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re: plans for a passive solar, energy efficient two-story duplex?
5 jul 2003
dnrg wrote:
>no thoughts / suggestions / interest out there on this topic or is
>everyone on vacation? :-)
>
>dananrg@yahoo.com (dnrg) wrote:
>> ...i hope to find plans for a passive solar, energy-efficient two-story
>> duplex in some sort of vernacular design (from new england or the
>> southeast; i adore tiny, one bedroom deep colonials and georgian-style
>> homes as well as mountain-style structures you see in the appalachians,
>> tobacco barns you see in north carolina, and "tidewater" cabin designs...
passive solar houses are like sailboats, which look like sailboats for
a reason. designing a high-performance passive solar house isn't easy,
especially if you shoot yourself in the foot by deciding on a "style"
first. nobody tries to build cubical airplanes, even if they adore cubes.
form follows function, and structures often have certain styles because
they need to do certain jobs. tobacco barns need to lose water vapor, so
they have lots of holes in the walls. solar houses need to hold heat, so
they shouldn't have lots of holes in the walls...
>> i'm wondering what type of design would:
>>
>> 1) not look monstrous as a duplex
a common sunspace/atrium with 2 shelfboxes. a 1-story sunspace might have
a flattish reflective roof that also serves as a deck.
>> 2) be inexpensive to build
a used mobile home with a leaky roof inside a plastic film greenhouse.
>> 3) be easy to build (so volunteer labor can be used to offset the cost
>> of for-profit contractor labor)
adding more constraints makes solar success less likely...
>> i really don't care for the aesthetics of straw bale...
la di da.
>> or earthships...
pity.
>> i want to go stick-built...
sips work better, or 9 1/2" tgi walls filled with loose cellulose.
nick
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