Energy Efficiency in Permanent Modular Construction NREL Research Project Poster - April 2019

1. Industry Partners
The information contained in this poster is subject to a government license.
BUILDING SCIENCE AND INNOVATION
NREL is a national laboratory of the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
Integrating Energy Efficiency into Advanced
Manufacturing of Buildings
Shanti Pless, NREL
Stacey Rothgeb, NREL
YEAR 1
Engage innovators in advanced manufacturing
Partner with offsite modular factory and pilot
projects to:
• Baseline existing approaches to understand
opportunities for energy efficiency and grid
friendly enhancements
• Develop factory process
improvement recommendations based on
advanced manufacturing approaches to
implement cost effective efficiency
recommendations
• Validate costs and savings in pilot BAU
factory and projects
Could every apartment become zero energy
with PV solar resource on south, east, west
façade AND maximum rooftop PV?
Provides a path to net zero high rise apartments
• If efficient enough
• site EUI 15-20 kBtu/ft2/yr is needed
• If cost effective enough for affordable housing
• If it can be integrated into the grid
• If it can be scaled in a repeatable way
• If it works
Model by Eric Studer, PE -
TNZ Energy Consulting, Inc.
Vision for the integration of energy
modeling into off-site design and
fabrication process.
Core capabilities in modeling of
high performance multifamily
buildings.
NREL and iUnit: Leading the Design for Zero Energy Multifamily Construction
iUnit NREL Delivery
Eliot Flats, Denver
iUnit Testing at NREL
iUnit Factory Construction
Eliot Flats Installation
NREL provides assessment of existing approaches to
prefabrication and energy efficiency/zero energy
strategies
Recommendations for offsite factory process improvements
to reach zero energy ready solutions cost effectively while
addressing industry quality barriers
• Energy and life cycle cost optimization
• Offsite construction innovation
Volumetric modular
prototype apartment in the
laboratory at NREL
Independent validation and
recognition of attempted
innovations to utilize offsite
construction benefits to cost
effectively reach zero energy
ready goals.
V1: 2016 - 39 Apartment
Eliot Flats in Denver
• Proof of concept for factory
built module
• Fully metered to baseline end
uses and tenant use type
distributions
• Base level of efficiency with
small PV system for common
areas
Schedule
YEAR 2 and 3
• Develop Factory Information Model datasets
and process diagrams of recommended
factory improvements
• Integrate FIM with Building models (energy and
information) to make the case for
advanced manufacturing enhancement for EE
and GEB integration
• Validate pilot factory enhancements and
building EE and GEB improvements in
pilot projects
Factory Partner Role
• Willing to partner to improve prefabrication process
to target high performance and zero energy ready
• Actively interested and prepared with project
partners within 1 year
• Open to considering improvement
recommendations in manufacturing process
• Willing to partner to make future projects available
for field data collection for measurement and
validation
• Participation in Energy Efficiency in Offsite
Construction Industry Advisory Group
Envelope
• Maximize life cycle cost savings of insulation
systems that include factory installation cost profile
• Utilize inherent envelope air barrier quality control
opportunities to ensure higher air tightness
EE Controls and Occupant
Engagement platform
• Grid integrated HVAC and hot water controls that
optimize to utility price signals and renewables
• Enable single utility meter with software submetering
and tenant feedback
• Develop factory quality control measures to ensure
EE controls work
All-electric DHW
• Heat recovery options from wastewater
Volumetric modular scale HVAC to
minimize equipment on-site installation
• Higher value for HVAC solutions at the module scale
Appliances
• Ventless dryers to eliminate exhaust vent
maintenance and separate envelope penetration
Renewables
• Single meter to enable large scale PV, with unit
submetering
• Modular electrical room(s) with battery UPS and
demand management
• Façade rainscreen and roof top PV installed offsite
Possible Pathways for EE Integration into Offsite Construction
Submetering at Eliot Flats helps
the tenant and building owner
monitor energy use.
Photo by Dennis Schroeder / NREL.
iUnit in the NREL ESIF testing
facility.
Photo by Dennis Schroeder / NREL.Multifamily was 45% of
total new commercial
real estate construction
area built in 2012
Credit CoStar
63% of apartments in 2030
will be new or renovated.
The country will need to build
an average of 324,000 new
apartments each year to
keep up with demand.
weareapartments.org/Vision2030.pdf
Interior and Dashboard
PV Facades
San Francisco
New York City
Philadelphia
Factory Partners
$/yr Electricity
Use
Site
EUI
Source
EUI
Energy
Savings
EnergyStar
Average Existing All-
Electric Multifamily
Apartment Building
(Based on ES 50)
$48,027.25 47 131 50
Typical New All-Electric
Multifamily Apartment
Building
(Based on ES 75)
$40,402.24 39 110 16% 75
Eliot Flats 2016
with 14 kW PV
(2016 Measured)
$33,423.67 33 91 30% 91
Eliot w/ ESIF prototype
2017 with 14 kW PV
(Measured Prototype)
$26,039.85 25 71 46% 99
Eliot w/ enhanced ESIF
prototype 2018 with 14
kW PV, demand
management, and
commercial rate
(Modeled Goal)
$17,560.00 22 61 53% 100
Six photos above by Dennis Schroeder / NREL.
iUnit Improvements with Offsite Volumetric Modular
Photo above from iUnit
Photo from FactoryOS
Photo from Full Stack Modular
Photo from Vaughan Buckley Construction
Images above from Boulder Commons commercial real estate project.
• Zero Energy Design Guide for
Multifamily
• BeOpt Multifamily
• Modeling studies to asses multifamily
stock improvements
Momentum Innovation Group
• Offsite factory process optimization
• Facilitate Industry Advisory Group
Modular Building Institute, Offsite
Construction Coordination Council
• Access to the greater offsite industry
• World of Modular industry event
MODLAB, Washington State
University
• Centralize partners, data, and
standards related to modular
Vision
Enable cost effective energy
efficient and and grid
integrated buildings through
offsite construction and
prefabricated manufacturing
approaches in multifamily and
hotel sectors.
Objective
Leverage the emerging factory construction
benefits of higher quality, faster construction
timeline, improved productivity, increased
technology integration, and labor cost savings
to enable cost effective, energy
efficiency, integrated grid interactive controls,
and renewables
How can optimal integration of energy
efficiency strategies and control systems be
achieved through advanced manufacturing
techniques and technologies with little or no
additional cost?
PhotobyDennisSchroeder/NREL.
The information contained in this poster is subject to a government license.
2019 BTO Peer Review
Washington, DC
April 15-18