Builidng a house from the “Affordable Passive Solar Planbook for North Carolina”
I have the opportunity to possibly build a new house on a piece of farmland. I’m trying to keep the costs down, and I really want to incorporate ways to reduce build cost and future cost of heating the home. I’m in Calgary, Alberta.
Has anyone built a home out of the Affordable Passive Solar Planbook for North Carolina? Are these plans still viable? Has there been big changes to the principles behind passive solar heating since this was written? I like how I can get the plans for free, and they are smaller houses. The only thing that I see that maybe changed is that I believe I would need more insulation under the cement pad (plans say 2″ – I’m guessing closer to 4″ would be preferred). The plans also have different ways to build the walls, roof, and pad – how do I know what is best for my climate? Ex; Monolithic slab with turned down footing vs. contained slab with concret bock & 1×6 nailer vs 2×4 ladder frame.
I like the “Mountain Laurel” design
Book found here: http://energy.appstate.edu/sites/energy.appstate.edu/files/APSplanbook.pdf
Plans found here: http://energy.appstate.edu/programs/70
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
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Sorry - I should mention this makes me zone 7 (although I think it's a little odd that all of Canada is one zone...)
Solange,
First of all, I'm not sure why you think all of Canada is in one climate zone. Here is a link to a map showing Canadian climate zones:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/climate-zone-map-including-canada
Solange,
Second: Your instincts were correct when you suspected that the book you linked to, "Affordable Passive Solar Planbook for North Carolina," is based on outmoded principles. The book accurately describes rules of thumb developed in the early 1980s. Even though this book was published in 2005, the authors somehow missed all of the building science developments of the late 1980s and 1990s, including R-2000 research in Canada, the development of superinsulation techniques in the U.S., and the development of the Passivhaus standard.
For more information on this issue, see Reassessing Passive Solar Design Principles.
That said, choosing a house design is a very personal decision. If you have found a house design you like, you might want to use it as the basis for your dream house. Just remember that you'll need to pay attention to airtightness details; that a house in Canada needs thicker insulation and better windows than a house in North Carolina; and that large expanses of south-facing glazing don't make much sense.
Thanks very much for your advice Martin, you may have just saved me a lot of money. I'll look into your article and see what I can fish out!