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homes were sold and occupied, Premier Homes found that “the homeowners did not care much because the BIPV system blended in aesthetically with the roof tile” 8. This was great news to Premier Homes because they can place PVs to optimize electricity generation, even on the front of the house, without changing roof plans or fearing that buyers may find it unattractive. 3.3.5. Issues around installing monitoring equipment Several homes and PV systems discussed in this report were monitored to gather performance data, and some issues arose during the installation of the monitoring equipment. While the recorder is not difficult to install, it is important to have conduit for the wiring installed during the rough-in phase of construction. If installed during the rough-in phase, the wiring to the main power panel is hidden, reducing the visual impact and increasing the safety of the installation. Coordinating this task with the electrical contractor can be a challenge because the electrical contractor needs to meet contractual schedules and this ‘non-standard’ activity removes some flexibility. Installation of the current transformers (CTs) can also be a difficult problem. Issues primarily arose due to the use of the All-in-One panels that use metal buss bars in the circuit breaker section of the panel. It is impossible to mount CTs around these buss bars. The solution has been to obtain the utility’s permission to install the CTs in the ‘utility’ portion of the panel where the service wires are accessible. This installation requires utility technicians to actually perform the installation with supervision from an energy consultant. It also requires a cooperative utility that is willing to perform this extra work. Measuring natural gas usage using a second gas meter between the revenue meter and the house also created some challenges. There is usually insufficient space to place two meters near the gas entrance to the house. The best solution, to date, has been working with a utility company to allow the energy consultant to add a commercial magnetic pulser module to the existing gas meter. This eliminated the need for a second meter. It is important to note that the referenced gas meter solution was for a Nevada ZEH project. Again, a cooperative utility, in this case Southwestern Gas in Las Vegas, allowed the best solution to be implemented. 8 Ralson, John. 2005. VP of Sale and Marketing, Premier Homes. ZEH Presentation. 32
4.0 Recommendations for the Energy Commission’s ZENHome Program 4.1. Cost and features The net incremental cost for ZEH features over a base Title 24 home in California ranged from $8,000 to $15,000, depending on the aggressiveness of the rebates from the utility service territories. For example, in investor-owned utility territories where the state incentive is only $2.60/watt for a PV buydown (compared to the $3.50/watt incentive from SMUD or the $4.00/watt incentive from Roseville Electric), it would be more expensive to build ZEHs. The net cost to achieve the PIER Utility-focused Market Model ZENHomes will depend on the rebates available at both the state and federal levels during project term (2006– 2008), but will be similar to the incremental cost quoted from the ZEH case studies. The features required to achieve ZENHome goals are similar to ZEH features as well. It is important for the ZENHome project team (Architectural Energy Corporation, Southern California Edison, ConSol, Geltz Communications, ConsumerPowerline, and the PV manufacturer) to work to acquire all possible rebates and incentives to minimize the cost of building ZENHomes to the builder and homeowner. It also is important to identify and attempt to quantify benefits gained from media coverage, modifications in the entitlement processes, and mortgage advantages from significantly lower energy bills. 4.2. Facilitate involvement of local government Local government participants need to be on-board early in the Utility-focused Market Model for ZENHomes project. Some of the energy efficiency features (e.g., DOW T-Mass walls, buried ducts, OASYS evaporative cooler, etc.) could require significant discussions with the local building department, resulting in project delays. The ZENHome team must work proactively with building departments to facilitate understanding of the features and minimize delays and, if possible, make these projects highly visible within the local government. Delays may be avoided and plan reviews may occur faster if the building department and city government are included as an integral part of the project. 4.3. 1-kW requirement One of the goals for the PIER ZENHome Program is to achieve 1 kW peak demand in each home. This goal will be studied in the Utility-focused Market Model for ZENHome project. It is important to note that the ease with which the 1-kW goal can be met depends on the size of the home. The 1-kW goal will be harder to achieve for larger homes and in harsher climate zones. An in-depth discussion on the 1-kW issue and the effects of square footage and climate zones will be provided in future deliverables. 33
Page 1 and 2: UTILITY-FOCUSED MARKET MODEL FOR ZE
Page 3 and 4: Preface The Public Interest Energy
Page 5 and 6: List of Figures Figure 1. BIPV exam
Page 7 and 8: Introduction Executive Summary As C
Page 9 and 10: 1.0 Introduction As California’s
Page 11 and 12: • Reduce energy use by 40% to 70%
Page 13 and 14: In addition, utilities typically ha
Page 15 and 16: to continue to build more homes wit
Page 17 and 18: Duct insulation/location R-4.2 11 B
Page 19 and 20: Figure 1. BIPV example As a key req
Page 21 and 22: Both Premier and Cresleigh construc
Page 23 and 24: $250 $240 $230 $220 $210 $200 $190
Page 25 and 26: 2.2. Case Study #2: Clarum Homes -
Page 27 and 28: mid $300,000, and the ZEHs sold jus
Page 29 and 30: The Fallen Leaf project just comple
Page 31 and 32: 2.5. Case Study #5: Pardee Homes -
Page 33 and 34: Figure 13. Soleil plans Appendix C
Page 35 and 36: project in Rancho Cordova (two side
Page 37: One of the lessons learned is that
Page 41 and 42: 6.0 References Burton, Franklin. 19
Page 43 and 44: W watt ZEH zero energy home ZENHome
Page 45 and 46: Appendix A: Energy Analysis for Pre

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