Understated Solar for Gray Winters
(Page 4 of 4)
For the first two winters, the Pipics were able to use wood that had been cut to make room for the house as their sole source of backup heat. This winter, however, they'll have to bring in a little extra to supplement the deadfall from the wooded four acres beh ind their home. They've found that a single fire in their Vermont Vigilant in the evening will keep the home comfortable through the night; the sun takes over in the morning. Gain from the sunspace can handle daytime heating on about 75% of the winter days, whether it's clear or cloudy. All told, they burn 2 to 2-1/2 cords per winter and have yet to turn on their heat pump.
RELATED CONTENT
Want to know how to build your own photovoltaic system, how to construct a solar water pump, or eve...
It’s not every day that you get a chance to tour a green home. Well, here’s your opportunity! Every...
A string of new solar manufacturing plants are scheduled to open within the next few years....
From California to New Jersey, utilities across the nation are pursuing developments in solar power...
How this family built a solar-powered heating unit for $25....
Tom and Crystal are sure they could cut their need for auxiliary heat if they were fastidious enough to use night insulation on the double-glazed patio windows in the sunspace. (They also regret building before the new efficient glazing systems were introduced.) In fact, though they closed of the sunspace from the rest of the house during the first few months after they moved in, they've since discovered that the woodstove will easily heat the sunspace and house at night. Now, instead of closing the doors and windows at night, they keep them open and maintain tropical plants in the sunspace year-round. This may mean that more wood is burned than is absolutely necessary, but—in any event—the family enjoys the closeness and comfort of gathering in the evening around the radiant warmth of their woodstove.
Joseph Kawecki's calculated and cautious design has given the Pipics a new home that uses very little energy—while maintaining stable indoor temperature and humidity in winter and summer—against the odds of an unpredictable climate. It's not an all-out solar scheme . . . but it probably foretells a powerful trend in design for the Midwest.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 | 4 |
