Thursday, October 27, 2011

NOAA Assists NIST with Net-zero Energy Home

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently requested assistance from the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) in their construction of a full-scale net-zero energy home on NIST's Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus. The entire house will be a research test facility, and detailed measurements of the forms of energy used are important to identify the major energy consumers in the house, as well as to demonstrate that the house will have net-zero energy consumption. NGS assisted by providing precise locations of heat exchangers and sensors to be used for modeling purposes for the house's unique underground air-conditioning system. Additional assistance may be provided to aid NIST in mapping out locations for future ground sensors in the next two to four years. For more information, contact Kendall Fancher.