passive solar

Well, what-a-weekend in the off grid prefab house kit that was!

Friday I raced to the prefab modern house, cleaned up, and met with a reporter. Then my family and friends arrived, and honeychile, we trashed the prefab house kit. Saturday we woke up and frantically cleaned up for the Prefab Open House, which was really fun! Thank you all who drove from so far to come visit us in the off grid prefab house kit, STILL with no systems! Then the Prefab Open House was over, and we promptly trashed the house, again. THEN Sunday we woke up and frantically cleaned, again! And a photographer came out. And then we trashed the house! Then I cleaned it again! I. Am. Pooped. It. Was. FUN. : ) We are very grateful to The Ault's Family Farm who not only let us take showers, but sent us back to the prefab passive solar house kit with cartons of gorgeous pullet eggs to give our guests!!! And, why yes, we *did* eat cake! : )

Handsome Husband spoke about the off grid systems we are installing in the net zero passive solar prefab house.

Off Grid Net Zero Systems Talk Part 1 for Prefab House Kit

Off Grid Net Zero Systems Talk Part 2 for Prefab House Kit

As we mentioned, it's not just about a cool modern, energy efficient prefab house. It's about purposely spec'ing for less systems, for off grid, doing more with less. It's the fun treasure hunt to Make Somethin' Outta Nothin' - note as you look at pictures of the prefab, that almost *everything* has been recycled and reused - from the passing-down of my grandmothers bed, to the bookcase found in a thrift store used and already reused within our own family in four different ways before finding its fifth use in the prefab house. A nice woman from Maryland asked me how we got into "green living." (And she is in wildlife management! She should be giving us advice! : ) ) The simple answer is... we grew up with land, feel connected to it, see the cause and effect in how people treat it.  We grew up sailing, so understand the wind and sun and how to use it.  We camp, so appreciate bringing this all together to preserve but also shelter and sustain our family, comfortably. Plus supa coolio modern design is really fun on a shoestring. I like the hunt!

Seriously, it just makes sense. Living carefully, purposely, frugally just. makes. sense. And is tons of fun.

This is the FIRST of two energy audits.

Energy Audit #1, today's energy audit of the prefab modern house, is as we're at the "This is the modern house kit + cladding + the homeowner sealing around the windows stage", the second will be once we're "done, finished, kaput, as in done, done, done, done, don't ever want to think about anything construction related for at least another week DONE."

Our mission is to create tight, energy efficient, gorgeous passive solar house kits.  I admire rated, certified, even more stringent approaches, like Passive House standards, maybe we'll do this in the future, but we achieve what we want in an energy efficient home while incorporating great modern design on an average, reasonable budget.

Some highly energy efficient homes incorporate two door chambers to prevent temperature loss.
I picture the way I live, and it is just too chaotic and messy to make such an entrance successful.  Can you imagine a couple struggling with the stroller, dogs still on the leash, juggling a bag of groceries and a baby on one hip, getting the key in the door lock then screaming to the spouse...
"Quick honey, seal the chamber, we're losing LEED points!"
Obviously if you live in a severe climate, it makes sense. But we're in Normal Rest-o'-Tha-World here.

We're a muddy, raggedy bunch here... why do ya think we're bandits?
You can increase the thickness of the house kit panels, choose even more efficient doors and windows (our casa ti prefab green home is spec'd for Jeld-Wen and our, SIPs house kit with two stories, The R1 Residential, is spec'd for Marvin Integrity), seal it up even tighter... but my focus is on affordable energy efficiency in our prefab green homes, so we chose great solutions that fit within a moderate budget.

The average quote for the casa ti windows is currently about $9,000-$10,500. If you would like to spend more on windows to make 'em nano-crazy-efficient, go for it, we can adjust the shop drawings. But expect the added cost.

