A Grantee from Oregon asks: We are interested in developing a display that is small-scale, movable by two people, and can be moved to different locations within our community that demonstrates any of the following residential energy efficiency features:
-Wall and ceiling insulation (different types)
-Retrofitting interior lights
-PV
-Rain barrel
-Air sealing
-Advanced framing techniques
-Gray water
-Ductless heating
-On-demand water heating
-Natural materials
-Re-use
-Other residential energy efficiency features
Does the TAP Team know of any examples?
The TAP Team responds: Here are some good, although not necessarily small-scale or mobile, examples of residential energy efficiency displays:
• The ENERGY STAR traveling exhibit modeled after an energy-efficient home, which is composed of environmentally-friendly building materials and designed to demonstrate energy-efficient practices and products. A photo tour of the exhibit is attached and an ENERGY STAR @ home online room-by-room tour is available on the website.
• Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s E-House in California, which is a full-scale walk-through model of an energy-efficient home, showcasing techniques and materials in home framing, roofing and insulation, energy-efficient windows and new daylighting products, a ground-source heat pump, whole-house fan, solar orientation, PV tiles, radiant barriers, advanced lighting technologies, and sustainable finishes. E-House future additions include “smart home” building automation technology, smart appliances, AMI meter, energy generating and consumption interactive software, and electric vehicle integrated into home energy infrastructure. A video tour of the exhibit is available on the website.
• The Tacoma Power EnviroHouse in Washington, which is a green building and natural landscape exhibit featuring readily available, environmentally friendly materials. The EnviroHouse features more than 150 “green” interior, exterior and landscape ideas, including recycled-content carpet, water-saving showerhead display, energy-efficient windows, lighting, and appliances, solar electricity, and composting systems. More information is available on the website.
Has your city or county created an energy efficiency display or exhibit? What features did you include? What worked well? What didn't? Please share your best practices in the comments section below.
Content for this blog post courtesy of Karen Tsai, ICF International.