Passive solar / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

...solar provider based on reading it here or I'm likely going to get an earful! Bring it up with a solar installer if you want, but if they tell you it's not in your best interest then they are likely correct.  Heat pumps and thermal mass: passive and active heating synergies Heat pumps are the most efficient bridge bet...

...passive heating and cooling design, the placement of rammed earth walls is critical to maximize their thermal mass benefits. Cost of rammed earth construction The cost of building with rammed earth can vary significantly depending on several factors, including your region, labor availability, and design complexity. The...

...passive solar residence on a 125-acre property that offers not only modern luxury but also a model for how executive style homes can be built more responsibly. Passive solar orientation reduces heating demand and supports comfort The home is oriented along a true east-west axis, with its primary living spaces facing du...

...passive solar heat gain and the direction of heat flow, the optimization of which can vary significantly depending on your home’s location and layout. For example, in a northern climate with medium winter sunshine like British Columbia, Canada, or Washington State and Oregon, winter solar gain through windows on the so...

...passive solar house to offset the costs of installing solar panels or wind turbines. Conversely, architects who favour passive solar houses can incorporate a few solar panels to save on insulation costs. The Ecohome Edelweiss House is passively heated and was the first LEED V4 certified house in Canada Passive solar ...

...solar energy hits a surface. If you’re into solar panels, architecture, or just want to know how the sun interacts with your building and the passive solar gain/highlighting of buildings and using that to your advantage, this is key element. Imagine measuring exactly how much solar energy is hitting your roof or solar ...

...solar heated radiant floor - see this one go together here: This is the solar heated floor slab-on-grade foundation form kit being assembled for this LEED & Passive House ready prefab kit home, see many more sustainable home building tips & guide videos for LEED, Zero Energy & Passive House on the Ecohome ...

...Solar, Blacktail Solar Homes etc - Ecohome recently enjoyed a reunion of the original "Domies" at UC Davis at the Whole Earth Day celebrations, which we'll be writing more about later. Wouldn't it be great to see self governed tiny home communities like this all over university campuses in Washington State?  Next steps...

...Solar energy collection A successful strategy to power a home with solar energy begins like the water system, with the core principle of first reducing demand. To that end, the appliances and systems of this house were designed and chosen for their reduced operational demand of energy. On the roof are eight photovoltai...

...passive solar house  appropriate for the local climate. The result was the world's first Passivhaus - The Saskatchewan Conservation House, which not only incorporated passive heating from the sun, but also many of the elements that make up the current Passive House standard: careful sealing with tape for air-tightness,...

...solariums: Some solariums are bought as kits and used exclusively as living space, others are used for growing vegetables and even fruit. Strictly speaking, a solarium is not a greenhouse, but can be used as such. The typical solarium is usually a glazed space adjacent to a dwelling, separated by an exterior wall and a...