We hired energy rater Guy DuBois, of No Energy Loss, to come out and inspect the modern prefab house kit. 
These are the notes I jotted down during his cell phone call to me en route from the land. Mr. DuBois will guest blog later this week with more real data, but here are his initial verbal impressions of the still-under-construction, still-not-completely-sealed house kit:

"Well, we certainly smoked up your house quite a bit, there was nowhere for it to go!"

(Copeland's note: Ummmm, I assume he means it was some kind of smoke air test thingy? I hope he didn't mean he smoked in mah house?!?)

Ok, on to Mr. DuBois:

"Those windows - they are worth the money, they were very well sealed."

Copeland's note: Handsome Husband also sealed around the frames... OK FINE I will just stop commenting and just TYPE what he said!

"Your husband did a good job of sealing around the windows... there are two areas he also could look at if he wanted to seal further- along the south eave and that back door threshold.

It is surprisingly tight. I don't know why I say surprising, but I guess I didn't expect it to be so tight, even though I should have."

[Copeland's note: Um, yeah, thanks Mr. DuBois... ; ) OK, OK I'll stop commenting!]

"I'll go back at completion and run more tests.  This was a good time to go out there because if there were problems you could address them before everything was closed up.

As you know, it's so tight you really must have mechanical ventilation, which you will be installing (HRV), which is critical in these energy efficient homes. Most homes, most traditionally-built homes, leak willy-nilly so you don't ever have to worry about air quality, but in energy efficient homes like these they're so air-tight that air-exchange is imperative.

I saw very little air leakage... there is some thermal bridging you can address if you want but you certainly won't have a problem heating and maintaining good energy efficiency, that's for sure. How does it compare to a "normal" house? Superior!"

To continue to seal even further, concentrate on the areas where there is lumber vs. SIP (structural insulated panels)- the doorway header, add insulation around wooden framing, and if you're in really severe climates, you could add an exterior seal.

Mr. DuBois makes a good point:

"But you have to consider the climate- maybe if you're in Alaska or really south Florida you would want to consider that, but... we're in Virginia, how much gain will you really get by doing all that?!? You already know that with your off grid systems, comfort will never be an issue.

I will be punching in everything I did today and coming back with some data next week... you're not trying to get this house certified, so this is just more FYI info, but it will be cool to compare today with when you're done at the end of the project."

He also said that the amount of leakage currently (we're still not done sealing) in the prefab SIPs passive solar home is equivalent to about 6 x 6 inches, smaller than a basketball. Handsome Husband is chasing that number, with sealant in hand.

Later, Handsome Husband arrived home, and I had all these pictures and video to look at... and share with you now.

HOUSE KIT ENERGY AUDIT VIDEOS:
Mr. DuBois sets up...

SIPs House Kit Energy Audit #1 of 2

They start do to the smoke test and pressurize the modern house kit. SUDDENLY, a clerestory window pops wide open!  It had looked closed, but hadn't been closed totally, which certainly that had also contributed to our loss of temperature this winter at night!  It is securely locked now... : )

Smoke And Open Windows In The Affordable Prefab SIPs House

So, they pressurize again...

Energy-Audit-#1 of 2 In The Affordable Prefab Green Home

And then....they freakin' fill mah house up with SMOKE!
Note the comment about the south edge- later they discovered that when the door was installed they didn't put any sealant under that south door.  You as a home owner can seal that more if you live in a severe climate area. I knew the windows worked really well for our budget, but am pleased with how impressed he is! : )

Energy Audit 1 of 2: Smoke And Windows

Here Handsome Husband decides he's going to track down that durned elusive number.

Energy Audit 1 of 2: Husband Wants Passive Perfect

Then they go tramp around outside looking for leaks.
If there were gaps, you'd see the smoke drifting out.

Energy Audit #1 of 2 of the Prefab Net Zero Energy Green House

NOTE:The next week Handsome Husband discovered they hadn't sealed pipes inside for the audit + we haven't added the foam *around* the foundation, contributing to temperature drop / leakage. Stay tuned for Energy Audit #2!
Check out what it looks like when they crack the door (and how hard it was to open because of the pressurization - because the house kit was so tight!).

