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O.P.E.R.A Housetm
Design
(On Peak Energy Reduction
Architecture)
Picture of OPERA House I Click here
Picture
of OPERA House II Click
here
Pictures
of OPERA House VII Click here
Make your next home an OPERA
House Click
here
What is an OPERA House?
It's not about singing although you may feel like it when
your utility bill comes in the mail each month. Actually, it's simple logic and basic physics applied to the use of off peak energy. Here's how it
works: There is 24hrs in a day. We get up, we start to use energy, have
breakfast and then really start using energy. Between 11am and 7pm
power is really flowing and is called "on peak" and you are charged a premium
during this time period. Some utilities charge over 21 cents per KWH during
on peak times, the national average is 10 cents per KWH. Note: most
electric utilities do not offer time of use (TOU), rates for residential
users. However, with deregulation around the corner, TOU rates will become
more prevelant.
Typically, on peak times are only in effect Monday through
Friday. All other times, including Saturday and Sunday, are "off peak" and
the cost of power is typically around three cents per KWH. The trick is to
use as much power off peak as possible without having to stay up until 3am doing
laundry. If you are building using conventional building practices you
will find it difficult to maximize off peak power since conventional insulation
only resists the flow of heat then
stores it. Our simple designs change the direction of heat then uses the
mass of the walls to absorb heat during on peak times
Whether or not your
local energy provider offers off peak rates, this radical home design has many
benefits even if taking advantage of lower off peak rates are not
available. Below are some of these benefits:
- The A/C unit(s)
only run during the night. Lower temperatures means lower head pressures and
decreased energy use.
- The solar heated
air in the attic is drawn into the clothes dryer to dry clothes using the 200
watt tumbler motor as opposed to the 6,000 watt heating element to dry your
clothes.
- Our patented mass
wall system using radiant barrier rejects so much heat at the exterior (in
sunny climates), that all the hot water needs of the home can be met,
typically without back up just by running pipes in the wall.
- The attic is
insulated with our patented RBS
Chips which changes the direction of heat as opposed to resisting it
like insulation does.
- Attic venting is
three times what minimum codes require.
- The comfort
of the OPERA house is unmatched by any design due to the low mean radiant
temperature of the interior wall surfaces. Many people say it feels like
walking into a basement.
- Since OPERA
Houses use over 90% of the power during off peak times, this helps electric
utilities make more efficient use of the generating plants and helps prevent
brown outs and rolling blackouts.
About Off Peak Rates
Some utilities
around the country are now offering alternative Time of Use (TOU) rates that
allow them to use the generation facilities more efficiently. Keep in mind
these plants must supply sufficient energy to accommodate the largest load of
each day across the grid...with ample to spare. Costs of this generation
is high, it's an inefficient use of the generators. It also causes the
greatest amount of pollution when most of us energy users are awake and driving
all over town.
If this some of
this "peak" usage could be diverted to the "off peak" times it would be a win
win for everyone as energy would cost less...much less. How much
less? APS has rates less that are less than three cents per kilowatt
hour. You could be paying as much as 16 cents now.
Both electric
utilities in Phoenix AZ offer such incentives and the homes you see on this link
work in conjunction with them.
PEAK
HOURS
Arizona Public Service on peak hours are 9am to 9pm, Monday
through Friday (Arizona Public Service Company) or 1pm to 8pm Monday through
Friday (Salt River Project).
During off peak hours,
demand charges (KW) are eliminated and consumption charges (KWH) are reduced
significantly. Off peak KWH charges are less than $0.03/kwh (the national
average for a kwh is around $0.11/kwh).
This is a win win
situation for all concerned. Users are rewarded with lower monthly bills and
utilities can use power generation equipment more efficiently.
.
Pro's and Con's
in a conventional home:
Pro's: lower electric
bills for users of electricity
Con's: Altering
lifestyle to meet time parameters; doing laundry at night or mornings, etc.
waiting for off peak to begin
Pro's and Con's
in an OPERA House:
Pro's: 60% (or more) lower electric bills, unmatched
comfort all year, healthier interior environment.
Con's: The OPERA
House does cost more than conventional construction. However, when added into a
20 year mortgage, the increased cost is offset by the savings every month on
electric bills. These homes have been built since 1993 with proven performance.
The first OPERA House has saved over $9,000 in energy costs since being
built! After subtracting the savings of smaller HVAC equipment, labor and
materials the cost of OPERA technology over frame is approximately $600 per 1000
square feet.
The Goal of the
O.P.E.R.A. House
To design a home with the capacity of shifting most
of the energy usage to less expensive, off peak times without altering the
lifestyle of the occupants. One of the most difficult design considerations was
interior comfort during the scorching Phoenix summer heat. With ambient
temperatures exceeding 110F the air conditioning system would be under a
significant load during the expensive, on peak hours. In addition to the air
conditioning load, the first O.P.E.R.A. House was to be occupied by a family of
ten! Using hot water for laundry and dish washing could not be expected to
be postponed until off peak times.
