Project: Re-design Your Home into a Net Zero Carbon Emission Building

1. Project Objectives

- The project gives you an opportunity to build ‘Your Home (YH)' similar to your current home and ‘Re-designed Home (RH)' to meet ‘net-zero-emission' at the same location you would like.
Note: YH can be the building where you now live or any existing residential building at any location.
- Compare your RH with your YH on the aspects of energy, emissions, cost and benefit;
- ‘Net-zero-emission' requires that the sum of
- embodied carbon of construction materials
- carbon emissions related to construction and maintenance (replacement),
- daily energy consumptions,
- emission related to wastes and disposals
is completely offset by your on-site renewable energy supply over a period of the service life of buildings (e.g. 40 years);
- The development strategies may include minimising construction material consumptions by recycling and reuse, more energy efficient buildings, together with the use of renewable energy;

2. Assignment Requirements

- 2.1 Review low/zero-carbon design technology
1) selection of low carbon construction materials,
2) innovative construction process,
3) management of energy consumption and consumption behaviour,
4) renewable energy;
5) recycle and reuse.
Note: Minimum 10 references must be provided to substantiate your review of each subject required above (2 for each of above subjects) .

- 2.2 YH Details
Note: Estimation of an amount of construction materials and relevant carbon emissions is NOT required in this section, but should be done in section 2.4
- Develop a building design or select a house from the provided base house models (similar to your current home), and detail location, building type, floor plan, building surroundings of YH
- Detail construction materials for YH
- Detail construction process for YH
- Detail heating/cooling, hot water, and appliances of YH

- 2.3 Detail RH to meet ‘net-zero-emission', given at the same location, same building type, same floor plan, and same building surroundings
Note: Estimation of an amount of construction materials and relevant carbon emissions is NOT required in this section, but should be done in section 2.4
- Your selection of construction materials for RH with minimum embodied carbon emissions
- Your selection of construction materials for RH, which require less maintenance/replacement (durable) over its service life
- Your approach to reuse and recycle construction materials for RH
- Your selection of construction process that has less carbon emissions for RH
- Your energy management design to reduce energy consumption for heating/cooling,
- Your energy management design to reduce energy consumption for hot water, and appliances
- Your selection of on-site renewable energy (design details should be included in section 2.5

- 2.4 Estimate the annual and total carbon emission over the service life of YH and RH (e.g. 40 years), and compare them

- Estimate embodied carbon (EC) emission of YH and RH
- construction materials.
Note: Reuse and recycle may reduce additional embodied carbon emission during renovation, but residual embodied carbon emission of reused or recycled construction materials should not be ignored.
- Estimate carbon emission related to the construction of YH and RH.
- Estimate carbon emission related to maintenance (e.g. replacement of
building structures or elements over the service life of YH and RH)
- Estimate carbon emission from wastes of your rebuilt/redesigned home.
Note: ICE Table included in your ‘learning materials' in Blackboard could be used for the assessment of embodied carbon, but be aware of its limitations.
- Estimate operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for hot water, and all appliances of YH and RH.
Note: Daily usage could be estimated based on the hours of usage of each appliance,.

- Estimate operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for heating and cooling of YH and RH.
- Develop YH and RH heating and cooling models
- Estimate energy consumption and corresponding carbon emission for heating and cooling
Note: it is encouraged to, though not have to, use EngeryPlus or AccuRate for the simulation. Implications of changes in building materials, orientation, window design etc could be assessed through the software. A better design of insulation, window, and roof etc could reduce energy consumption significantly (A bonus of 10% could be considered if energy models are done properly with the software)

- Summarise the changes(reduction/increase percentage) in carbon emissions as a result of redesign on the aspect of material consumption, maintenance, operating and wastes as well as their total.

- 2.5 Use HOMER to design on-site renewable energy supply to achieve ‘net-zero-emission' over the
service life of RH (e.g. 40 years)
- Develop and describe HOMER Model by using the design option described in section 2.3 for your renewable energy system of RH
- Detail and explain the inputs of climate, daily energy consumption and parameters of your renewable systems for HOMER
- Detail and explain cost information including grid electricity cost (if it is connected to RH), renewable system cost, buyback price of renewable energy, and discount rate (4%)
Note: embodied energy could be averaged over the 40 year service life and added into daily energy consumption in the simulation
- Detail and explain HOMER outputs of your design

- 2.6 Estimate cost and benefit (e.g. energy saving) of RH in comparison with YH
- Estimate annual cost/benefit, and summaries them in a table or diagram.
- The cost is a result of implementation to achieve the benefit. For example, the cost includes capitals for improvement of energy efficiency and implementation of low- carbon technology as well as renewable energy technology in RH, and the benefit includes the energy saving.
- Estimate the total cost and benefit in a present value, and the corresponding benefit/cost ratio.
- The present value of future cost/benefit is discounted at 4%
- Estimate the payback period of your investment in the renewable energy as well as any measures to improve energy efficiency and implement low-carbon technology in RH.

- 2.7 Discuss the feasibility and challenges of implementing RH, and the ways to overcome the challenges.