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The Sun-Inspired House: House Designs Warmed and Brightened by the Sun
The Sun Inspired Ideas and House Plans Using the Sun to Brighten and Warm Your Home is a unique combination of passive solar information and house plans designed to use the sun to maximum efficiency. The information is educational while the designs are inspirational. The elegant yet functional homes capture the non-polluting heat and wonderful light of the sun in a wide range of warm and welcoming styles. Blueprints are available for most of the designs.
248 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 28, 2016
This book is such a great reminder not to judge by the cover. SOOOO ugly, but so useful. I'm sure the book is out there, but I've yet to find simpler and more explicit advice on building passive solar buildings. The inclusion of floor plans, etc, though likely driven by marketing, is useful to the reader who's shopping for a new lifestyle.
TL/DR If you want to play with passive solar design, you could do much worse than this ugly duckling.
Take-aways:
Orient your home to true, not magnetic south.
Do not deviate from said bearing by more than 10 degrees.
Even successful passive solar homes may struggle to be warm enough in late spring, and cool enough in early fall. Still worth it.
Do not orient a corner to true south, or you're asking for the above issues, on top of poor passive-solar performance.
7-12 percent of your south face should be glazed. Thermal mass should be built in proportional to amount of glazed area over 7 percent.
blah blah blah...
TL/DR If you want to play with passive solar design, you could do much worse than this ugly duckling.
Take-aways:
Orient your home to true, not magnetic south.
Do not deviate from said bearing by more than 10 degrees.
Even successful passive solar homes may struggle to be warm enough in late spring, and cool enough in early fall. Still worth it.
Do not orient a corner to true south, or you're asking for the above issues, on top of poor passive-solar performance.
7-12 percent of your south face should be glazed. Thermal mass should be built in proportional to amount of glazed area over 7 percent.
blah blah blah...
May 23, 2008
My dream house floor plan is in this book! I love the idea of the sun warming my house in the winter (and overhangs designed to block the sun in the summer).
November 13, 2008
Great book to plan how the house sits on your plot. Teaches where the sun will fall on your house in each season
May 12, 2016
Some interesting passive solar house plans to consider,
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews