Honda offers vision of Zero Carbon home Global Warming

Creating a low-carbon future means combining by home and transportation, according to Honda.

Honda today marked the opening of Honda Smart Home US, showcasing technologies that enable zero net energy living and transportation. The home, located on the West Village campus of the University of California, Davis, is capable of producing more energy on-site from renewable sources than it consumes annually from the electric grid, including enough energy to power a Honda Fit EV for daily commuting. A Honda-developed home energy management system and an energy efficient design will allow the homes occupant to use less than half of the energy of a similarly sized new home in the Davis area for heating, cooling and lighting. The home is also three times more water-efficient than a typical U.S. home.

Honda Smart Home US, construction of which began in April 2013, will serve as a residence for a member of the UC Davis community, whose selection will soon be announced. The fully-furnished home comes equipped with a Honda Fit EV battery electric vehicle for the residents daily transportation.

In addition to showcasing Hondas vision for sustainable, zero-carbon living and personal mobility, the home will function as a living laboratory where the company, along with researchers from UC Davis and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), will evaluate new technologies and business opportunities at the intersection of housing, transportation, energy and the environment.

Hondas environmental efforts extend beyond personal mobility to address two of the primary sources of CO2emissions: cars and homes. Together, energy used to power homes and light duty vehicles contributes to approximately 44% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in the United Statesi. Technology that enables distributed renewable energy generation to supply power to homes and cars seamlessly is one of the key potential pathways to address climate change.

UC Daviss West Village, where the Honda Smart Homes is located, is the largest planned zero net energy housing development in the U.S. Opened in 2011, West Village is home to the universitys internationally recognized research centers focused on energy efficiency, sustainability and transportation.

Honda Smart Home US implements Hondas home energy management system (HEMS), a proprietary hardware and software system that monitors, controls and optimizes electrical generation and consumption throughout the homes microgrid. A 10kWh battery energy storage system in the garage, using the same lithium-ion cells that are used in the Honda Fit EV, allows stored solar energy to be used at night, when household demand typically peaks and electric vehicles are usually charged. Hondas HEMS leverages the battery to balance, shift and buffer loads to minimize the homes impact to the electric grid. The system will also enable Honda to evaluate the second life, or re-use, of EV batteries in grid applications, home-to-grid (H2G) connectivity and other concepts.

Hondas HEMS is also capable of improving grid reliability by automatically responding to demand response signals and providing other grid services. If the electricity grid is overloaded, for example, Honda Smart Home is capable of shedding its load and even supplying power back to the grid. This type of smart grid connectivity will enable the mass deployment of electric vehicles and renewable energy without sacrificing grid reliability.

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Honda offers vision of Zero Carbon home Global Warming