“An Epic Challenge” | Apartments That Are Off-Grid and 100% Renewable, Using Vehicle-to-Grid Battery Back-Up, Cost Effective Embodied Carbon Reduction, Passive House Envelope and Power Efficient Appliances
Description
Redwood Energy (redwoodenergy.net) designed North America’s first Net Positive apartments (2011) and first New Positive subdivision (2014), won the Grand Prize World Habitat Award from the United Nations (2016), and their Managing Principal, Sean Armstrong, was inducted into the California’s Hall of Fame for Clean Energy Champions (2022).
Sean will be presenting on their most advanced design practices in the context of a 131-unit apartment complex in Petaluma, CA, that has been funded by the State of California and the Department of Energy to be off-grid, 100% renewably powered, using vehicle-to-grid battery back-up, carbon reduction measures (e.g. cork siding), with a Passive House envelope and appliances chosen for their peak power use, not just their ongoing energy efficiency.
Learning Points
- The integration of Passive House Principles to minimize winter peak Heating loads when an off-grid system also has less access to solar irradiation.
- The integration of solar and stationary batteries to power roughly 95% of the hourly loads.
- The capacity of electric vehicles to absorb excess solar and provide the last 5% of battery back-up for a truly off-grid development, including available V2X chargers and warrantied vehicles.
- The mixture of novel and standard strategies used to reduce embodied carbon in apartments.
- The selection process for energy efficient and power efficient appliances, particularly during the winter when off-grid energy is limited.
Presenter
Sean Armstrong: Managing Principal of Redwood Energy (redwoodenergy.net)
