A project recently launched by the Department of Energy will produce four affordable “smart home” prototypes and plenty of useful new data on zero-energy construction.

One of the Department of Energy’s most intriguing research projects – a collaboration involving Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Tennessee Valley Authority, an East Tennessee builder, and an architectural firm – aims to dig deep into the technical and practical elements of energy-efficient design and construction.

最终目标是提出建筑策略，技术和房屋材料的组合，这些材料是最近的Vada Energy博客说明，将使构建者能够可靠地构建零能量的住宅 - 能够将能源推回电网或燃料电动汽车的能源净生产商。

去年秋天举行了开创性的仪式，零能源建设研究联盟, or ZEBRAlliance, will implement energy-efficiency technologies developed by ORNL in the construction of four 2,800-sq.-ft. model homes, each with a different envelope subsystem.

A slideshow on the home page of the ZEBRAlliance website shows construction has progressed significantly – far enough for researchers to begin collecting the data they’ll need to reconfigure equipment and then run further tests.

Two of the homes will have walkout basements, two will have crawl spaces, and a ground-source heat exchanger will be buried near each home’s foundation to capture waste heat from the building.

ORNL和TVAresearchers will measure the performance of each house, collate data, and adjust components for optimal results. The homes will be built bySchaad Companies, which chose Knoxville-basedBarberMcMurry Architects进行设计工作。

预计预计将在2011年初投放市场的房屋的上市价格将处于高端上限至高端。

Zebralliance总结了四栋房屋的信封策略，如下所示：

1.

一个将具有SIPS（结构绝缘面板）。Ornl已经记录了为田纳西州莱诺尔市人居署为人居栖息地建造的SIP Homes的表现。

2.

An advanced framing strategy will be used in the second of the model homes. It will feature 2×6 studs, 24 in. on center, and OSB sheathing. The walls will be coated with a liquid-applied water-resistive barrier (WRB) and will contain R-21 flash and batt insulation (spray foam plus fiberglass batts). A Louisiana-Pacific TechShield radiant barrier will be installed in the attic, and R-49 cellulose insulation will be laid on the attic floor.

3.

相变材料(PCM)将包括d in the third house, which also will framed with 2×6 studs and include an insulated crawl space. The exterior walls will be weatherized with reflective Tyvek and a Delta-Dry dual-ventilated polyethylene membrane. Cellulose-laced PCM will be installed on the attic floor and in the exterior walls.

4.

A 4-in. exterior insulation finishing system (EIFS) and trowel-applied WRB will be used on the shell of the fourth house, which will have 2×4 walls, 24 in. on center. This model also will include an insulated crawl space.