PHILADELPHIA, USA

The GridSTAR Experience Centre was designed to help promote energy efficient buildings within the US market by showcasing proven solutions.

This demonstration house was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard Smart Energy Campus, the US Department of Energy’s Regional Innovation Cluster. It was created as part of a series of research projects to develop materials and technologies capable of optimising whole-building energy performance.

The goal was to transform the US market for energy efficient buildings and scale the adoption of proven solutions by addressing business, finance, education and training issues.

Certified LEED Platinum, the home uses super-energy-efficient modular construction methods, with sensors that allow the building performance to be continuously monitored by Saint-Gobain’s US R&D Centre.

Highlights and challenges

One of the major challenges with this project was that the home was designed to be airtight, so that heating and cooling energy is not wasted through leaks. However, in such an airtight space, proper ventilation is key in order to allow fresh air to circulate.

The solution was to install Energy Recovery Ventilators. These not only eliminate moisture and air quality issues, but also capture some of the energy that would normally be lost in the ventilation process.