Page 54 - Zero Net Energy Case Study Homes-Volume 2

CASE STUDY NO. 8 STRATTON-LEE DIY HOUSE
Stratton-Lee DIY House
Case Study No. 8
Data Summary Building Type:
Single-Family (Renovation)
Location: Temple City, CA
Gross Floor Area:
1,323 gross sq. ft. (additional 515 sq. ft. unconditioned garage)
Occupied: Continuous
Work Start Date: 2016 Substantial Completion: 2019
The large inventory of existing post-WWII single-family houses represent a significant potential for residential construction projects consisting of renovations and additions, especially given the current cost of new construction in California. A large portion of these renovation projects will incorporate zero-net-energy (ZNE) and zero-carbon features in response to the societal goals that have been set in California by government representatives, as well as to the mandates now set into the current building code.
In some cases, these features involve substantial design changes to the original home to achieve ZNE and zero-carbon performance, such as Case Study No. 7 (Perlita Passive House in this Volume 2) and Case Study No. 2 (Fortunato House in Volume 1). These particular case studies retained only concrete foundations and some raw framing; the result in each case was a com- pletely different house in appearance when completed. Generally, these renovation projects are similar to entirely new houses, involving building contractors and start-to-finish construction in a year.
Other renovations may achieve the same type of ZNE and zero-carbon performance through less visible changes that are in actuality no less substantial in nature. This case study is such a house.
An additional part of the story of this case study home, and one of the reasons it was selected for inclusion in this book, is that it was largely designed and built by the owners over an extended period of time—a kind of ambitious “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) project. This general approach to home renovation is quite common, emphasizing effective low-budget solutions with most of the labor provided by the owner-builder with varying practical skill sets. In this case, the result was a veri- fied zero-carbon, ZNE retrofit of a single-family suburban house that essentially looks the same while having a very different energy performance than the original structure.
Background
The background for this case study project is personal: Wen Lee and Chris Stratton, owners of this case study house, are a couple that met during their studies at the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Oregon and were married in 2014. It is their personal background
(Above) The original house, built in 1963, as viewed from the street. (Photo: Wen Lee)
Zero Net Energy Case Study Homes: Volume 2
On-Site Renewable Energy System Installed:
4 kW (DC) Solar PV
On-Site Storage Battery
None – Planned but not yet installed
Measured On-Site Energy Production:
5,200 kWh per year (2019) 13.5 kBtu/sq.ft. per year
Modeled EUI (Site):
15.6 kBtu/sq.ft. per year
Measured EUI (Site):
15.5 kBtu/sq.ft. per year (data period overlaps on- going renovation work)
Owner/Client
Chris Stratton Wen Lee
Project Team
Architect / Designer:
Chris Stratton
Mechanical Engineer:
Chris Stratton
Structural Engineer:
Mark Acciani, P.E., Running Hills, CA
HERS Rater:
Dav Camras of HERSRater- LA, Los Angeles, CA
Landscape Designer:
Wen Lee
General Contractor:
Chris Stratton
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