CUT
NORWICH UNIVERSITY DELTA T-90 TEAM High-performance homes for the future of affordable, energy efficient living in Vermont.
CUT
It’s about Value, not cost The Norwich University Delta T-90 team believes that high performance, solar powered dwellings should be accessible to all and that good design is not a function of cost. We’re confronting the issues related to high performance and affordability for Vermont by taking an unapologetic design position driven by performance criteria, building science, and time honored architectural maneuvers. Our team is committed to providing a hammer-ready, widely accessible solution for Vermont’s unique challenges.
The ultra-rational Delta T-90 House reveals the benefits of a conservation-based lifestyle and responds to the challenge of creating affordable, energy efficient housing for our bioregion. Smart detailing, high quality insulation, streamlined mechanical systems, an open floor plan, and high ceilings accommodate the demands in a cold climate. Without compromising efficiency or livability, the solar-powered Delta T-90 House is affordable by households earning 20% less than the average Vermont median income. Coupling this strict economic criterion with maximum energy efficiency, the Delta T-90 represents the future of high-performance, cold-climate homes.
The Delta T-90 House explores the interdependency between the economy and the built environment by revealing hidden values and richness within a conservation-based lifestyle. This high-performance home models the future of affordable, energy efficient living in Vermont.
The Norwich University Delta T-90 team recognizes a housing crisis in New England. In 2010, approximately 47% of renters, and 38% of Vermont homeowners paid more than one-third of their income for housing. Close to a third of Vermont’s existing housing stock was built prior to 1950 with inadequate insulation, inefficient heating systems, and substandard window and door assemblies. Leaky construction combined with severe winter cold and high fuel costs force many Vermonters to pay annual energy costs that approach or equal their existing mortgage costs.
Utility costs in the Delta T-90 House are nearly eliminated thanks to the Building Integrated photovoltaic array.
Approximately eighty-two percent of households in Vermont earning under $41,000 annually direct more than onethird of their income toward mortgage and housing costs. Couple this statistic with the fact that Vermont ranks sixth highest in the United States in terms of annual heating demand and it becomes clear that the challenges of home ownership for lower-income households can be overwhelming. In addition to the lengthy, sometimes severe heating season, approximately eighty-five percent of Vermont’s fortyeight billion BTU’s for residential heat demand comes from petroleum-based products. Globally influenced price fluctuation of these products is a financial planning wildcard for households operating on thin margins.
The Delta T-90 House was manufactured at Huntington Homes, a modular home factory in East Montpelier, Vermont. Students were on the factory floor each day installing roxul, insulating, air sealing, documenting, and helping to convey the drawings. The two modules moved down the assemly line in a theree-week process, and on November 16, 2012, the modules were transported to Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont and assembled.
Norwich University’s Delta T-90 House for Solar Decathlon 2013 is a 991 square foot, two-bedroom home that is tuned for the unique climate of the northeastern bioregion. The design streamlines mechanical, electrical, and building envelope systems in an effort to increase affordability, reduce primary energy demand, and reveal the poetic breath of high performance modern architecture. The Delta T-90 House consists of two modules, connected along the north-south central axis, placed broadside on the east and west. The east and west modules of the house come together to create a formally modern, tight form. The east module consists of an entry space, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. The west module includes the living space, office space, and master bedroom. The public and private divide occurs in the east-west direction; the southern half of the house remaining public while the northern half is private. The south face features a large triple pane window to allow a connection to the outside, maximum daylight into the living space, and maximum heat gain potential during the heating season.
The Delta T-90 House is an affordable addition to the growing solar-powered, Vermont housing market. The building integrated photovoltaic array coupled with high-performance building insulation contribute to the ultra-energy efficient design that nearly eliminates monthly utility bills.
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 Oct. 3 - 13, 2013
Our Sponsors The Delta T-90 team would like to thank it’s Industry partners and individuals that have helped Norwich University to participate in Solar Decathlon 2013. We could not have achieved this without your generosity. Together, we’re cracking the code of affordable, high-performance homes.
Orange County Great Park Irvine, California.
158 Harmon Drive Northfield, VT 05663 solardecathlon.norwich.edu facebook.com/NUSD2013
Yeti Solar