ReNEWW House

Retrofit Net Zero: Energy. Water. Waste.

Whirlpool Corporation, along with Purdue University, has transformed an existing home near Purdue’s campus into a world class research laboratory and sustainable living showcase. ReNEWW stands for Retrofitted Net-zero Energy, Water & Waste and represents the aspirational vision for the project: to convert a home, originally built in 1928, to offset all its energy use with solar power, to only rely on locally available water sources, and to have waste handling systems in place that prevent any household waste from going to the landfill. ReNEWW House is providing valuable insights for our homebuilder collaborators and customers on technologies that enable sustainable living. We leverage the world class facilities and collaborate with Purdue researchers to accelerate the development of the next generation of ultra-high efficiency appliances that increase core performance while lowering their impact on the environment and cost to operate.

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ReNEWW House in the News

Honeymoon at a Habitat Build

Anna Hendrix-Semenova met her wife, Ashley, in Milan, Italy. At the time, Anna was an employee at Whirlpool Corporation's European headquarters in Milan, while Ashley worked for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, in Stuttgart, Germany. Living in two...

Whirlpool Corp. achieves goal of Zero Waste to Landfill for manufacturing sites worldwide

Whirlpool Corporation today announced that it achieved Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWtL) Gold or Platinum status (self-certification) at its large manufacturing sites worldwide1, as part of the company’s ambitious and long-standing commitment to sustainable operations....

Whirlpool Corp. and Habitat help families achieve strength and stability one energy-efficient home at a time

Written by Adrienne Goolsby, senior vice president, U.S. and Canada, Habitat for Humanity International Recent record-setting inflation has made the cost of everyday essentials like food, gas, and utility bills higher than ever. Paired with the skyrocketing cost of...

InSinkErator Commercial Products team driving productivity and sustainability for food service operators

InSinkErator, the world's largest manufacturer of garbage disposals and instant hot water dispensers for home and commercial use, has been in the business of providing instant hot (near boiling) water tanks and dispensers to residential and commercial customers for...

Empowering women to transform their lives and communities

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the historical and cultural achievements of women. But in tandem with International Women's Day, the celebration of women should be an important reminder of women who struggle daily with housing costs and honor...

Whirlpool Corporation celebrates ribbon-cutting for second offsite wind farm

        While commercial operations began in late December, today Whirlpool Corp. announced a formal ribbon cutting at the Limestone Wind wind farm in Dawson Texas, where 53MW of clean energy from the 88 turbines on site will be supporting the...

Manufacturing Institute Recognizes Seabold with Women MAKE Award

The Manufacturing Institute—the workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers—announced that Angel Seabold of Whirlpool Corp.’s Clyde, Ohio operations has been recognized as a 2023 Women MAKE Awards honoree. This annual...

Whirlpool Corp. Announces Scholarship and Mentoring Partnerships with Florida A&M University

Whirlpool Corp. today announced two partnerships supporting students at Florida A&M University as they pursue their education journey.The company announced a partnership with Florida A&M University / Florida State University’s Educating Engineering Students...

Forbes names Whirlpool Corporation One of ‘America’s Best Large Employers’

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) announced today it has been named to Forbes’ 2023 list of the “America’s Best Large Employers.” This marks the second consecutive year that Whirlpool has appeared on the annual list, which recognizes 500 companies across 45 different...

Say hi to Hibiscus, KitchenAid brand unveils Color of the Year 2023

Whirlpool Corporation’s iconic KitchenAid brand is turning heads and attracting consumers with the release of its 2023 Color of the Year. It’s bold. It’s lush. It’s countertop couture. And it embodies the energy-boosting hues that are springing to life in art, design...

Why Retrofit?

The average age of a single family home in the US is 34 years old, meaning that much of the existing housing stock was constructed in an era that offered both relatively inexpensive energy and did not consider carbon dioxide as a form of pollution that contributes to global warming.  Consequently, simple energy efficiency measures are sorely lacking in these homes—a problem with far reaching consequences, but also an opportunity for substantial energy savings.

The ReNEWW House retrofit sought to both preserve the historic character of the house, while also vastly improving its’ overall energy and water efficiency. The retrofit took place in 3 stages – first, a deep energy retrofit to get to Net Zero Energy. This was followed by an interior remodel and water system retrofit to achieve Net-Zero Water Usage, in which Whirlpool worked with Kohler Corporation. Finally, Ford Motor Company enabled the addition of a new garage with a Ford Focus BEV and EV Charging Station.

Before & After - Front of House

Before & After - Back of House

Before & After - Kitchen

Before & After - Central Area

Before & After - Basement

Before & After - Garage

Net Zero Energy

According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), residential housing units account for 22 percent of the total primary energy usage in the US. Over two thirds of this energy is used for HVAC, appliances, or water heating¹. Since the ReNEWW House is in a heating climate with many cloudy days, the home underwent a massive energy retrofit to address energy consumption and storage. This included new appliances, insulation, HVAC, water heater, lighting, windows, doors, siding and roofing. In addition, a drainline heat recovery system was added to recover waste energy from the shower drain and use it to heat incoming cold water. Finally, to get to Net Zero Energy, a Solar Thermal (PVT) System was added to the roof, to generate as much energy in one year as is used inside the house.

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Solar Panel – South Side

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Solar Panel – West Side

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Outside Insulation

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Siding & Windows

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Geothermal HVAC

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Water Heating

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Drain Heat Recovery

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LED Lighting

Net Zero Water

The average person in the United States uses 91 gallons of water per day. This water use translates into roughly $1000 per American family per year to pay for their water usage. Much of this water usage is potable, treated water that is flushed immediately down the drain. In phase 2 of the ReNEWW House Retrofit, the old, outdated water-using fixtures and appliances were replaced with new, water-efficient Kohler fixtures and Whirlpool appliances. In addition, rainwater harvesting and filtration was installed onsite for all potable water applications. Finally, in an effort to offset potable water usage for toilet flushing, a CleanBlu Greywater treatment system was installed onsite. After all these improvements, the residents of the house have been consuming roughly 21 gallons per person, per day… a ~75% reduction in water usage!

Have questions about the ReNEWW House?

Email Us at ReNEWWHouse@gmail.com