about foundations on US sites they are all foundation on slab or crawls space under a wooden house. Here most old and all new houses are fully contrete/brick with 1-2 feet crawlspace that's useally not accesible. (no ductwork). Did I overlook US sites? Or is it an Europe only building style?




6. Whats a blower door?

Dana,

My location will be Connersville; which is quite near the yellow/green border. I can't really comment on the seasons but I have a little experience with temps during a 5 weeks. Compared to what I'm used too temp swings are huge. One day a coat and gloves and the next day a t-shirt. Sometimes even during a single day. I think thermal mass could buffer such swings.? Generally speaking I'm someone that likes to overspec things a bit.

I wish I was allowed to put a little hydro plant in the river. More like big stream most of the time. The current is so strong I could power my whole house with the windows open during winter :-)

Bob,

I'm not ignoring leaks at all. I fully agree they can use up massive amounts of energy and make a house less comfy. I wrote I'm the least concerned about them because I understand leaks. What I understand I'm much more able to prevent.

@all
Just having a thought about the orientation of the house. Sun certainly is an important design factor. But what about wind. I could built my house perpendicular on the direction of the prevailing winter wind. I could also turm my house 45 degrees, making a corner facing the wind and cutting it. I a way it will expose 2 insteafdof one wall to the wind. But the wind doesn't 'ram' as hard on the wall. The wall can handle the load so that's not the issue at hand. I'm Discovery Channel fan and like to watch super structures. I remember an episode about a half mile high building. Engineers were unable to make it storm proof. It would get damaged during heavy winds. My english is to bad to explain the solution, but it involved a minor adjustment like adding a little ledge/bump. It would break the wind an cause turbelence and that way the wind started to fight itself. The load of the wind was vastly reduced. So my question is this: Has there been research on the amount of heat loss when wind hits a house at various angles?

I'm quite pessimistic as solar gain in the winter (trees) but I think I could take some advantage of wind cooling my house.

I like 4/12 roofs because they handle heavy rain well, but are easy to walk for maintenance.

Trees are not the kiss of death for passive solar as long as they are deciduous (ie their leaves fall off in the winter). Solar thermal is less susceptible to shadows. Solar PV would be problematic.
Personally before I abandoned solar as a resource, I would use a solar pathfinder, on top of a ladder the same height as your roofline, and see what the potential is.

If you are deciding that stick built is not for you, I would look hard at an an ICF house. Where I live (admittedly not in Indiana), full basements are the norm. Crawl spaces are a rarity. We are Americans and we collect a lot of junk, so it does not all fit in the garage 

As far as fixtures goes, Moen and Delta make good thermostatic mixing valves so if you spec them, you will get them No need for the shipping container. If you are going to import something- get your windows from Europe.

For roofs, you have 2 basic options 1 conventional asphalt, 2 standing seam metal roofing. I have yet to see a ceramic tile roof in the US, and Thatch roofs don’t exist here


A blower door is a device that pressurizes or depressurizes a house to measure how air tight it is. It is a useful tool in building a quality structure.


As far as using a water mister to cool the roof, we did that at our house as a kid in Connecticut with a garden sprayer The big issue with it is that you get a huge solar driven moisture problem with wet brick in the sun- and roofing IE I think it it is not a great idea

Bob,

Tach roof are very expensive to contruct and the fire insurance is high.
Ceramic tile has a real classic feeling to me. I guess it's one of the adjustments I need to make when moving to the other side of the world.


ICF, I don't really care as long it's concrete. Here walls are often made in a factory and then loaded on a big truck and bolded together on site. Or poured on site. ICF on the other wall forces me to paint the wall. I like a brick outer wall. Expecially what we call 'hand formed' bricks. Bricks from factory usually are perfectly shaped. Hand formed is not perfect on purpose. It gives a classic even slightly 'romantic' look.


When I water cool the roof there won't be even one drop of water on the walls. I'm not sure the American flat roofs are contructed the same so I add 2 photo's
http://imaat.nl/images/015_00006-loden-uitloop-platdak--admiraal-helf.jpg

http://www.dakdekker.nl/uploads/resized/12/dak-berging-dakdekker-bitumen-dakbedekking-8.jpg

Do you have a few good links to shops that sell solar heating. When I google I get hobby projects (mostly food dryers) and water heaters.

