In Belmont, California, architect David Arkin has designed a house that heats and cools itself, and generates it own electricity.

A passive/active system banks the sun’s heat in 2-ft.-deep sand beds underneath the floor slabs. The heat slowly rises into the home and is typically enough to last for up to three weeks of overcast skies. On the roof, the photovoltaic array feeds electricity into the grid until called on for use in the house. Besides reducing energy consumption, the house lessens its impact on the environment through the use of renewable and recyclable building materials such as FSC-certified wood; bamboo; salvaged sheathing, doors and windows; and rubber roofing tiles.

A House for the End of Cheap Oil_FHB179.pdf