Like many people, Tom and Verona Chambers always wanted to build their dream home. For this Black River Falls couple, the luxury was not necessarily in finishes and fixtures, but in designing a net zero energy home.

“We’ve always been the kind of people to take risks and try new things,” says Tom Chambers. “We’ve been to Europe and saw what was going on there, and we found the perfect lot to really pursue our idea.”

Starting in summer 2007, the Chambers partnered with WPPI Energy to pilot the first GreenMax Home in Wisconsin.

“In this rising cost environment, the elements that were included in the project will actually help manage the costs and increase the efficiency of their home,” says Tom Paque, senior vice president of WPPI Energy. “While programs like these are going on nationwide, what we’re doing for our members’ customers is pretty unique in the region.”

It’s all part of a focus that the utility has made to promote highly efficient buildings through smart design and advanced construction techniques for both its residential and business sector customers.

Sun Prairie-based WPPI Energy is a regional power company serving 51 customer-owned electric utilities. Through WPPI Energy, these public power utilities share resources and own generation facilities to provide reliable, affordable electricity to more than 192,000 homes and businesses in Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Iowa.

In 2006, WPPI Energy’s members unanimously approved a three-year plan to increase funding for energy efficiency and conservation programs to $8 million this year — an increase of approximately 300 percent.
One of the projects being funded is the GreenMax Home Initiative used by the Chambers. This program is designed to demonstrate to homeowners in member utility service territories — of which there are 41 in Wisconsin — how to build or remodel homes that incorporate high levels of energy efficiency. Builders and architects, as well as homeowners, are eligible for project participation.

“We had a whole team of people, many meetings and lots of phone calls,” says Chambers of his family’s project. “It was a very productive experience, and having WPPI Energy involved was very helpful.”

Case in point: Many of the technologies and building applications used in NZEH construction are so cutting edge and new to the region that it was important for everyone to be on the same page during the construction process. Due to thoughtful planning and design, the home status was actually advanced from “highly efficient” to “net zero.”

“You naturally do pay more for some of the decisions to make your home this way, but in the end, the investments we made will pay for themselves,” says Chambers.

While the Chambers all-electric home is connected to the local, customer-owned Black River Falls Municipal Utilities, the structure’s photovoltaic system also produces its own energy. This system allows the Chambers to send electricity to the grid when the PV system produces power and purchase electricity from the utility when it is needed.

“Net zero construction is not just a concept,” explains Paque. “It requires very exact measures, engineering, technology and construction approaches, meaning that even tiny decisions made by a contractor or subcontractor can make a difference.”

Through careful coordination, all of those differences have cumulatively resulted in a project that everyone can be proud of.

“We’re extremely pleased with how the first GreenMax Home turned out,” says Paque. “This home is a model for our program, and we are hoping to identify a few more projects in the near future.”

As for the Chambers, they moved into their home in March and are thrilled with the results.

“We have a great home with a great view,” says Chambers. “But more than that, we’re actually tens of thousands of dollars ahead with the new changes in the federal tax credits for this type of construction. Right now is really the time to do a project like this, and there are many resources in the state — from WPPI Energy to Focus on Energy — that can help you do it.”

Commercial customers are also finding that now is the time to incorporate energy efficiency into their new and existing projects, and WPPI Energy also offers a number of resources to help.

To address the need for more energy efficient buildings, WPPI Energy members throughout the region have established a New Construction Design Assistance Program to help prospective building owners in member communities design high-performance facilities with enhanced energy efficiency and systems performance. To date, WPPI Energy and its members have provided consultation and support to more than 65 building projects.

“Often, a building can achieve efficiency improvements by simple changes in the design, such as building orientation, reductions or increases in window area or placement of light fixtures,” says Jake Oelke, P.E., WPPI Energy assistant vice president – energy services. “There are many examples where energy efficiency has been incorporated with little or no incremental cost, as long as the measures can be incorporated early enough in the design process.”

In addition, WPPI Energy and its members offer financial incentives to help offset some of the incremental costs that do exist, as well as financial incentives to the design firm to encourage the promotion of energy efficient measures, according to Oelke.

One such project is the new 400,000 square-foot Sun Prairie High School, which is currently under construction and slated for occupancy in fall 2010.

“The Sun Prairie Area School District is always looking for opportunities to reduce energy usage,” says Tom Brooks, SPASD director of buildings and grounds. “By working with WPPI Energy and Sun Prairie Water and Light, we are able to stay abreast of the latest energy saving opportunities.”
One of the project’s most exciting elements is its geothermal heating and cooling system, which is actually the third for the school district.

“When we first installed geothermal at Horizon Elementary School, it was still a pretty new technology that had not been fully embraced in Wisconsin,” says Brooks. “We then installed it at a second elementary school and became convinced that it would be the best system for the new high school.”
Oelke notes that the new high school’s geothermal system, which transfers heat from the earth to the building, and vice versa, is the project’s biggest cost-saving measure.

“Output efficiency levels can easily reach 300 percent or more compared to the input energy,” he says.

Thanks to suggestions made through the New Construction Design Assistance Program the project also has efficient lighting technologies, increased insulation levels in walls and roofs, improved window properties and innovative control technologies, such as carbon dioxide sensors for outside air ventilation.

“Our building models for this facility show these measures will save the district $187,000 per year — about 45 percent — compared to code,” he says.

The type of building, as well as its occupancy, do factor in to the total efficiency savings, but a baseline building of this type typically has annual energy costs of $1 to $1.50 per square foot. In contrast, an energy efficient building could save as much as $0.10 to $0.45 per square foot, depending on the incorporated efficiency measures.

Most importantly, to achieve such goals, WPPI Energy and its member utilities understand that it is more than a one-size-fits-all approach.

“We purposely offer a full range of services to help our members’ customers,” says Paque. “Needs vary from customer to customer, and of all the assistance we offer, none of it applies universally across the board. The most critical assistance we can and do offer is the assistance and support that’s right for each specific project, whether it’s new construction or a retrofit application to an existing facility.”

Photos: Above, top: Cutting the ribbon on the Chamber’s GreenMax Home. Above, middle: Construction of the Sun Prairie High School.

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