Energy-Audit-Of-Green-House-Kit

...And then they start calculating...
Which Mr. DuBois will go into more in his guest post soon.

Energy-Audit-01-16-2010-36 from Copeland Casati on Vimeo.

And thaz it, the latest from our passive solar green home!

Here is Handsome Husband's summary:

"This wraps up the initial test of the house kit. We now know what simple steps we have left to optimize the envelope of the SIPs house, and we look forward to the final testing after construction is (finally) completed. The general goal and idea of the casa ti has passed Mr. DuBois's testing with flying colors, as we already suspected in the prefab house kit's performance over the last few weekends where the design and structure were able to give us relative comfort in a hostile climate.

The great thing about the delays in this project is that we're able to thoroughly test the house kit without further improvements, this allows us to confirm the performance a passive solar house kit built with SIPs."

It's that time of year again, when you collect the photos from the year and send 'em off to the far-flung great-aunts and uncles.

Looking over these months, I enjoyed seeing again our net zero prefab green home take shape. There's still much to do; but even before the interior is completed, the prefab SIPs house can be beautiful with its use of light, open spaces, and special touches.

Here are some pictures of the interior as it has evolved this year...(with a few exterior pics thrown in...)

We will be dragging out a *lot* more (most of it reused, recycled) furniture this month...

It's amazing how you really can make a home out of little recycled elements, and a lot of love and creativity.
It is now also clear that my accessory and design elements incorporate... dogs.

In the meantime... Enjoy!

We will begin to have guest bloggers (weren't you tired of listening to me anyhow?), people who know a heck of a lot more than I on the next steps of the prefab SIPs house kit as it goes from a modern house kit shell to a sustainable modern homestead in the years to come.

Please welcome Heather Barber, founder of Topos, LLC, a landscape design studio dedicated to purposeful design through creating unique natural environments in Richmond, Virginia.

The sustainable landscape plan by Topos was earlier mentioned here; today, she talks about visiting the off grid prefab modern house for the first time, and how sustainability is connected in the kitchen.

The rest of the post is her own.

Sustainability and landscape go hand in hand, but to really understand sustainability from a livable principal you must put form in the background and set the focus on function. The two do not have to live entirely separately, but the thing that has driven landscape design for centuries must become secondary to to the primary purpose of function. A sustainable landscape does not have to leave beauty out of the picture, but it is there for many more reasons than just aesthetics.

Let’s take green modern kits casa ti as a prototype for understanding the adaptation of the built object to the site rather than the normal process of site adaptation to accommodate the built object. casa ti is a melding of modern living principles with a centuries old notion of living with the land, off the land, and of the land. casa ti is sited in the middle of rural farmland in Virginia.

At first sight, it seems as though there is a modern box sitting in the middle of this soft, rolling earth...still viable earth that is now a repository for a very static looking building. Understanding modern sustainability will turn this perception on it’s ear. casa ti, a prefabricated green modern kit home is actually a very dynamic part of the earth and a living, breathing entity that sustains the land it inhabits. The landscape that surrounds casa ti becomes a fulcrum that allows the exchange between the site, the building and the family that lives on the land.

Read more >>

The past two weeks have been overwhelming, hence the silence, and aside from meetings, we haven't anything new to show regarding our own SIPs prefab house kit. [Now, about the *other* prefab house kits being built... (claps hands over mouth) Ahem, more on these later! : ) ]

Instead, we have spent time over the past weekends exploring Richmond's James River, which we never had access to until we bought a vintage Boston Whaler. It's amazing what a little river access can do for a family! We can now hook up the boat and in 15 minutes be at the river, watching bald eagles, blue heron, turtles and fish with our children.

Any-hoo, today, the prefab architect of the net zero house kit casa ti, David Day, came to visit!