I think we are taking about different things regarding termostatic faucets. They come in *many* models but the temp is never fixed. It's set by each person taing a bath/shower.
The most simple ones look like this. Right knob is temp setting. Left is amount of water.
http://www.debouwmarktshop.eu/WebRoot/StoreLNL/Shops/62433508/4CA1/DF01/2465/C66B/9A03/C0A8/2935/27DC/23.3604.JPG


Bedtime for me. Good night folks and watch the draft :-)

Posted By NewHoosier on 07 Aug 2014 04:33 PM
...ICF on the other wall forces me to paint the wall. I like a brick outer wall. Expecially what we call 'hand formed' bricks. Bricks from factory usually are perfectly shaped. Hand formed is not perfect on purpose. It gives a classic even slightly 'romantic' look...

You can install a brick exterior on an ICF wall.  It is done all of the time.  That is what I am having installed on my ICF home.  I like the low/no maintenance aspects of brick.  Virtually all of the nicer homes in my area are brick.

And you can get factory made brick that has the hand formed look also.  That is also what I am installing.  Here is a sample from Acme Brick:

Acme Brick - Heritage Hills

Connersville is still in zone 5, but the warm edge of zone 5. In NL where the prevailing winds come from from the north and west (and only rarely from the east), the air temperature is moderated by the water temperature in the North Sea. In IN the winds can come from the north or northwest across a large cold land mass in winter with arctic type temperatures, or it can come from the south or southwest with much warmer air temperatures. The direction of the wind can change dramatically over the course of a day or two, depending on the wind patterns at high altitude, so yes, there will be days where it will be 20C in one afternoon, and snowing by the next morning.

There is no such thing as wind-cooling your house when the outdoor temperature in the middle of the night is 30C, with high outdoor humidity, which happens with some frequency in Indiana. Shading helps, as does a sloped roof. With a sloped roof as the roof heats up convection causes the much hotter air at the roof surface to flow up the roof, bringing cooler air into it. With flat roofs there is no flow, just small localized convection loops as the super-heated air on the 60-70C roof bubbles up into the cooler air above, but it mixes with that air rather than being displaced by it. This is a HUGE difference, easily measured in the roof temperatures.

The aerodynamics of tall buildings are irrelevant for a 1-story structure. In tall buildings the wind can be coming from different directions and at different speeds depending on the altitude, which can cause interesting vibrations & stresses on the building. A building of uniform shape can even have a signficant amount of "lift", like an airplane wing when the wind is coming from a particular direction. But a 1-story structure isn't tall enough for there to be much difference in wind direction or speed, and local trees/building/ground shapes create enough turbulence that any theoretical stress would be small. There is no lift forces that need to be broken up, and no twisting/torque or vibration frequencies that need attention.

There is the possibility of tornado events in that area, as well as large lighting/thunder storms with large hail stones (big enough to damage a mini-split, or break skylights, or damage the windshield and roof of your car), and drop 15cm of water in less than 30 minutes.

Flat roofs aren't really a great idea in this climate, but European style tile roofs (with a decent amount of slope) can work- provided you can find a local contractor who is competent. They are common in California and the southwestern US, and I've seen them in New England and the Pacific Northwest too. In places with large daily temperature swings around 0C, porous tiles can suffer spalling due t ice-crystals forming under surface of the tile which causes them to crack and flake, but I think you'd be OK from that point of view in Connersville.

In ANY new construction it is worth designing the roof pitch & orientation to take advantage of photovolatic solar. Grid tied PV may not be economic Indiana without subsidy at today's ~ $4/watt installed cost,(that's 2x what it currently costs in Germany- the prices WILL fall here no matter what.) But it's widely expected that the cost will be somewhere around $1.50/watt before the year 2020, at which it is cost effective. In the US in states where it is allowed, big solar companys will even give you a lower electricity rate or no-prepayment financing to install solar on your roof, provided it is oriented well and has little shading. Indiana does not expressly forbid or encouage these businesses, but may eventually make it VERY easy for people to afford to install rooftop solar, the way many other states have. http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/onsite/solar_financing.shtml http://www.seia.org/policy/finance-tax/third-party-financing.

Most actively pumped solar thermal heating (zonneboilers) is not economic at US type gas & electricity pricing- you get a better return on investment and fewer maintenance problems with heat pumps (tank-type water heaters with heat pumps, or mini-splits/air-source heat pumps) and rooftop photovoltaic panels. There are numerous links to both home-built solar heating projects (as well as commercially made solar thermal products) on this website:

http://www.builditsolar.com/

or you can search the web for "solar thermal panels" or "solar heating" to find the type of hardware used for heating your house with the sun.

Passive solar can be a huge benefit in your climate, if you design your house and window size & orientation appropriately.

