UNIT ONE BEAUTY AND FUNCTION

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The Balcomb home is known as Unit One, because it was the original dwelling in a planned environmental community called First Village. Architect William Lumpkins—with solar engineers/ designers/builders Susan and Wayne Nichols—chose to blend a selection of solar techniques (many of which were pioneered by solar innovator Hal Miguel and used in his own Tusuque, New Mexico residence) ... rather than invest all their capital and energy in one system.

The resulting hybrid solar design consists of a greenhouse, a thermal mass wall, and two rock heat storage beds equipped with fans. This solar collecting system is not only fully integrated into the building's design (and thus made attractive)... it really works: In the high-energydemand New Mexico highlands environment, Unit One is 80% solar heated to a minimum temperature of 65°F. So, with 4/5 of the warmup" duties handled by ol' Sol, the Balcombs' backup electric heaters consume an average of only 850 KWH per year ... or roughly $48 (at the current power rate in New Mexico). Many folks would be overjoyed to spend that little on heat in one month!

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

Over 80% of Unit One's solar-collected warmth enters passively through the 409 square feet of double-pane thermal glass which forms the greenhouse. The L-shaped house is entirely faced—along its southern exposure—by this solarium. Twothirds of the glass (that is, 16 of the standard patio-size 32" X 76" glass panels) is angled at 60 degrees to throw sunlight on an adobe wall which separates the greenhouse from the living area. The other eight double-glazed panes stand vertically—at ground level—and the center two can be opened to provide ventilation.

The earthen wall—which tapers from a 14" thickness at its base to 10" at its peak some 20 feet above the floor level—is the primary storage and transfer system for Unit One's solar heating. By noon on a chilly winter day, the surface temperature of the wall will climb to as high as 110°F. Then slowly—over the course of the next 10 hours—that heat works its way through the earth-brick barrier. By 10:00 p.m. the inside of the wall reaches about 80°F ... and keeps the living area warm through the remainder of the night. By morning, however, most of the heat is dissipated ... leaving the adobe ready to temper the living area through the day (when—even in the winter—the home's interior would otherwise warm rapidly). This slow transfer of the heat of the sun is what solar engineers call indirect gain.

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