[Greenbuilding] Advice on siting a home when the view is to the north

Gary Reysa gary at builditsolar.com
Sun Oct 23 16:31:14 CDT 2016


Hi,
There are lots of solar air heating collector designs that could be
integrated into the south wall in non-window areas.  Ideas here:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/Space_Heating.htm#Passive
and
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/Space_Heating.htm#ActiveAir

I have seen solar air heating collectors integrated into the south wall
with very aesthetically pleasing results.  This could also be quite cost
effective if you can find a cooperative carpenter.

Another option would a low thermal mass sunspace on the south wall that
would produce heat for the house and also provide useful space for a wide
variety of uses at a low cost per sqft.  Since you probably don't want to
look at the south views anyway, the glazing could be twiinwall
polycarbonate which is efficient and looks good and is easy to work with.
Performance and design data and examples on low mass sunspaces here:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/Space_Heating.htm#LowMassSS
Low mass sunspaces basically give you all the gain of windows or collectors
with the added benefits of no worries about overheating, useful extra sq
footage, and good looks.
Note Nick Pine's three story sunspace at the link above.

You could use a Trombe wall, but they are not very efficient, and unless
you need the stored heat they don't have any advantage over regular
collectors or windows.
If you search this page for Trombe, there are several examples and a
Thermal Storage Wall Design Manual by Alex Wilson.
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/Space_Heating.htm

On the north wall, I'd consider including good thermal shades with side
"energy tracks" to block the flow of air around the edges -- we use some
from Symphony Shades and like them.  Power up/down would be nice -
especially for ones that are hard to reach.

Gary
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