earthtown1

The keys to passive solar design are simple.

1) Make as much use as possilbe of the earth's
natural temperature of approximately 55 deg. f.
2) INSULATION, INSULATION, INSULATION
11 inch thick walls with a rating of R35.
3) Use smaller windows and put shutters on all
windows.
4) Build a smaller house.
5) Design the house with a central area to heat
with cooler rooms: bedrooms, guest rooms, craft
rooms and utility rooms around the central area.

I am presently working on the basic design of a solar cottage. It has
three walls bermed up with earth to the bottom of the windows and
'thermal wings' to maintain the earth's core temperature around the
building. The walls are 11 inches thick with an R value of about R 35.
The ceiling will be around R 50. It is less than 800 square feet with a
central living, kitchen area. The utility room is on one side of the
central area and the bedroom on the other side of the central area.

The windows will have thermal shutters to close at night. These will
greatly reduce the huge heat loss that occurs in windows.

Note that a room with no doors or windows, R35 walls and R50
ceiling could be heated with one or two light bulbs. The potential
hydrocarbon savings from a well designed home are amazing.

Efficient Home Design
Note that there is no rocket science involved with this design.
The home is simply bermed into the earth a bit,
and built with 11 inch walls for lots of insulation.
With the upcoming oil crisis, this design will pay for itself many times over.

The 'Thermal Barrier' is rigid
foam insulation that keeps the
temperature changes of the
upper soil layer from
effecting the temperature of
the lower layer of soil and
the footings of the building.

The earth temperature below the 'Thermal Barrier' is at a constant 53 to 57 degrees F
depending on your north-south location in the country.
Having a house that is partially bermed into the earth brings this temperature to the lower half of the walls of the house.
This automatically keeps you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.