Our original plan was to visit an artist's studio he built with structural insulated panels (SIP) but we digressed and instead sat outside watching the children play.... enjoyed the day and company of each other while discussing Woodstock documentaries, green living, and off grid net zero systems.

Well, it has been a crazy few weeks. We got my sister married off (and her husband's family is from Seattle so they came in early to spend time with their Virginia family here so it was not just a weekend but a nice time over awhile of the families coming together)... then I went to New York on business for about a week... (really, it was no fun *at all* ; ) ) Memorial Day Weekend appeared out o' nowhere, but finally, we were able to meet with Ron, our wonderful contractor, this weekend to plan the next phase of the prefab house kit: The Inside.

• To finish the house, we need financing. The financing we did earlier was to refinance our current home loan because interest rates dropped so much. Now we need to consolidate the *land* loan and finish construction. We're increasing the *land* loan by the amount we need to finish construction since a traditional construction loan in Virginia does not understand or value green building or off grid construction / systems. Once construction is complete and we have a certificate of occupancy, we have been told by mortgage lender of our first house that they will consider refinancing the land *and* house. Because co-op interest rates are higher, Handsome Husband projects that once we have a traditional first mortgage, the monthly expenses will remain the same after the construction is financed. So we will be paying about the same, to do more, after having finished the project!
• To get financing, we need to have a quote from our Fabulous Contractor, Ron Bernaldo of Giant Oaks Construction.
• To get a quote from Ron, our Fabulous Contractor, my Handsome Husband needs to give Ron details, a list of systems (down to the model number) so that the electrician / plumber can give us an accurate estimate.
• To get an estimate, we need to have the interior framing done.
• To have the interior framing done, we have to give Ron the customized floor plan. (Yes, people, these house kits are made so you can work with your contractor to make 'em as you want! We didn't change much, just added more room for systems and a nook & cranny for a bookcase...)

If ONLY the rest of the personal decisions we make as a family were as easy as it was erecting the actual house kit! So yesterday Ron was given the floor plan, a list of systems is on its way, and he starts the interior framing next Tuesday.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy pictures from this weekend's off grid prefab-ulous adventure at the end of this long and boring post.

We had some dear friends out, and it was amazing how *comfortable* the house kit was in the heat. Before, we rarely camped this time of year because the sun beating down on our little 1960's Scotty camper in the field was unbearable. In the house kit, it was breezy, comfortable, filled with natural light yet soothing and cool inside. In the winter, the dogs snuck into our beds; now they flopped, lazily collapsed on the concrete.

When I awoke last night to an unexpected thunderstorm, snuggled in my bed as it rolled, rumbling, in, I reflected how our visit in previous years would have ended first thing in the morning, packing up miserable muddy wet dogs and children in the rain. Instead, we contentedly listened to the rainfall as the children played together indoors while the adults slowly woke with steaming strong coffee.

In the house kit, the light was diffused and off the cement, not the sharp slants of light directly on the concrete as it is in winter. That was the first thing I noticed- that yes, the sun was not warming the floor but had moved higher in the sky, and thus prevented by the overhangs to heat. We opened the windows and let in a wonderful crossbreeze. The difference between lounging comfortably in the house kit to walking into the open field under the unsympathetic sun was palpatable- we all remarked on it.

Another thing I noticed was... how grateful I am I chose polished concrete. SO easy to sweep and keep clean. We also have recycled pallets at the doors which have been extremely useful to curtail the dirt- it looks coolio industrial, is recycled, and provides a great function.

We installed the screens, so we don't have to worry about uninvited animals/insects during the night entering from the open windows, and Handsome Husband and Mr. H stopped by the recycling center and plucked a nice tire to create a tire swing for the kids! We hung it off the old oak that shelters the picnic bench. Which, by the way, I picked up a *second* picnic bench for $5 at a yard sale so we can connect them end-to-end and have a fabulous banquet table for lots of guests.

And speaking of guests... we will have an open house in September!

