Field performance of a Japanese low energy home relying on renewable energy

Abstract This paper describes the construction and evaluation of an experimental low energy home assisted by a hybrid system using natural energy resources and unused energy. The home, for which a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system has been installed, was built on the campus of Hokkaido University, Japan in March 1997. The total floor area of the home is 192 m2. This home is super insulated and airtight; the calculated coefficient of heat loss is 0.97 W/m2 K. It has various passive strategies including direct solar heat gain and a ventilation system with an exhaust stack. Photovoltaic (PV) modules, wind power and solar collectors are adopted in order to achieve self-sufficiency in electric power and domestic hot water (DHW) supply. A GSHP is used for space heating and cooling. Two vertical steel wells are used as vertical earth heat exchangers (VHE). In summer, there is a floor cooling system using piped cold water from the VHE. Approximately 80% of the home’s total energy was provided by PV modules, solar collectors, as well as underground and exhaust heat. The annual amount of purchased energy during the test period was 12.5% that of a typical home in Hokkaido.