Honda Smart Home at UC Davis West Village offers vision for zero carbon living

Tour the inside of the Honda Smart Home

Video by Andy Fell/UC Davis

Honda and the University of California, Davis, today marked the opening of Honda Smart Home US, showcasing technologies that enable zero net energy living and transportation. The home in UC Davis West Village is capable of producing more energy on-site from renewable sources than it consumes annually, 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 occupants 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. Watch videos about Honda Smart Home US.

Honda Smart Home, 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 daily transportation.

In addition to showcasing Honda's 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 Co. (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 carbon dioxide emissions: cars and homes. Together, energy used to power homes and light duty vehicles contributes to approximately 44 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. 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.

Honda Smart Home fits right in at UC Davis West Village, the largest planned zero net energy housing development in the United States. Opened in 2011, West Village is home to the university's internationally recognized research centers focused on energy efficiency, sustainability and transportation.

Honda Smart Home implements Hondas home energy management system, or 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 also enables Honda to evaluate the second life, or reuse, of EV batteries in grid applications, home-to-grid connectivity and other concepts.

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Honda Smart Home at UC Davis West Village offers vision for zero carbon living