More on this later, but if you would like to tour our prefab off grid zero energy house kit, there is a wonderful bike tour going on in the area on the weekend of September 26th. Bike Heartland is a fun bike tour that goes all weekend long through a gorgeous, historic area of Virginia. I am working with some local farms to have other activities like tours of natural, community supported farms, a winery that will be open for you to enjoy, and more, so pack yer tent and come on down! For more on accommodations, see here (camping at the Heartland Bike Tour), here (Charlotte Courthouse), here (Appomattox), and here (Farmville); and also be sure to visit Miss Emily's, where Necia and her husband will show you great English hospitality. (And boy does she know how to cook.)

So, next, we begin the interior framing. We install systems. We survive children out of school for the summer. ; ) AND some big family reunions scheduled... so June coverage might be a little spotty.

Even after the house is done, we continue crop tree release and increasing function-yet-preservation of the land, so that in a few short years we can be there sustainably full time.

P.s. This north middle window that will eventually be my daughter's room? The children discovered how to open it and then jumped from the sand pile into the house kit, in and out, in and out, in and out... hence my thankfulness on choosing the polished concrete, *again.* There must have been twenty times a day I was grateful for the concrete. Ah the spills. Oh the mud. Gee the sand. And the polished concrete took it, and looked gorgeous.

Still no interior walls (Ron is off building his pastor's house who needs to move in by Easter), but that did not deter us from camping in the house kit.

After four years of camping in the tiny-but-fantastic 1960s aluminum Scotty camper, I have to admit it was nice to lug a bunch o' the camping equipment from the Scotty to reuse in the open, spacious off grid modern house. As I pulled the practical, necessary camping equipment we had relied on for years from our beloved camper, I looked at it anew and realized that a lot of camping equipment is not eco-friendly! When we bought the necessary equipment years ago, it was because the folding chairs, storage tubs, cutting boards, machete knife cases, blaze orange hunting hats/gear were IMPERATIVE to have in an isolated place when camping through all seasons.

Now, in the comfort of the house kit, I'm looking at all this and thinking, "Man. If someone made environmentally friendly affordable camping gear they would make a FORTUNE!"

(Hmmmm. HMMMMM...
...
Nah, I already have too many jobs. But YOU do it!)

I was gone all Saturday at a social media conference nearby, so when I returned the mattresses had been blown up, the sheets and blankets were on, the "solar soldiers" (as we call the solar exterior lights) charged from a day in the sun, and two happy pipsqueaks were jumping and playing in their new passive solar living space.

Just seeing the queen-sized air mattresses in the still-not-framed-in bedrooms gave me a better idea of the room dimensions. Setting out the beds, the card table, chairs along the east side, really gives us a sense of the future finished space. It's perfect. It's open, filled with natural light, yet warm, cozy, interactive without being cramped. I can't wait to see it more furnished. It's getting very hard not to jump ahead and move in.

It had snowed over ten inches earlier this week...
The ground was wet and there was mud.
Oh, was there MUD.
A LOTTA mud.

I swept muddy dog tracks, children tracks, my tracks, his tracks.
(This is starting to read like a Dr. Seuss book, no? Say it ten times quickly.)
Aaaaaand was grateful we had chosen the smooth take-it-all concrete instead of frou-frou bamboo.
(I would have spent the rest of my life trying to protect that floor. It would have been awful. I would have been miserable.)

Yet, just days after a major snowfall, it was so warm this weekend we opened wide the doors wide and WOW could you feel the cross breeze- I can not wait to spend time here in spring! The dogs naturally gravitate to the passive solar sunbeams in the concrete thermal mass- and love surveying their kingdom from the open doorways while listing against the frame, half awake, in the sun.

I went for a nice long (muddy) walk with the 4 year old, watching while she measured creeks with her stick, surveyed the breached pond, and climbed hills with the dogs. A lot of trees had been downed from the heavy snow, so we had to cut some. Don't worry, the ones that fell were scrappy young ones that weren't part of the crop tree release strategy we have. We will never timber; but are trying to help prune and encourage healthy growth of the woods through selection so they can grow strong vs. competing for resources with weed trees.

