A Study of Design Tools and Processes Through a Near Net Zero Energy House Redesign

The EcoTerra House is an occupied near net-zero energy house near Montreal, Canada. The house uses a combination of passive solar features, low-energy appliances, and several innovative active solar energy systems to achieve much lower net energy consumption than similarly sized houses in Canada. It is heavily instrumented with over 150 sensors so that its performance can be carefully monitored, as has been done since construction, three years ago. This paper describes the original design process of the house, followed by a re-design exercise that was performed to achieve net-zero energy while evaluating design tools. It contains a description of a calibrated model, an evaluation of the suitability of currentlyavailable design tools for net-zero energy house design, and finally a study of different design pathways for reaching net-zero energy consumption.