An ACCA Manual 'J' is used to model a structure, existing or projected. The building components are input including every exterior surface, the quality, U-value, orientation, indoor design temperature and outdoor design temperature. Internal heat gain is considered; such as those generated by plants and people and the heat generated by the sun to determine the overall cooling requirements. Moving air is good thing when you want to lower the latent (humidity) loads.

Naturally just the opposite is true when one wants to stay comfortable in cold weather. Dana's estimable math skills not-with-standing, no one here in Minnesota equates 85°F/29°C air at the register to a "warm breeze". Most of the homes, past and present, in the Midwest, use natural gas as the main fuel source with a conventional forced-air (low-velocity) ducted combination heating and cooling system with humidification and air filtration built in. Not my favorite.

We design and install hybrid systems with slab-on-ground (many frost protected shallow foundations like the Swedes, but very popular in the US state of New Mexico for the last 20 years).

I have found in my North American design work that our basements (vestiges of the old root cellars) are more cultural than nationalistic in nature. It is the cheapest way to get extra storage and we have seen a huge upswing in "finishing" basements for living space, but there is no valid argument to be made for a basement in a cold climate from a energy standpoint.

I like a slab. If you have one, you also have a very good heating emitter and as you suggest thermal mass that can used to control temperature flux to your advantage. I put carpet over my office slab for acoustic and ergonomics. Supply water temperature 76­°F/24°C. For cooling a twin-head air-source heat pump. One for each room.

For multi-room structures, the lack of air movement can be a problem. This is why we start with the Manual 'J' to size equipment, consider construction components and specify from the information input which is the best choice for the homeowners desired outcome.

As for the other extraordinary suggestions posted here. In Minnesota the most common components used commonly in thoughtful construction.

R-10 rigid insulation below and at the outer edge of the slab.

2x6 walls insulated to R-=19 with another 5 or 10 in exterior rigid insulation such as Thermax.

R-50 blown fiberglass or cellulose, sometime augmented by a 2" layer of 2# foam just over the ceiling sheetrock.

.31 thermal pane window low-e R-20 walls.

Most of our clients use condensing natural gas boiler with indirect water heaters or combination domestic water and space heating storage water heaters since DHW demands often exceed space heating demands in tighter, better insulated construction.

Naturally an energy recovery ventilator is essential and we use ours to vent bath and kitchen areas.

All the options become clearer once the Manual 'J' is done.

Yes, like Dana and Eric indicated, passive solar heating can be a very significant benefit in your climate/location. We have free DIY software on our website that will allow you to design and quantify the benefit of passive solar heating for your building/location:

http://www.borstengineeringconstruction.com/Calculators.html

The directions to the software explain in detail how passive solar works. There are also directions/software on our website for accomplishing heat loss analysis and hydronic radiant floor heating design.

You will also find a wealth of info about solar space heating here:

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/Space_Heating.htm

arkie


http://www.ludwigdeblaere.be/default.asp?id=16&mnu=3

http://www.naibooksellers.nl/media/catalog/product/9/7/9789040007569_biografie_baksteen_300.jpg

Dana,


I wasn't suggesting a house has the same dynamics a as tall building. Maybe you got that impression after reading the lenghty intro. When wind hits a wall of a house something will happen with the wind. If it can't go straigt through the house it must change directon. I think the windflow pattern near the wall is quite complex. I aklso tend to think that pattern changes is the angle the wind hits the house changes. But also due all sort of things that aren't a flat surface. So flat walls deflect winds differently from for example vinyl siding. So my original question what this: If a tiny change on a really tall building can have huge effects on the wind stress, could it be a small changes on a small structure changes windflow in such a way there is less heat loss. Heatloss obviously is largely determined my the insulation but also by how effectively the escaped heat gets transported away from the building

"Flat roofs aren't really a great idea in this climate, but European style tile roofs (with a decent amount of slope) can work- provided you can find a local contractor who is competent."


That's a real issue and I will try to adapt my wishes to the American building style. I don't want my house to be a test site :-)


I also will try to get things done by one contractor because I hate subcontractors. If something goes wrong it's always the other guy who messed up. For that reason I won't even measure my own windows. That way I never can't be blamed when they don't fit.




"Most actively pumped solar thermal heating (zonneboilers) is not economic at US type gas & electricity pricing"

At Dutch energy prices it would be. Just to give you guys an impression.

Electricity=$0.29kWh

Natuaral gas=$2.32/therm

Unleaded fuel=$8.83/gallon


All taxes included.