Passive solar design / Discussions

...passive solar home.  To accurately calculate the price per square foot for home construction you need to know local market rates and building material cost. Labor rates vary wildly by location, products not as much, but depending on local availability and market fluctuations that can also be a variable. Find green buil...

...design.  Here is our DIY passive solar home design video series, there are some tips in there that may also help.  You can also take a look at these articles: Passive solar home design Is it spelled insolation or insulation? Understanding the terms  Are skylights a good idea?

...passive house, and designing a home for passive solar heat collection will keep your energy costs at a minimum and also help it stay warm in the event of power failures. When you suggest a basement, my first thought would be to avoid that and stay above grade. Building a basement is typically a more expensive way to bu...

...design you find appealing, you could then green home building techniques to that design. We would recommend you first start with determining exactly how much space you need. In general, smaller homes use less resources and less energy than large ones, so the smaller you can build the better. And choose your materials c...

...design for choosing the right amount of insulation. To determine the ideal envelope to a reasonable a degree of accuracy you would need to hire a designer who is able to do energy modelling, and finding a Passive House designer would be wise if you want to pursue that route. The only problem with that, is that the cost...

...design properly for whatever climate your building in. Below are a few starter pages. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I would rather give you the straight info now rather than see you drop your life savings on something that doesn’t work they way it claims.  Passive solar home design basics All you need to know about...