Green Options » passive solar

Man Heats 4,000 Sq. Ft Home for $2.50 Per Day Using Passive Solar Technology

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:27:09 +0000

Why spend lots of money heating your house when nature can do it for you? Upstate New York resident John Kosmer has taken passive solar to a new level in his home, which only costs $2.50 a day to heat. That’s less than $1,000 a year of heating expenses in an area of the country that gets mauled with snow multiple times a year.

Kosmer worked with Building With Integrity and Adirondack Alternative Energy to construct his passive solar house. Four-inch thick rigid polyurethane is installed on the exterior walls and under the roof, while pre-finished concrete siding covers the exterior of the home.

2009 Solar Decathlon Teams Announced

Philip Proefrock — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:55:39 +0000

The 20 teams selected for the 2009 Solar Decathlon have been announced by the US Department of Energy. Each team will receive a $100,000 grant from the DOE to be used for creating a completely solar-powered home for the competition.

The full list can be found in an article at Custom Home Online. The 2009 competition has some international flavor, including last year’s winner, the Technische Universität Darmstadt, as well as the Universidad Polytécnica de Madrid and two groupings of Canadian universities.

What Grabs You: Green Living Without the Sacrifice

Sara Holt — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:52:44 +0000

Photo Credit: Village HomesIn 1973 California architect/developer Michael and Judy Corbett revolutionized community design with their blueprint for the now world-famous community called Village Homes, in Davis, CA.

Starting with the idea of creating a conventional community with a green twist, the Corbetts set to work transforming 70 acres in Davis into a livable green community that was good for the people, good for the earth. By lining the carefully planned east-west streets with southern-facing houses for maximum solar exposure, they enabled the Village Homes residents to acquire between 50-75 percent of their heating needs from the free (and endless!) source of the sun.

By 1982, the 70-acre Village Homes broke ground with the completion of a livable model now emulated and envied by developers and home dwellers the world over. With the narrow, curved east west streets, truncated to allow pedestrian use of the centralized community green space, the Corbetts specifically designed Village Homes to encourage transportation by foot and bike rather than by car. Designing a community to focus on the people rather than the vehicles, they opened up the development structure to allow neighborhood interaction. Another cool perk: With narrower streets containing less asphalt and more trees, the Corbetts unwittingly designed a community that is known to be 10-15 degrees cooler than surrounding neighborhoods in the hot summer months!

Other benefits include voluntary weekly potlucks, neighborhood work parties, edible landscaping, a lower cost of living. centralized play areas for children, a solar heated community center and swimming pool, two vineyards, an orchard, and two large common gardening areas.

To own a house in Village Homes is highly coveted by all familiar with the efficacy of the Corbetts’ designs. As one resident puts it, “A community is more than a physical location. It's a feeling of kinship. Living at Village Homes has enhanced our lives in many ways. I guess I could say I'm looking forward to growing old here." For more information on Village Homes or the Corbetts’ books on green development design, please visit http://www.villagehomesdavis.org/