A secure passive-solar home?
I really like my in-laws passive solar home because the thing is just so darn efficient. The house works on the basis of the sun's angle at different times of the year.
During the winter, the sun is low, penetrating through the leafless tress and wall of glass and heating up the tile and brick against the back wall. The heat is held in at night by the sealed drapes and thick concrete walls. At night tight shades roll down in tracks creating a insulating air space between the shade and high E glass. Early morning may require a small log in the wood burning stove. The in-laws actually have to turn on their air exchanger at mid day during the coldest days of winter (0 degrees F) because the home is so efficient. The house is so tight that opening a door at one end of the house will cause a closed bedroom door at the opposite end to jiggle, hence the need for an air exchanger for fresh air.
During the summer the sun is high and does not penetrate far into the home because of the tree canopies and the small overhang over the windows. The house stays relatively cool. The hotest summer days do require a bit of AC to be comfortable in Northern Ohio from the afternoon to early evening.
Efficiency is a top concern in my dream home to allow us to last as long as possible, but windows are a security compromise. Some passive solar homes have turf mounded up over the west, east, and south sides for insulation. My dream home at this point would be a ranch home under a mound of earth, with south facing wall of glass. The walls and roof would be concrete slabs. The main entrance would be in the rear between 2 buried car ports. Camera security at the rear door. The only visible parts of the home would be the large windows on the south side and the doors on the north side. The large first floor windows on the south side are a security compromise. However at night, steel backed, insulating security shutters come down to make entering the home there more difficult, and more importantly, noisy. Safe room would be the master bedroom along the north wall, surrounded by several yards of earth, thick concrete walls, and a secure door. Lurking in the home are 2 Borboel mastiffs (dreaming). Utility room would be off the basement, housing the generators, fuel, with a steel grate roof (for secure generator ventilation) at ground level, along the side of the home.
This would certainly be an unconventional home, but my wife helped her parents build thier unconventional home when she was a girl, and is really supportive of the idea (especially from an efficiency standpoint).
I really like my in-laws passive solar home because the thing is just so darn efficient. The house works on the basis of the sun's angle at different times of the year.
During the winter, the sun is low, penetrating through the leafless tress and wall of glass and heating up the tile and brick against the back wall. The heat is held in at night by the sealed drapes and thick concrete walls. At night tight shades roll down in tracks creating a insulating air space between the shade and high E glass. Early morning may require a small log in the wood burning stove. The in-laws actually have to turn on their air exchanger at mid day during the coldest days of winter (0 degrees F) because the home is so efficient. The house is so tight that opening a door at one end of the house will cause a closed bedroom door at the opposite end to jiggle, hence the need for an air exchanger for fresh air.
During the summer the sun is high and does not penetrate far into the home because of the tree canopies and the small overhang over the windows. The house stays relatively cool. The hotest summer days do require a bit of AC to be comfortable in Northern Ohio from the afternoon to early evening.
Efficiency is a top concern in my dream home to allow us to last as long as possible, but windows are a security compromise. Some passive solar homes have turf mounded up over the west, east, and south sides for insulation. My dream home at this point would be a ranch home under a mound of earth, with south facing wall of glass. The walls and roof would be concrete slabs. The main entrance would be in the rear between 2 buried car ports. Camera security at the rear door. The only visible parts of the home would be the large windows on the south side and the doors on the north side. The large first floor windows on the south side are a security compromise. However at night, steel backed, insulating security shutters come down to make entering the home there more difficult, and more importantly, noisy. Safe room would be the master bedroom along the north wall, surrounded by several yards of earth, thick concrete walls, and a secure door. Lurking in the home are 2 Borboel mastiffs (dreaming). Utility room would be off the basement, housing the generators, fuel, with a steel grate roof (for secure generator ventilation) at ground level, along the side of the home.
This would certainly be an unconventional home, but my wife helped her parents build thier unconventional home when she was a girl, and is really supportive of the idea (especially from an efficiency standpoint).