Designs for the
Future
HVAC
First, we designed a
thermal flywheel into the home using mass construction. All exterior walls
and one 8' x 20' interior mass
wall were constructed of cinder block and filled with mortar and left
uninsulated on the inside to absorb interior heat loads (light, people,
appliances, etc.). This mass system is cooled during inexpensive, off peak
times and effectively stores 12 tons of cooling with a temperature differential
of only 4 degrees during off peak times. A home of this size and occupancy
would normally require 5 to 6 tons of cooling. The OPERA House is being heated
and cooled by one 3 ton, 11 SEER heat pump.
WALL
SYSTEM
The exterior walls are wrapped with two layers of
our Radiant Wrap product which
effectively retards heat gains and losses. This was covered by Dow expanded
polystyrene foam board and then a stucco finish. The total R value of the
exterior walls in OPERA II is R-2. The home is pre cooled at night during the
less expensive off peak rates, and runs minimally during the day to maintain
temperature and comfort.
SUPER
TANKtm
The capacity of the hot water tank was upsized from
a standard 60 gallon to an 80 gallon tank and wrapped with two layers of Radiant
Wrap. We then increased the temperature to 160F and installed a mixing valve
which tempered the 160F water with incoming cold water. This would insure a
delivery temperature of 130F effectively making the 80 gallon tank larger. The
tank is controlled by a timer which was added to insure the tank would not be
consuming electricity during the more costly on peak rate charges. Since 1993,
the family of ten has never run out of hot water or heated water during
expensive on peak hours even with guests staying over.
ATTIC
INSULATION
Infrared thermography testing over the years has
shown us that conventional insulation not only slows heat but very effectively
stores heat. In an effort to minimize this we installed Radiant Barrier Chips over a bed
of blown cellulose with an R factor of 19. This design effectively retards heat
gain/loss and keeps the home from consuming large amounts of expensive on peak
electricity. An added benefit in all of our RBS Chip installations is the
increased comfort of the home throughout all seasons.
Click here To see the performance of this home.
The chart clearly
illustrates the performance curve of the O.P.E.R.A. House throughout the year. A
family of ten, living in a 2300 square foot, all electric south facing home
spent $56.00 on air conditioning in August! Local utilities recommend a
66/33 (66% off peak, 33% on peak) split for savings on time of use rates. The
more you shift to off peak times, the more you save. O.P.E.R.A. house I
averages a 87/13 shift throughout the year occupied by a family of ten.
O.P.E.R.A. House II consistently uses 92% off peak regardless of the outside
temperature.
These values would be impossible using conventional
insulation products in a desert environment.
O.P.E.R.A. I
House Specifications
Orientation: South
Livable square footage: 2300 square feet
Occupancy: family of ten
Construction: block
Wall insulation: R-10 polystyrene
foam with two layers of Radiant
Wrap
Ceiling
insulation: R-19 blown cellulose covered with Radiant Barrier
Chips
Windows:
dual pane aluminum sliders
HVAC: Rheem 3 ton, 11 SEER split system heat pump
Electric Bills: Less than $240
per year for heating and cooling.
O.P.E.R.A. II
House Specifications
Orientation: Southwest
Livable square footage: 2150 square
feet
Occupancy:
family of four
Construction: block
Wall insulation: R-2 polystyrene foam with two layers of Radiant Wrap
Ceiling insulation: R-19 batt
fiberglass with two layers of Radiant Wrap stapled to the
flat roof deck.
Windows: dual pane aluminum sliders
HVAC: Rheem 4 ton, 12 SEER split system heat
pump
Electric Bills:
Uses less than 10% on peak power
Highest summer electric bill for cooling:
$45
Heating costs in
the winter average $2 - $3 per month
Tracking the usage of this home shows
92% of the power is consumed during off peak hours
How to make
your new home an O.P.E.R.A. House
Send your blueprint
including floor plan and elevations to our office for review. There is no need
to alter the design of your home, only how it is built and where
insulation is placed. You will be supplied with a detailed plan and instructions
for implementing our designs.
Our consulting design
charges are ten cents per square feet under roof (including garage), for plan
review and completed O.P.E.R.A House specifications. Once you subtract out
the costs of not using drywall on the exterior walls, wall insulation and labor,
a smaller heat pump and smaller duct work, the added cost of building an
O.P.E.R.A. House and include what's left into a twenty year mortgage, there is
no cost. The monthly savings on the energy costs more than pay for the
increases. Not to mention the increased comfort of your
home.
NEWS
FLASH! The latest OPERA House is under construction in Florida using our
patented designs for energy conservation and comfort. Monitoring will be
done by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, University of Central Florida and the Florida
Solar Energy Center. This home will have NO conventional insulation in the
walls or the ceiling, only our patented, multi-layered RBS
products.
If your new home is in the
planning stage, we can offer suggestions to build energy efficiency into your
new home. If your home is the framing stage, you still have time to install the
most efficient product in the walls and attic.
Call or email for consultation.
602-867-3176
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