6) Key Elements of the Proposed Building
A key part of building a solar home is that it faces due south. We're fortunate to have a location on a hillside that gets a full view of the sun even in winter during the key warming hours of the day, say from 9 am to 3 pm. There is a hill on the southern horizon, but it's lower than the lowest angle of the sun on December 21st which is 22° above the horizon. Based on our location at 43° North (about halfway between the equator and the North Pole during the summer solstice) the sun is actually as high as 83° above the horizon, practically straight up! What's important here is that at with proper shading during the warmer months sunlight can be kept completely outside the house.
At the equinoxes (September 21st and March 21st) the sun is at approximately 47° above the horizon. So the plan is to shade the south-facing windows that sunlight starts entering in late-September and starts getting blocked in late-March, free heat when we need it most!
At this juncture our plan is install aluminum sunshades over the south-facing windows. We think this is the best option for our environment, light-weight, but able to shed snow when you need to. Something like these:
Notice how they leave the view completely unimpeded, yet completely block the noonday summer sun.
Thermal mass is another design element that will be important. What this entails is having a solid block of stone that can absorb the sun's energy when sunlight falls on it. An interest benefit of thermal mass is that it slowly releases the energy (heat) it receives during the evening hours, essentially acting as a heat sink.
Accordingly, we plan to have an extra thick insulated concrete slab in the exercise room /basement and a 4 inch thick suspended slab on the main living floor. I find it
incredibly interesting that the Indians of the South West used thermal mass in the building of their pueblos. This video shows the concept better than words: https://vimeo.com/113411439
Another idea for shading is to use vegetation to block unwanted sun. Originally I was thinking sunflowers would be great. They grow tall and quickly, they're
beautiful and more importantly, they fit the sun narrative. But recent advice from Jennifer Severidt, an energy consultant with Efficiency Vermont, seems to
have a lot of merit: hops!
They grow taller and more quickly than sunflowers, they smell good, and most importantly, you can use them to make beer. We're planning on starting to raise some vines next spring.
