HOUSTON (Fifth Ring) – Energy efficient homes have been around a while now, but several companies have collaborated on a new luxury home here that they say uses new technology to take energy efficiency to a new level.
The 4,500-sf home SmartLux on Greenpark is powered by M-CoGen’s PowerAire system. According to a press release, this “micro-trigeneration system is the first system of its kind available for the residential market. It takes the traditional micro-combined heat and power (MCHP) system a step further by adding cooling capabilities, which is a significant share of traditional electricity use.”
SmartLux’s Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating — the measure of a home’s energy efficiency — is 39 (on a scale of 150 to zero, with zero indicating a building that uses no net purchased energy). The house can “conceivably create more electricity than it uses and can operate on or off the grid,” the press release said.
M-CoGen built the house with M Street Homes, BASF, Reliant and GE Ecomagination.
