Heating demands dominate residential energy consumption, presenting a significant barrier to achieving net-zero emissions in affordable housing. This report details the design of a zero-carbon, energy-independent, affordable home that eliminates reliance on the grid through an integrated renewable energy and thermal management network. Power is supplied by a co-optimized solar photovoltaic array and a micro wind generator, which drive a high-efficiency heat pump water heater to provide thermal energy and domestic hot water. An active solar sunroom provides most of the heat needed for spring and fall. To maximize system efficiency and enable vehicle-to-home (V2H) integration, the power distribution network utilizes next-generation wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors to facilitate high-efficiency bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) charging. Space cooling and seasonal energy storage are achieved through a ground-loop heat exchanger. By actively sinking excess summer heat into the ground and sourcing it during peak winter demands, the system successfully time-shifts thermal loads to align with seasonal availability. System modeling demonstrates that this integrated approach achieves full energy autonomy while maintaining capital cost thresholds suitable for affordable housing markets.
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About the Entrant
- Name:Phil Decker
- Type of entry:individual
- Profession:
- Software used for this entry:AI
- Patent status:none
