LAS VEGAS – Whoever buys the house at 7387 Howell Mill Court will have a tough time keeping up with the Joneses. Like a jealous twin, it sits next to a replica dwelling that probably will receive far more attention.
The neighboring house is a zero-energy home, meaning that it should, over the course of a year, produce as much energy as it consumes. Ideally, it will tally up an annual energy bill of zero dollars.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Energy Research will monitor the two homes, which Pinnacle Homes constructed as part of a 146-home community called The Vinings in southwest Las Vegas.
“There are two houses together that started life on the architect’s drawing board as exactly the same house. One of them has been modified to be the better performance house, hopefully,” said Bob Boehm, the center’s director.
The homes will be heated in the winter and air conditioned during the summer. The study will last 18 months before the model homes go on the market.
The zero-energy home is equipped with a photovoltaic electric system that receives energy from roof-integrated solar panels.
The system is connected to the Nevada Power Co. grid, which will provide the home with energy when it’s not producing enough.
“If it generates more energy than what you need it turns the meter backward so you basically sell power to Nevada Power for the same cost they sell it to you,” Boehm said. “When it’s hot and sunny outside, that’s when Nevada Power has the biggest drain on their grid, and that’s the time you’re helping out with it the most.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Hurricane Katrina, a blistering hot summer and tight world oil markets set the stage for escalating energy costs this winter. The department estimated electricity expenditures will be up 11 percent compared with winter 2004.
Residential buildings use more than 20 percent of the energy consumed in the United States annually, and the average southern Nevada household currently pays about $127 a month to Nevada Power.
But what the zero-energy home saves in energy, it lacks in cost savings.
“We didn’t get the greatest deal on some of this stuff,” said Frank Wyatt, Pinnacle Homes president. The conventionally built model is on the market for $341,990, but he declined to say how much the zero-energy home would sell for or cost to build.
It was as part of a study, a “one-time deal,” he said. “It’s unfair to compare.”
But in five years, Boehm said, there should be a price decrease in the solar panels.
“When that happens, you’re going to find the payback period is going to be fairly short on a house like that. Right now, I don’t think there is a payback period on this particular house,” he said.
The home also has a water-cooled air-conditioning condenser that uses evaporating water, similar to a swamp cooler.
“The efficiency, depending a little bit on particular conditions, might be nearly twice as high,” Boehm said. “That means your bill will be nearly one-half.”
The windows, lighting, air ducts and walls – thick concrete slabs that sandwich foam – are especially tailored for energy efficiency.
A tankless water heater in the garage is connected to a solar water heater on the roof. The system, Wyatt said, can provide limitless hot water.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which provided technical support for the project, will review the results.
In California, where zero-energy homes enjoy larger state subsidies, they have become more popular.
David Springer, president of Davis Energy Group, a California mechanical engineering firm, said making a zero-energy home typically adds about $20,000 to the price.
He’s worked with several California developers, including Centex Homes and Clarum Homes, to design such dwellings and recently installed a photovoltaic system on his own house for $5,500 with the state rebate included. With installation, he estimated the system runs about $12,000.
“It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the million-dollar homes we’re seeing on the market,” Springer said.
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