19-10-2010, 04:56 PM
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Solar Building Design
Solar building design has been used since ancient times. In the more recent past, it has been more or less ignored as impractical, complicated, or too expensive. Incorporating the sun’s energy into the design of the built environment, however, is practical, simple, and affordable.
Ancient civilizations knew that orientation to the sun was an important factor in the layout of their cities and homes. As the knowledge and technology of using solar, wind, and water sources evolves, owner-builders and building professionals alike will have a greater opportunity to incorporate energy-conserving strategies into any project.
Introduction:
Following are four projects designed by the author that illustrate passive solar design strategies, introduce a new building-integrated photovoltaic roofing material, and show how integrating energy systems lowers overall cost. Examples include:
• An award-winning passive solar home on the northern California coast that offers all the comforts of modern living but uses only solar energy for heating and the prevailing wind for cooling.
• A five-story solar-heated tower house nestled in the redwoods with a roof-top, solar-heated hot tub.
• A barn roof with an integrated three kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) array that satisfies the energy needs of a single family home and loft apartment on a five-acre ridge-top homestead.
• A 2,000-square-foot house that combines the use of passive solar design with thermal collectors to satisfy heating needs and a roof-integrated PV system for electricity generation.
Caspar Point house
The 3,000-square-foot Caspar Point home is located in northern California on a rugged point of land jutting out into the Pacific. It incorporates southern exposure, sun spaces, thermal mass, insulating envelope, earth coupling, and thermosiphon solar-heated water for domestic hot water and radiant floors. The solar heating strategies have maintained comfortable indoor temperatures in an extremely harsh climate without the use of fuel since the home was completed in 1991.