It was good to hear the frogs.
They, and the bees, have had a rough few years. So to hear them peeping so exhuberantly in March was glorious. (Listen to video, below...)
I remember a few years ago on my family farm noticing that the pond was quiet, the 35' deep pond where I grew up fishing and canoeing and swimming and... listening to peepers. It was so strange to hear the blowing of the wind, the water, and, on that day, no frogs.

Frogs are loud. My entire life had, until then, been filled with the cacophony of peepers and bullfrogs. So to hear the frogs so loudly happy on "the land" gives me hope.

On Sunday, I spent a good bit of time curled up in a chair, reading fifteen year old issues of Countryside Magazine given to us by Ron & Judy while the children and dogs played.

Now HandsomeHusband, I will remind you, is from a large European city. He delighted in the scouting camera he had erected on a nearby tree and what it revealed: two deer stopping by to check out the off grid house kit! I'm including some of that here too.
: )

Here are more pictures, below, than you would EVER want to see of our fun weekend camping in the off grid zero energy modern house kit!
Just click on 'em to get the large version and captions!
(And some videos o' frogs and passive solar musings, below.
Hey, it was a fun, muddy weekend. : )
)

It was in the low- to mid- forties when we arrived on the land and incredibly windy... but inside the modern passive house kit it was a cozy mid-sixty-ish.

Now don't forget that while we may have the exterior weather-tight, we have not yet hooked up systems. So that nice warmth was generated purely by the passive solar design.

This was the first day I have been able to take pictures of the finished structural insulated panels house kit exterior, so I went a little overboard- any of you whom have wondered what the completed outside looks like, well, you have more pictures than you could ever want to satisfy your curiosity. : )

I hope you enjoy 'em as much as I do!

I also apologize for some of the blurred photos- I will take better pictures and buy another 'cheap land camera I can get muddy and not cry about when the 6 year old drops it *again*'- it is clear it has been dropped one too many times.

As I mentioned, it was a very windy, brisk, February day; but inside the modern house it was calm, peaceful. Natural sunlight filtered in and filled the space in a wonderful way.

Really, there's no need for lighting except in the evening in my opinion.

Even without interior walls, the family naturally groups itself in areas of that main common space- we have thrown a fold up table and chairs on the west side where our dining area will eventually be, and some chairs and blankets for sleepy children on the east side where they naturally snuggle down and cuddle with the light falling on them, keeping them warm and secure feeling, as they rest.

I loved how I could (finally!) sit down at the card table and skim a homesteading magazine *while* having a nice view of the children and dogs playing in the dirt, see them, hear them, yet while they ran wild, everything was so calm and cozy where I sat...

Next we paint the west door black, and finish insulating around the foundation by putting foam all around the foundation that is currently exposed in these pictures.

Once that is done, the massive hill of dirt that my children have much enjoyed (yes I rue the day I tell them this) will be pushed back to infill around the house kit.

We also move on to framing the interior, then installing off grid solar and rainwater systems.

But more on that later, in the meantime, enjoy the beautiful day!

Below you will see a slideshow (click to get the bigger version that also has more detailed captions) plus some fun videos I made...

Oh, and yes, my Handsome Husband *did* run out and get us another camera after all these blurred pictures... : )

Ironically because the light was streaming in so brightly from the windows, the camera overcompensated these interior videos so they show darker than what it was in real life. In fact, I think all the pictures are darker as well. I'll take better videos / pictures next weekend...

My dogs were trying to tell me to let them inside as I made this video of the inside...
Look at that last frame, Khan rounding the corner while Pacha is telling me to Let. Them. In!

