Sun Plans :: Sun-Inspired Passive Solar House Plans Drawings Available for Passive Solar Sun Plans In addition to creating new sun-inspired designs, Sun Plans has several types of house plan drawings that will make planning a sun-inspired home easier! Customization of each design is available. Choose from several options as described below or begin with: Illustrates the sun-inspired principles in both educational material and in house plan examples. Study the design of a home inside and out without the clutter of construction information. Review the construction details of a house plan with your builder, who may create a budget estimate. Ready to build! Make changes, then build. A service that reverses the home along the north-south axis. A comprehensive service included with Construction Prints and CAD Files. Alert: Several customers have mentioned that certain builders and designers (architects typically are aware of the illegal nature of the action) have told them that they do not need to purchase Construction Prints or CAD files. New!
Passive Solar Home Design Passive solar design takes advantage of a building’s site, climate, and materials to minimize energy use. A well-designed passive solar home first reduces heating and cooling loads through energy-efficiency strategies and then meets those reduced loads in whole or part with solar energy. Because of the small heating loads of modern homes it is very important to avoid oversizing south-facing glass and ensure that south-facing glass is properly shaded to prevent overheating and increased cooling loads in the spring and fall. Energy Efficiency First Before you add solar features to your new home design or existing house, remember that energy efficiency is the most cost-effective strategy for reducing heating and cooling bills. Site Selection If you’re planning a new passive solar home, a portion of the south side of your house must have an unobstructed “view” of the sun. How a Passive Solar Home Design Works Properly oriented windows. Refining the Design Direct Gain Indirect Gain (Trombe Wall)
Kids Guide To Solar Power At Home | House Plans and More “Energy efficiency” is the term used to refer to the good use of electricity. Appliances, computers and even cars use electricity. The demand for electricity and the difficulty in creating electricity make it imperative that everyone use it wisely. With so many people using energy all day, every day, the government and even individuals are looking for new energy sources. Solar Power Information Solar Basics: This site, provided for by the U.S. Solar Power in the Home Kids Saving Energy: The US Department of Energy provides a fun page for kids about using energy wisely in the home, games and renewable energy information Energy Star Kids: A great website for kids about saving energy in the home. Solar Activities Energy Quest: On this page the State of California has created games about solar power. Save this article to: back to top
Cabin Porn Welcome to the Home of the Future Solar House | Solar Energy Systems This is a home in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The house includes a fully integrated solar roof that is interconnected with the local utility grid. The solar electric system is provided by a Canadian company, ARISE Technologies. This system uses an inverter which regulates the energy produced by the solar PV panels on the roof making the system completely compatible with the home's local utility provider. This solar home, replete with solar panels, harvests energy from the sun to generate electricity and heat. The home is also equipped with a solar thermal array that provides all of the pool heating and a good part of the domestic hot water. As well, part of the home's space heating requirements is covered by solar thermal heating. In addition to all these features, the home is constructed using passive solar design principles. Special thanks to ARISE for the use of this photo and adapted material.
Form and Pour a Concrete Slab Project overview and what you can save Forming and pouring a concrete slab can be intimidating. Your heart races because you know that any mistake, even a little one, can quickly turn your slab into a big mess, a mistake literally cast in stone. In this article, we'll walk you through the slab-pouring process so you get it right the first time. We'll pay particular attention to the tough parts where you're most likely to goof. Still, pouring a large concrete slab isn't a job for a beginner. The bulk of the work for a new slab is in the excavation and form building. In our area, hiring a concrete contractor to pour a 16 x 20-ft. slab like this one would cost $3,000 to $4,000. Step 1: Prepare the site Before you get started, contact your local building department to see whether a permit is required and how close to the lot lines you can build. Your concrete slab will last longer, with less cracking and movement, if it's built on solid, well-drained soil. Thickened slab detail 1 of 3 2 of 3
About the Home Energy Score | Better Buildings Initiative Imagine you are in the market to buy a car and comparing your options. You are weighing a number of factors in your purchasing decision, including performance, cost, size, and appearance. When you ask the salesperson what the miles-per-gallon rating for each car is, they shrug and say, “I don’t know.” Even if fuel efficiency is not the only factor you are considering, this would probably concern you as a prospective buyer. And yet, this is how most people make decisions when buying or renting a home: without any information about how much energy the home is expected to use, how much this will cost them, or how to cost-effectively lower energy expenses. Developed by DOE and its national laboratories, the Home Energy Score provides home owners, buyers, and renters directly comparable and credible information about a home's energy use. The Home Energy Score Report estimates home energy use, associated costs, and provides energy solutions to cost-effectively improve the home's efficiency.
Top 10 Renewable Energy Sources There are many sources of energy that are renewable and considered to be environmentally friendly and harness natural processes. These sources of energy provide an alternate ‘cleaner’ source of energy, helping to negate the effects of certain forms of pollution. All of these power generation techniques can be described as renewable since they are not depleting any resource to create the energy. While there are many large-scale renewable energy projects and production, renewable technologies are also suited to small off-grid applications, sometimes in rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. Tidal energy can be generated in two ways, tidal stream generators or by barrage generation. Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example for electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water (into reservoirs). Listverse Staff Listverse is a place for explorers.
Free Adirondack Chair Plan {Printable} This month Lowe’s challenged me to do something to enhance my backyard. I have always wanted Adirondack chairs along the lake. So we took the challenge and made a chair for each family member! The chairs go together quite easily and this a great way to get the whole family building! First download the Adirondack chair template. Free Adirondack Chair Plans Printable Download Supplies for Adirondack Chair 60 -1 1/2″ deck screws 10 – 2″ X 1/4″ carriage bolts along with flat nuts and washers 2 – 12 ft 1 X 6 treated lumber (on one cut the middle back of chair, upper back support, one seat, and two arms) (on the second cut two legs, the first seat piece/bottom support for back, and two seat pieces) 1 – 8 ft 1 x 4 treated lumber (cut both support for arms, the front cross piece of chair, and two legs) 1 – 10 ft 1 x 4 treated lumber (cut all four of the remaining back of chair) Lay all templates out before cutting, carefully placing to get the most pieces from one board. Screw on seat boards.
What is an EPC rating? Residential EPCs explained - Evergreen Energy Sustainable Home What is an EPC rating? Residential EPCs explained In the UK, Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are an essential part of buying, selling and renting homes. But what is an EPC rating? What is an EPC rating? In short, an EPC rating is a review of a property’s energy efficiency. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, EPCs are carried out by EPC assessors or ‘Domestic Energy Assessors’ (in Scotland, they must be government-approved organisations). Your house’s EPC rating will depend on: The amount of energy used per m²The level of carbon dioxide emissions (given in tonnes per year) Once issued, the EPC will be valid for 10 years – if your EPC is older than this, you’ll need to get a new EPC issued before you can sell or rent your house. Anyone can access a house’s EPC online for free via the EPC register, so they come in handy when comparing potential future homes on paper. But there’s a bit more to it than that. The importance of a high EPC rating Estimated energy costs