Biodiversivist (Russ Finley) on grist puts forth the idea of the "hybrid solar home," starting out with the idea that American homes are just too large to be heated effectively with solar, which has caused a push to lower the cost of solar panels.But how about creating a hybrid solar home, a cross of an expensive solar heating and cooling system with an optimally sized home? Finley proposes a well-designed, energy-efficient 10 by 40 foot park model trailer, facing south.
Finley states that smaller houses can be just as desirable as larger ones, IF properly designed. If these hybrid solar homes took off, having a larger house could even become a liability, according to Finley.
Sounds awesome, although 10 by 40 (roughly 400 square feet) sounds a bit on the small side, especially if you have kids. Although I do agree that a well-designed small home can outmatch a poorly-designed large home any day.
1 comment:
I have just built a new traditional style 4000 sq. ft. passive solar home. So large homes are not too large to be solar. The website is: www.SolarHouseProject.com. The website explains how the home was built and how it functions. This home, heated by the sun, cost about the same a comparable size new ENERGY STAR qualified home but uses less than 70% of the energy of that comparable new home.
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