Energy/Money-Smart Building Tactics

Imagine how much money and resources could be saved if homes took advantage of the free energy sources of sunlight, wind, and other natural phenomenon around them. Am I starting to sound eco-geeky? I recently watched a documentary entitled “Building with Awareness: The Construction of a Hybrid Home” that followed a home designer in the process of building his straw-bale adobe home in New Mexico, and thought it outlined some energy-smart and resourceful home design features that could be easy to incorporate in most homes. I should clarify that I do not support environmentalism and I believe that man, and his progress, is as natural and rightful as the other animals that inhabit Earth. But in our quest to gain greater and more intelligent control of our environment, and to live sustainably so as to flourish for a long time, I think it is logical to seek the most value for the least resources, energy and money. Here are a few home design ideas for energy efficiency and aesthetics that I gleaned from “Building with Awareness” which would be easy to incorporate in most homes but are not always used on today’s building scene.

Shrink It Down

• A concept that might be hard for some to swallow is building a home no larger than you really need, but incorporating design and aesthetic features that would fulfill the requirements for which extra square footage would otherwise be compensating. Obviously, a smaller house uses less heat, electricity and resources, so savings would be found there. Some ideas for making a smaller house more comfortable are the following:
  • To visually open up smaller spaces, the designer could direct the eye to the outdoors and ensure plenty of natural light through strategically placed windows on at least two sides of every room.
  • Two spaces, each too small on their own, can be softly divided by a short wall so that the overall area feels bigger.
  • In order to define two distinct living areas in one space, part of the floor in one section could be raised or lowered, a technique often found in Japanese design. The raised part also provides a valuable storage area underneath the floor.

Passive Heating and Cooling

• The documentary said that more than half the heating needs of the home they built could be supplied by the sun alone. Being cognizant of where and when sunlight covers a house in designing and orienting the house can make a huge difference to the heating and cooling of the house without the help of natural gas, electricity, or air conditioning. Though the use of passive solar systems usually does not meant that mechanical methods of heating and cooling are completely eliminated, it will mean that the size or energy usage of the traditional mechanical method will be reduced.
  • Ensuring the majority of the windows face South will allow the most sunlight into the home, especially in winter months. Conversely, North facing windows will only serve to drain the home of heat in cold weather, so windows on that side should be kept small and to minimal, only what is necessary for natural light and cross ventilation. Another option is to have the roof slope downward from the South side to the North side, to eliminate the size of the North wall and thus heat loss, and promote heat gain on the South side.
  • Darker and more massive walls and floors will convert light energy to heat energy. This material is called Thermal Mass, and this process is referred to as Direct Gain. Adobe walls and concrete floors are especially suited to this. Heavy materials such like these will slowly warm up and absorb heat all day long and release it at night. An advancement on this system is to incorporate convention with the thermal mass storage where the sunlight heats a thermal storage wall which heats a confined space full of air, which then is circulated into the adjacent room. Alternatively, the sunlight could heat a liquid such as water in pipes, which will then circulate and distribute its heat throughout the home. See this good link about Passive Solar Heating and Cooling.
  • Thermal mass works in favor of cooling the house as well. In summer, opening windows at night will cool down the thermal mass. In morning, the windows are shut to keep out the heat of the day. The thermal mass will absorb excess heat during the day.
  • Any glass in the West and East sides of the home will allow the late afternoon summer sun to overheat the inside of the house, so windows should be kept to a minimum here unless the wall could be shaded by some means.
  • Two openings on opposite ends of the ceiling create cross-ventilation to eliminate trapped heat.
  • Place rooms to which heat isn’t as important on the North side like storage areas, utility room, etc.
  • One of my favorite design features is the roof overhang. In winter, the sunlight comes in at an acute angle, just below the overhang of the roof, which will assist in heating the house. In summer, the overhang blocks direct sun from entering the house, thereby keeping the house cooler.

Miscellaneous other design features:

• Radiant heating is one of the more efficient methods of heating because it puts the heat where you want it, at the floor. Forced air tends to sent heat to the ceiling right away.
• Situating rooms or appliances that use hot water close together will ensure a short distance for hot water to travel and thus less heat lost. For example, the mechanical room with the hot water tank/in floor heating tanks could be placed directly adjacent to the bathroom and kitchen sink.
• Rain water could be collected from the roof to meet some or all of the home’s water needs. The documentary suggests a metal roof because it is durable and won’t contaminate the rain water collected like asphalt shingles would.
• As windows play an important role in passive heating and cooling, choosing the right windows which have a higher or even positive energy rating is essential. Likewise with the insulation of the outside walls and roof.

Here’s a thought I had, and maybe someone could tell me if it would work. Could outdoor mirrors be situated outside and angled to reflect sunlight onto sides of the house that would usually receive less, like those tanning mirrors? They could be covered up in summer.

There are so many possibilities for resource-smart design that most are probably yet to be invented.

Photo source: The Laetz House in Michigan http://www.urbanoptions.org/RenewableEnergy/SolarSpaceHeatingPassive.htm