passive solar

Oh, yes.
A year ago, we were discussing how to enhance our casa ti's passive solar functionality during the summer to help keep the sunbeams from heating up the house. Our green Virginia architect, David Day, suggested a seasonal canopy. He and his wife used camouflage netting on their own porch: it billowed gently in the wind, yet, with the holes throughout, let in little beams of light here and there while still providing shade. The effect was fabulous: The light colors (white and a light, light blue) interspersed in the netting combined with bits of sunbeam made you feel like you were in an organic, moving, magical woods.

But there was just one drawback: Cammo is made of polyurethane. And I don't care what their industry sez: It just don't feel right.

I giggle as I begin my quest and type into the search bar: organic camouflage netting.
I bet that's one Google doesn't see often! ; )

A result pops up: "Natural, Organic products 8x10 Pro Series Ultra-lite Camouflage"
What? This can't be real.
It wasn't.

But I did find EcoVeil!

"EcoVeil™ is a non-PVC screen cloth, with healthful properties. Constructed in the same manner as ThermoVeil®, a core of TPO (Thermoplastic Olefin) fiber filaments with a TPO coating, EcoVeil™ has similar characteristics to ThermoVeil®, plus the added benefit of being very environmentally friendly.

• The first "Cradle to Cradle™" shade cloth
• Is more than PVC free
• Can be reclaimed and recycled
• Is durable and washable
• Is anti-microbial
• Is flame retardant
• Optimized and under continuous improvement by MBDC, a product and process design firm founded by William McDonough and Dr. Michael Braungart
• Selected by Environmental Building News as one of the Top-10 Green Building Products of 2004"

Although I wish I could find something with the more interesting texture/color properties of the aforementioned camouflage, I feel better about choosing the EcoVeil.

Can't wait to seek shelter under the shade in my very own casa ti!
I picture slow afternoons, lazily sprawled in a comfortable chair, just lookin' at the view.
...With a frosty mint julep in my hand. ; )

Today I visited several houses featured in the USGBC's Greenbuilt tour which included 20 houses in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos. I visited three homes in Santa Fe, all very different and special in their own way.

First was Casa Ballena del Sol (translates to Sun Whale I think), an 1800 sq ft home in the southern part of town. This rustic home is totally off the grid and makes heavy use of passive solar, has abundant lighting, and features clever use of recycled materials such as telephone pole vigas and recycled blue jean and plastic bottles. I especially liked the floor plan which featured a living area in the middle, with rooms on four sides, which provided ample natural light due to the surface area of the house. There were also various shady outdoor nooks outside of these side rooms which provided a nice way to spend time outside of the house.

Next on the trail was the Meyer Residence on the ridge east of town, above the Old Santa Fe Trail. With tremendous views of the valley below, this home has a modern flair and is still under construction by owner/builder Klaus Meyer. Klaus and his building partner Joaquin Karcher are focused on popularizing a flavor of passive solar building that has become common in Germany, which they're calling the Passive House. They have also developed a wall system which they're calling the Super Insulated Wall. The SIW is framed with 2x4s and dry wall, covered with natural plaster, and densely packed with cellulose insulation. It has an R value of 50!

The last house I visited was a 3000 sq ft ultra-modern and high-tech building on the north side of town built by owners Joday and Cara Feyes -- the Santa Fe Dream Home. Multi-leveled and geometric, this new home is built primarily with ICFs and numerous recycled or other smart materials (I loved the cork floors), has a water harvest roof system, and like the others I saw today, also uses passive solar (they plan to add active soon). The modern technology was also impressive, including a home theater, and some of the sensor systems such as the whole-house lighting and a weather-monitoring irrigation system.

I've posted more images of all of the homes in the gallery for you all to see.

It's great to see so much green building activity and innovation happening in New Mexico and the continuum of technology and various styles being implemented.

I'll try to see a few more homes tomorrow in Albuquerque. The tour is from 10-4 and tickets are $10 and can be purchased at any of the houses included in the tour.

While letting the BBQ warm up just now, I came across this first post in a weekly series from Sustainable Design Update. It's from a great source, so I'll be watching with anticipation.

10 Tips For Building a Sustainable Home

Tip #1 in the weekly series - Design a Passive Solar Home

Every site on the planet has sunlight. Even if your site is overcast a lot of the time, you should design around where the sun is, where it rises and where it sets.

Read More

The day is getting hotter, and house is staying cool, without contraption or expense - six years in a passive solar house taught us lots of lessons. Lesson One: it took the house one FULL year to become functional. It needed time to "charge", will coolness and heat, to adjust to solar cycle. Lesson Two: Close the windows in the morning (that is for summer days, of course) - inside is between 72F and 75F (in the greenhouse), outside anywhere from 86F to 100F. read more about our house and how it cleans its own waste at http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/Permaculture-Our-House/

The End of the Air Conditioner

During the recent renovation on my personal kitchen, I had an interesting discussion with my plumber about this revolutionary wallboard material which acts like a major air conditioner without power requirements. I thought what in the world was he talking about? In fact, he was planning on building his new “Maine camp” out of this material which would allow him to lower his heating bill in the winter and eliminate his cooling requirements, i.e. his AC, in the summer. Interested, so was I.

Where will it be used? I hope in my next house reno project!

For futher information, BASF recommends checking out

http://www.micronal.de

http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/welcome_english.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_Change_Material

or Contact:
Hartmut Lang
BASF
Tel: (973) 426-2843
E-mail: langh@basf.com

I have five Sun-Lite Thermal Storage Tubes placed along three large, contiguous south-facing windows with a roof overhang--what the manufacturer calls a "direct gain water wall." Translucent, they absorb and store solar energy while transmitting natural daylight. There are daily wide temperature variations here in Albuquerque throughout the year, which are tempered by the water in the tubes--in the summer and winter, they store the sun's energy during the day and give it off slowly at night, minimizing variations between day and night temperatures and the need for artificial heating and cooling....The tubes also temper the view. Natural light comes through, but the view to my neighbor's not-very-attractive carport is diffused while the trees beyond are visible above them.

When we bought the tubes second-hand, they had never been used. New, the five-foot tall, 18"-diameter tubes cost $174 each. They come in four standard sizes, from four feet to ten feet tall.

I love the way they look and the way they soften what can be pretty harsh light in the southwest. Adding the element of water and the tubular forms bring a quality into the space that contrasts beautifully with the angularity of the walls and ceilings.

The Solar Components Corporation website offers a number of other solar products worth exploring.