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We designed for passive solar, and also installed a solar hot water system
(inset, also visible on the dormer roof). Our house is more properly
called "sun tempered" since we're not trying to maximize how much
passive solar we use. Still, we believe we get about 25% of our heat from
passive solar, just by putting extra windows on the south side, and
super-insulating the house. Most of our windows have overhangs to keep out
the summer sun. Although some windows don't have overhangs, we had no
overheating problems last summer, which was much warmer than usual. If we
ever have a problem, we will hang exterior bamboo screen on eyehooks.
These south facing windows are double pane, with a low-E coating optimized
for solar gain. All the other windows in the house are triple pane with a
low-E coating optimized to prevent heat loss/gain.
To find out more about energy & solar, click here.
To find out more about our HVAC system, click here.
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