Here I talk about our vintage camper that, for four years now, has been our sole shelter here. We camp pretty much from early March until late November/mid December in that unheated camper... but cramming four people in there was getting pretty crazy and it is going to make a world of difference to now be able to be here year round in a house. (This video was made *last* weekend hence my reference to the unseasonably warm day- this weekend, it was your typical February temperatures!)

It was a crisp but gorgeous winter day and we headed out to the land.
I can't tell you how we all collectively relax but also become so alert / get SO excited as the car crunches slowly down the drive... it's calm in your heart paired with exuberance.
Car stopped by the camper, we tumbled out, and I ran to the modern passive house kit.

It was a cold day. We have no systems hooked up. Ya can't get more, er, zero energy house than that! ; )
Yet when I opened the door to the passive solar house kit, the air inside was noticeably warmer. Not hot-n-toasty, mind you, but the passive solar design alone was enough to keep us from being too chilled. I hustled the cold children inside, and the next time I turned around the four year old was warm enough to have kicked off her shoes. In February.

After getting everyone settled, I headed over to Ron and Judy's to pick up some reused chicken lamps, feeders / waterers for my, ahem, imaginary urban chickens.

As we visited, Ron updated me on the latest costs so I have updated the construction cost post accordingly here. This currently covers foundation, house kit, erection of off grid SIP house kit, installation of cladding / roofing membrane (we decided to have the north roof be membrane), radiant tubing in foundation... erhm, am I missing anything, readers?

That final danged piece o' cladding has arrived from the vendor, and the Amish will finish installing it (and all remaining cladding, they were waiting for that final piece) this week. So expect great finished pictures next weekend.

NOW, for the interior.
You may have recalled we are in the process of refinancing.
We'd be crazy not to- we have the opportunity to drop over 2 points! But... it seems everyone else in the world has the same idea... so we're just waiting...
And waiting...
And... waiting...

In the meantime, we are still sorting out the VMI basketball court wood with which we will line the interior of that main room in the off grid casa ti. It's a basketball court. Of wood.
So, it's takin' some time.

Like you, we have spent time and thought into what our home will look like so have searched and frugally planned over the past few years so that we won't have to decorate from a big box store.

We have acquired quite a few thrift store recycled / reused furniture finds that look, frankly... amazing.
I am excited to put it all together!

But first we need to finish the interior...
And modest systems... (because who needs big systems when you're energy efficient?)

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling... RAWHIDE!

Passive home solar design not only enables your home to "work", it allows you to use less to do more.

My green building architect friend Scott Kyle shared an article last week which embodies this philosophy, and is in line with our own thinking:

You don't need a bunch of systems stuff- if carefully chosen, less is more.

In Vivian Loftness's article Free-Rolling Buildings on GreenSource.com,

"More efficient technologies can help us to achieve a 30-percent reduction, but they will never get us to carbon neutrality. For that we need nature’s renewables—daylight, passive solar heating, natural ventilation, natural cooling. We need mechanical systems that are turned off as long as possible, buildings that “free-roll” through hours, days, months, and seasons."

I push down manufacturer prices to give you volume pricing for the passive solar house kits (homes designed by amazing custom architecture firms!), but everything is a huge investment and when having to make a choice between better but more expensive vs. cheap and poorly-made, your best bet is quality, every time.

This is especially true in systems choices. As our modern off grid house will depend upon energy efficiency, I have been researching the market for appliances that use little or no electricity.

Sometimes the choices I make will not be the most inexpensive, but I believe they will last years longer, even generations, certainly making them the longterm affordable choice. As I consider decisions I think 1. Invest in efficiency and durability but also 2. Do we really *need* all "this" (whatever "this" may be)?

One way we financially achieve systems purchases is by doing it in stages- each year we invest in one more thing, paid for in cash.

For Christmas last year I gave Handsome Hubby a... (drumroll) composting toilet.

Now that composting toilet is much more expensive than just purchasing "a toilet." (And what a wonderful gift, no? I got even with him for the year he gave me car parts.) But when you consider our freedom from having to dig pipes to hook up to a sewer, much less the fact that we won't be contributing to sewage... it's a good, long term, affordable solution.

