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Old 02-04-2015, 04:38 AM
 
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Can anyone tell me the price range for a passive solar retrofit on an existing house? Cannot do DIY.

We have been planning to buy land and build a passive solar house on it (Colorado Springs area) but it seems that the costs are way higher than we expected. The price per sqft we were quoted for a custom house was $200, maybe as low as $150. I am leaning towards getting a house with good solar exposure and retrofitting it but I'm having a hard time finding pricing for the job.

The house would be around 2,000 sqft.

If you guys know any contractors doing this kind of work it would also be very helpful. I need to start somewhere before I buy land vs. house.
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Old 02-04-2015, 05:02 AM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Very tough to do a passive retrofit, as you need to position home and under home storage optimally. (and build home with passive in mind / trombe walls / thermal mass ...) Sometimes a 'sunroom addition' will suffice for a passive retrofit. (build thermal storage under sunroom addition)

If you cannot do yourself, you will be paying dearly ($200/ sf is cheap for passive)

I DIY for $50 / SF. My next will be a 'rammed earth home' they are very pretty (in and out). It will use 'annualized solar' (Very popular in Japan, not yet in USA... CHEAP power, expensive contractors / temporary (cheap) housing focus (single generation lifespan))

I built my first passive home near Ft Collins in late 1970's. Check to see if CSU still has a program, they had 4 solar homes that got reconfigured every yr and had a show for the public.

Now I am in PNW, Passive Solar is a challenge with 280 days / yr gray sky and drizzle. I still get ~ 50% Heating requirement from passive. (I don't do active, tho have in the past). It is not as fun / maint free.

Be SURE to zone heat passive, and adequately insulate thermal mass (so as to not overheat in Colorado warm / sunny winter days).


Contractors... mixed bag... like restaurant owners.. bit too proud of their own work to take reasonable suggestions. They come and go (quickly) and will be GONE if their suggestions don't work well.!

Do lots of research and KNOW what you want, a contractor will know what they think you want! You will live with the results daily.

be SURE to secure your solar exposure (neighbor might decide to build a high-rise / trees in your solar exposure!) A bigger problem in PNW where trees grow to 300 ft tall.
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Old 02-04-2015, 06:53 AM
 
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I am wondering how effective a thermal mass we can create by using simple changes like tile floor and a greenhouse addition with concrete floor and if it is a feasible plan to circulate this air into the house. Of course, the first thing would be to upgrade insulation and windows. Relying on the foundation for heat storage would probably not be possible as that is not something that can be changed.

When you say you did $50/sqft DIY, that is a brand new home?
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Old 02-04-2015, 07:59 AM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
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Only $200/soft. Sounds cheap to me.
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Old 02-04-2015, 09:51 AM
 
Location: 0.83 Atmospheres
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post
Only $200/soft. Sounds cheap to me.
We were just over $200 on our build. Definitely not builder grade.
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Old 02-04-2015, 10:23 AM
 
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Wow, that is way too much for a 2,000 sqft home... even considering the savings on utilities. Maybe I should start looking into retrofits. I understand that I can never achieve the same energy efficiency but there must be some low-cost improvements that result in a good chunk of savings on our bills. I'm not shooting for net zero of Passivhaus standards by any means. Any thoughts?

My goal is to reduce my living expenses as much as possible for the retirement years. Going into long-term debt to have an efficient home will not help.
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Old 02-04-2015, 10:32 AM
 
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We're fighting the utilities by downsizing from 2200 sq.ft. to about 800 sq. ft. Beyond that it's gonna be all about insulation and an efficient (whole house system) wood stove. It's definitely NOT new construction but we bought a house on 4 acres with a year round creek for less than 1/2 of that $200 a sq ft projected cost estimate. Building a house in the hills just isn't a cheap proposition. (been there, done that...3X)

For retro...one idea would be to (over) insulate....and buy a house that you can add a well-designed/effective passive greenhouse/sunroom onto.

good luck with your project
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Old 02-04-2015, 12:03 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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$50 sf DIY = new passive custom rural home with basement and lots of stone / tile / natural wood and energy star.
no granite / marble for me, tho I could do within $50/sf if I liked that stuff.
My Passive solar is free, I don't buy fancy stuff.

I buy new certified windows from dealers who have miss ordered.
I get Lots of supplies from Habitat ReStore or similar ($4 light fixtures and doors)
Freecycle gets me some supplies (I do new flooring, but no opposed to used on some items)

I build 'low tax' and often build a shop and add an apartment inside (out of view of assessor)
Mine are all rural with view, so I have extra expenses (Septic / well / long power runs, and lots of grading / and barns). I do most of this myself (in my free time), as I have always had 2-3 jobs, including a farm and homeschooling (kids each designed and built their own passive homes (under $50/sf) as homeschool projects while age 12 - 15.

I like to find a trashed mobile home or house on beautiful acreage and use my bulldozer to create a new look! I can turn one of these places in 2 months. I usually turn them into rental with RV site for me (when I am around the area).

Free housing is nice when retired W/O pension (since pre age 50),
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Old 02-04-2015, 12:21 PM
 
2,253 posts, read 6,957,630 times
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Wink Passively non passive

You might want to begin by studying the design of and what truly passive solar homes can be:
Earthship Biotecture - Radically Sustainable Buildings

Retrofitting an existing home can work to an extent. It can work well and even not that expensively if one understands the inherent limitations. So something like a sunroom with excess heat pumped into the greater house, yes. But it can only work in proportion.

With any familiarity in this one will soon realize that most houses in the US are NOT built with energy efficiency in mind. The newer ones to an extent in that they must meet revised building codes in minimum R-ratings in insulation and windows. But in all cases these are minimum standards. Moreover the siting of most homes is abysmal. It is as if these suburbs were designed in Cleveland (or maybe Jakarta), but anyway not locally, and in any event in styles which have everything to do with eye appeal and little with energy efficiency. That is just the building, and then plopped down in any old way in relation to the sun. The windows are not sized right, pointing in the wrong direction, on and on.

Having a cozy and relatively inexpensive home on a budget should be possible. In Colorado one of your bigger expenses could be but the land. But of course everything reflects on the bottom line. I've referred you to Earthship architecture, being excellent passive homes. If keep in mind that even traditional looking homes can incorporate many of these features. Basically one wants serious insulation, as well using the sun effectively in trapping its heat, and also releasing at times. Solar panels can be used for hot water as well electricity. In electricity, their price has dropped far enough that it makes sense to incorporate this feature if envisioning living in the home for any length of time.

You can have a very comfortable home. All the more if studying first what will make it so.
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Old 02-04-2015, 12:40 PM
 
242 posts, read 409,489 times
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One should also mention the limitations on building alternative type homes like earthships/rammed earth/etc. These are great approaches but sometimes VERY hard sells for the County building guy....just depends where you are, really....and if anyone else has proposed/been granted the AOK to proceed with such construction previously. Either way...you will need a good engineer/etc.

And if you aren't DIY...it's gonna eclipse $200 a sq very quickly because it is ALL custom work with an "alternative" price tag added on. Those structures are muy labor-intensive. (but oh so cool) Because we purchased an existing home and will at best, be retrofitting some of the systems...we are going to build a greenhouse ala earthship...with many of the same features sans the living area....mainly for fun/because we will have the time to do so...and because our "retirement" (life change) goal is year-round gardening/supplementation of our food so we know WTF we are ingesting as much as possible.
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