Towards Regenerative Design by Responsible Energy-Water Design: Nexushaus as a successful case study in Solar Decathlon 2015

Transition towards regenerative design will not be conceivable unless our water and energy sources are restored, renewed or recycled, resulting in a closed loop input-output system. As a zero net Energy-water and carbon neutral 2015 solar decathlon house that integrates energy and water concepts and systems, NexusHaus has been effective in energy and water conservation, water treatment and reuse. The house incorporates an Integrated Thermal Energy and Rainwater Storage (ITHERST) system to shift air conditioning load off-peak. Moreover, there is a supplementary water system for the house, including potable rainwater collection system, greywater collection and irrigation system, and AC condensate collection. NexusHaus captures rainwater to provide all of its potable water needs, connected to the city supply only by a small refill line as a backup during long dry invocations. This system decreases added stress to water supplies of the region and diminishes the further load of more residents on the neighbourhood water and wastewater infrastructure. Meanwhile, the on-site treatment system avoids the water losses along the municipal distribution system by approximately 10 percent.  Moreover, rainwater is also applied in the thermal storage tank as a secondary storage volume, which gives the system additional capacity and also provides beneficial load shifting. Transition towards regenerative design will not be conceivable unless our water and energy sources are restored, renewed or recycled, resulting in a closed loop input-output system. As a zero net Energy-water and carbon neutral 2015 solar decathlon house that integrates energy and water concepts and systems, NexusHaus has been effective in energy and water conservation, water treatment and reuse. The house incorporates an Integrated Thermal Energy and Rainwater Storage (ITHERST) system to shift air conditioning load off-peak. Moreover, there is a supplementary water system for the house, including potable rainwater collection system, greywater collection and irrigation system, and AC condensate collection. NexusHaus captures rainwater to provide all of its potable water needs, connected to the city supply only by a small refill line as a backup during long dry invocations. This system decreases added stress to water supplies of the region and diminishes the further load of more residents on the neighbourhood water and wastewater infrastructure. Meanwhile, the on-site treatment system avoids the water losses along the municipal distribution system by approximately 10 percent.  Moreover, rainwater is also applied in the thermal storage tank as a secondary storage volume, which gives the system additional capacity and also provides beneficial load shifting.