Tucked away where the canyon country meets the mountains, is a beautiful passive solar home built with two Trombe Walls. People who live in passive solar homes tend to exude a certain passion and excitement about their houses. It’s as if they have a really cool treasure house that is simultaneously philosophically and economically...
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Passive solar site design must take the sun’s path into account and its interaction with the house throughout the seasons. In the planning stages for a passive solar retrofit project, I took pictures of the sun’s path on the summer and winter solstices to learn more about how the sun interacts with the house....
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With planning and creativity, almost any structure can be retrofitted with passive solar design elements. This home underwent a passive solar retrofitting process to become the efficient, sunlit structure that it is today. Originally placed on the property in 1948, it was a drafty 1-story Quonset hut that was likely purchased from the army...
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Talk to the local municipal building department to see if a remodel or building project on the property is permitted, before breaking ground. While a person may have some really nice ideas of design and building, it’s a good idea to understand local building codes. I have an older stone house, located within a...
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A southern facing sun room is another method that can be used to integrate passive solar design into a structure. This sun room is located in the middle of the house and is optimally situated to internally warm the two story structure in the winter. The sunlight also adds a luminous effect to the...
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Located close to BLM land with gorgeous views of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, this passive solar, modified earthship-style house is off the grid and generates all of its own electricity. Structure The house is a modified two-story earthship that has a berm around on the northern side of the ground floor. ...
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