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Back in my ecohippy days I spent many days daydreaming about building a passive solar cobb-style home. I always thought of New Mexico for some reason. Wasn't there some guy who build "earth ships" out that way (might have been up near Taos)? Anyhow, ABQ seems ideal for passive solar and other green building techniques,but most of the houses I see on the RE websites look like classic ranches or upscale adobe-style McMansions. Is there a part of town where passive solar homes are common and reasonably affordable?
As an aside, I will say, in my first (and only) little home in Ashland, Oregon, after freezing and sweltering, I blew in insulation and put in double pane windows, and it improved the comfort level immensely. Now, when the outside temp hits 95, the interior never breaks 80,even without AC. I just throw the windows open at night, close them by 10 am, and I am set. I turn off the heat every night at 10 pm, and flip it back on at 5 am before the sprought gets up, and it works pretty well on all except the coldest nights (around here they would be about 10 F). So, I am a believer on the value of good insulation and weatherstripping,etc. Passive solar would be even more perfect. Earth pumps (not sure this is the name, but they pump coolant though coils that pass through the earth under the house and so stabilize the temp closer to the mean annual temperature) seem very cool too.
Last edited by Fiddlehead; 08-27-2011 at 06:56 PM..
They definitely exist. I have seen at least 2-3, but I don't think they are plentiful, unfortunately (passive solar, that is - I think there are more homes that are defined as "green"). I agree with you about the benefits of passive solar and other "green" features.
Hmm....I thought that was the epicenter of that stuff.
Here in Oregon, we have ecowarriors up in Eugene going on and on about solar, but the climate just stinks for it. Not enough sun for 6-8 month a year to run a toaster. Down there, it seems like you would be pumping the kilowatts all winter.
Wasn't there some guy who build "earth ships" out that way (might have been up near Taos)? Anyhow, ABQ seems ideal for passive solar and other green building techniques,but most of the houses I see on the RE websites look like classic ranches or upscale adobe-style McMansions.
ABQ is ideal for what you describe but there seem to be only pockets of passive solar homes here and there. The Eldorado community near Santa Fe actually began as a passive solar development in the 1970s.
You're thinking about Mike Reynolds. There is a bit of an earthship community near Taos...with a lot of designs by Mike Reynolds. Do a search for Michael Reynolds...Taos...earthships...and you can find some good photos and info.
Hmm....I thought that was the epicenter of that stuff.
Here in Oregon, we have ecowarriors up in Eugene going on and on about solar, but the climate just stinks for it. Not enough sun for 6-8 month a year to run a toaster. Down there, it seems like you would be pumping the kilowatts all winter.
Dunno about points north, but you still get enough sunshine in Eugene to make solar work. 2-3 sunhours per day there vs. 5-6 sunhours per day here in January, and 4-5 vs. 6-7 here annually. "Cloudshine" still powers PV.
Don't take my word for it. Germany has more PV capacity installed than the rest of Europe combined (or the US for that matter), and their weather is likewise not ideal for solar. All Eugene needs is twice as much area of solar panels as we need here in the desert to run all the toasters they want.
Once you start getting into Portland and points north, it starts getting to be a much tougher sell.
Environmentally Friendly Green Home Design Details from Lee Michael Homes (http://www.leemichaelhomes.com/ecofriendly-greenhomes.shtml - broken link)
Doesn't just about everybody "build green" these days? I think there's a list of green builders in ABQ that includes just about every custom builder, if not more... it's hard to know what is the difference between green building and "green" building, if you know what I mean.
It also seems that a lot of green features are the standard these days (low-E windows, for example). Opinions?
'Green' is a marketing term just like 'sustainable.' But that builder is doing a number of things that are not required, therefore a lot of builders don't do them because they cost extra and the builder can't recover the cost. A green home with all the bells and whistles in a cookie-cutter subdivision is going to appraise for the same $/sq ft as one without it.
If you are looking for more exotic features, PV roof shingles, geothermal hvac systems, waste water recycling, etc - then you are going to be in the high-end custom home market. Then it becomes a matter of the savings to investment ratio and/or how much money you want to spend for a principle.
Passive Solar is an interesting term. It makes one think of some sort
of "set it and forget it" system. Anyplace I have lived, I have taken
advantage of lower nighttime temperatures with open windows and
then closed them when temps got warmer outside than inside.
I've opened curtains on windows that face the sun when it is winter and
I need some "solar heating" and closed them other times of the year.
Many homes have "solar rooms" that gain energy from the sun and store
it somehow with stone and/or water. They are not entirely passive if
they use a blower to send heated air into other areas of the house.
In my comutes through North Sandia acres - a part of town with a lot
of "extra" money floating around, many people are installing "active"
solar ( photovoltaic ) panels ( and some water-circulating systems ).
These systems are really more "passive" from the standpoint of the user,
since once they are installed, the user doesn't really need to do anything
to them except possibly aim them two or four times a year if possible.
Comments on these two developments are most welcome.
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