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Depends on what zero means.(Letter to the Editor)
What are "zero-energy homes"? When I first heard this term a couple of months ago, I thought it referred to a home that produced as much energy as it used. At the time, I was building a home and wanted to see if it could be classified as a net zero energy residence. After some further investigation, I discovered that homes that produced only part of their own electricity were being called net zero-energy homes. I found this very disappointing. Somehow overlooked is energy used for cooking, hot water, and space heating.
To avoid misleading people, we need a clear definition of what a zero-energy home is. Is that home always producing more power than it is consuming, or is it relying on the grid as a seasonal and nighttime battery? What about homes feeding additional electricity into the grid to make up for the use of gas for heating and cooking? Is a unit of electrical energy counted more highly than energy in the form of heat?
I would like to propose a definition of a net zero-energy home. A net zero-energy home produces, on an annual basis, as much energy as it consumes from both electric and other sources. Considering a home's requirements for heat as well as electricity allows for a realistic assessment of net energy consumption (one unit of electrical energy could be counted as three units of heat energy). Utilizing a clear and consistent definition of a net zero-energy home will allow us to make faster and less confused progress toward this goal.
Electricity is more valuable than energy in the form of heat, since it takes about three units of heat energy to make one unit of electrical energy. One watt-hour (3.4 Btu) of electrical energy fed back into the grid will save about 3 watt-hours, of 10 Btu, of natural gas. This difference is also reflected in the price of energy; one unit of heat energy from natural gas is about one-third the price of one unit of electrical energy. When looking at the balance sheet for a zero-energy home, then, three units of heat energy could be balanced by putting one unit of electrical energy back into the grid.
I would like to hear other suggestions on how to clearly define a ...
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