This year, I will be purchasing the refrigerator and freezer. I have been looking at models that run on propane, and extremely energy efficient electric models that would tie in to solar power.

Regardless which choice I make, I am purchasing the smallest model refrigerator for two reasons:
1. less expensive and
2. our philosophy that really, since we will be buying from our neighbors farms / growing much ourselves seasonally, you really don't need the huge storage- much will be canned, preserved, then the refrigerator supplements/keeps what is used that week.

The freezer will certainly be larger, to hold meat seasonally acquired through friends' free range farms or hunting, but I may hold off on that purchase awhile as technology improves (although there IS a nice solar powered freezer I've had my eye on which could be stored in the shed).

In that same sense of evaluating what we "need" in systems, do we *really need* extreme heating and cooling? Thanks to the passive solar design of our house kit, thanks to the energy efficiency of the structural insulated panels (SIPs), our home will not have extreme fluctuations in temperature, or fast temperature loss/gain.

For heat, we installed radiant heat in the concrete thermal mass.

What about summer? I discussed this with Ron, our contractor... who, like I, wasn't concerned. I have never been a fan of air conditioning- heck, our air conditioning has been set to 80 for years, I just like to "take the edge off" of summer. I've always felt that when it's summer, you should be wearing summer clothes- light dresses, sandals... and often wondered about the health effects of working in companies where you must bring a wool sweater with you in August to work because the dial is set to "frigid."

By using a sun shade on the south side, overhangs in the architecture, and letting the cool air in at night while the hot air escapes through the clerestory windows... we expect to be plenty comfortable.

When evaluating systems, my constant question is "how low can we go?"

It will be interesting look back five years from now and whether our systems choices were indeed, too much or little. (I'm expecting them to be appropriate, as I've done much research, but I'm just saying...)

When I initially envisioned our own house kit, I had dreams of cooking over a wood-fueled kitchen stove which would also heat the house... I dreamed of masonry heaters and evenings spent huddled about its warmth with our children...

Instead, I realized I could be zero energy / more carbon neutral by giving up that nostalgic flickering flame, and achieving better, more evenly-distributed heat with solar powered radiant heat. Our solar cooker will help us supplement many tasks that would otherwise be done via baking / cooking. (You can see some of my early solar cooking experiments here. : ) )

How low WILL we go?

Here are some of the choices I've made: I have decided I really am not passionate about laundry. ; ) Why consume energy in a clothes dryer when you can air dry your clothes outside? (Heck, in winter I'll just hang them in the bathroom, actually, I could hang them anywhere as the floor is concrete! ; ) )

For washing clothes, I have decided to go waaaaaaaaaaaaay low tech, and low water (don't forget, we have no hook up to water, and the rainwater collection and filtration system has not yet been purchased):

Initially we will use (and then maybe not replace?) the Pressure Handwasher, because the Home Queen Wringer Washer is something I can purchase down the road but don't want to pay cash for now. It will encourage us all to not let laundry pile up, thus needing less clothes.

Handsome Husband makes a great point: In the army, they had to "clean" their clothes with a brush, without water. Now, I'm not going to get that rustic, but it certainly inspires me to make sure the "muck" is off the dirty clothes before washing them, therefore needing less water, cleaning better!

Handsome Husband: "I think frugality is fun in this life exercise. I don't see it as a limitation but as an adventure. It's about being conscious, and realizing you really don't 'need' much."

It's also reflected in our interior design.

Unlike a lotta "prototype" homes you see, we are reusing (mostly) thangs we already have and not asking for design handouts in exchange for "publicity." Like you, we have accumulated carefully over time our favorite things, that make a house a "home," that really reflects our family.

Because, like everything, we have carefully considered the future, over years of thrifting and reuse... we dream, we plan, we scavenge. : )

And make it fabulous.