Energy Free

Ann Edminster facilitated the integrated design process to help us achieve a zero-energy home, and I don't know how we would have done it without her expertise. Ann is the Mother Lode of residential green building, and in this book she has leveraged her vast network of expert contacts and her gift for distilling and clarifying technical information to produce the authoritative resource for anyone – homeowners, architects, contractors, and public policy-makers alike – who wants to develop, or encourage the development of, zero-energy homes. In addition to her green expertise, she is an architect with a beautiful aesthetic who seamlessly marries green building with high design and functionality for any lifestyle.

—Paul Holland, Partner, Foundation Capital

Finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards - Green/Alternative Energy/Conservation

Energy Free is designed to equip building professionals and homeowners alike with a toolkit for creating homes that use no more energy than they produce—this means homes that are free from the vagaries of energy-price fluctuations and that help to free society of the high political and environmental costs of fossil fuels.

Individuals and institutions have been working toward "zero-energy" homes for decades. This volume is the first record of those collective efforts, distilling their experience into a practical and comprehensive how-to guide. The author includes resource information and step-by-step guidance on how to make decisions that will yield an energy-free residential project, whether a single-family home or multifamily building, new or existing, in an urban or a rural setting. The unique needs and opportunities of each context are addressed.

The principal topics include:

• Project boundaries (why you have to consider not only your home's behavior, but also your own)
• Prioritizing strategies (e.g., insulation vs. photovoltaics)
• Economics (including payback periods and incentives)
• How to minimize a building's energy needs
• How to minimize your energy needs
• How to power the energy needs that remain
• The critical role of integrated project planning

Energy Free offers a wide array of resource information, including detailed window and insulation comparisons; assessments of the relative contribution of different building elements; and overall performance. It draws on research and empirical data from myriad sources, including the Department of Energy's Building America program; Sacramento Municipal Utility District's House of the Future; Passiv Haus Institute in Europe and the Passive House Institute of the U.S.; Florida Solar Energy Center; Living Building Challenge; Affordable Comfort, Inc.'s, Thousand Home Challenge; and many pioneering individual home projects across North America.

About the Author

Ann V. Edminster

Ann Edminster, M.Arch., LEED AP, is a recognized national expert on green home design and construction. She is a principal author of the LEED for Homes Rating System and consults to builders, homeowners, developers, supply chain clients, design firms, utilities, investors, and public agencies. She sits on the advisory boards of several private companies. ...

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