Understated Solar for Gray Winters
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Kawecki's design also incorporates a hybrid feature in the sunspace: A blower can draw hot air from the sunspace peak and force it into the crawl space, which serves as a plenum for the home's auxiliary heating system. Thus warmth can be actively distributed to remote parts of the house, and some heat is no doubt stored in a 6" layer of gravel on the crawl space floor. A thermostat switches the blower on when the temperature in the sunspace peak surges on sunny days.
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LIVING THERE
The Pipics happened on Joseph Kawecki in the process of looking for property to build on. They were smitten by a five-acre plot that turned out to be a part of Kawecki's Genesis Solar Subdivision, and they ended up building a solar house largely at his urging. (Make no mistake: After remodeling a turn-of-the-century house in which the fuel bills were higher than the mortgage, Tom and Crystal were definitely in the market for energy efficiency. But they were more interested in superinsulation than solar design before meeting the architect.)
The plan was developed in the spring of 1981, and Kawecki's construction firm, Solartherm Builders, got to work in June of that year. (Though a Kawecki design is a requirement for building in Genesis, the owners have their choice of builders. Tom and Crystal picked Joseph's firm and are convinced that the experience of the Solartherm craftsmen in solar techniques — along with the architect's watchful eye — had a lot to do with the quality of the finished product.)
As the Solartherm craftsmen worked on the structure, the Pipics collected recycled materials for the project. They bought timbers, which ended up being used in their living room, from a 150-year-old barn that was being disassembled (at a cost of one-third of new); bought and restored a half-dozen 8'-high ornate oak doors (part of the reason for the 9' ceiling on the first floor); and repaired and refinished the windows that were eventually used for air circulation between the sunspace and living area on the first and second floors.
Solartherm completed the 2,150-square-foot basic structure in about eight months, and Tom and Crystal (with their third child, Josh, well on the way) did much of the finish work in the fall. Many hours went into the hardwood floors, tile, brickwork and stonework, landscaping, and a deck in back before the family moved in in February of 1982. Then, over the next year, Tom finished a 400-square-foot, fully insulated shop, office, and storage area on the west end of their home.
