Who has a great passive solar home design that I can use/buy?

While you are at it. Find a decent used car and convert it to electric.
To compliment the solar PV. And, ending most of your need for fossil fuel. :-)

Algore has made it very clear. You don’t need to do any of what you are talking about. Just buy some offset credits and you can go so far as to use outdoor electric heaters in winter shamelessly.

If you aren’t buying what Algore is selling there are other ways. Actually one of the best ways is to make your home using “heavy” materials such as stone which will increase the thermal mass of your home. In this way if the temperature during the day averages to a tolerable temperature you will need to spend nothing to heat and cool whereas with lightweight construction you have to expend a lot of energy heating and cooling if any few many of the day are hotter or colder than you want to tolerate since the inside temperature will change rapidly with the outside temperature.

So here’s something I’m going to try. Scroll down the page to see the photos. It looks tacky because they are using beer cans, but you could use any sort of black tubing and box for it. Basically the concept is really slick and does a great job heating.

Probably the easiest and cheapest passive solar design is the result of about 3 billion years of evolution: the plant. Just adding large, leafy trees to your property can significantly reduce heat in the summer. If you have a flat roof you can also plant a garden up there. I have even heard of people who grow lawns on top of their houses, which would absorb a good deal of sunlight (and also help to insulate in the winter).

[mod says] Please remember, this question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.

One place to start is to look at earthships. These are off-the-grid homes that are designed to maximize solar gain (in winter, I mean). I have heard that they are not without problems, so research that as well, but they are about as green as you can get.

An electrician friend turned me on to the Solar Living Source Book and recommended it as a definitive source for solar-based dwelling. I haven’t read it yet, myself, but in and a few other books recommended in the reviewer section are probably worth a look.

I have a 3600 square foot home in central New Hampshire that is very similar to what you are proposing. It is built into the side of a south-facing hill and is U-shaped around a central courtyard. The site was originally a granite quarry, so little blasting had to be done. We were also lucky to hit an underground spring that supplies all of our water needs, it only needs to be pressurized.

The main design points I would emphasize are structural integrity and waterproofing. I insisted that my architect go overboard on both of these issues. Our house was covered with approximately 5,000 tons of backfill (12 feet on average) after construction and there is no sign of cracking or settling. Likewise, there is no seepage or moisture anywhere after 12 years of occupancy..

The interior of the house never exceeds 75F in summer, no air conditioning, only shading the windows (triple glazed). In winter, we keep a temperature of 65–70F sing 1–2 cords of firewood and solar water heating for a hydrionic (under floor water tubes) heat system. This system provides all of our domestic hot water as well. We have point-of-use electric water heaters in the kitchen and bathrooms, but have never used them. Only the hot tub requires supplementary water heating, a wood/propane heater.

Our house is part of a 647 acre farm. With the addition of a third (5 kW) wind turbine this summer, we expect to be totally self sufficient electrically, actually a net seller of electricity to the Co-op over most of the year. This is from a combination of wind, photovoltaic and small hydro. Although grid-connected, we have storage battery capability to run the house up to a week.

In addition to the house and farm, our electric system provides charge for a converted 1964 VW pickup converted to electric, good for 150 miles per charge at about 35 mph.

I second @kevbo s recommendation of the “Solar Living Sourcebook”.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land That is totally awesome. I hope to be similarly self-sufficient myself one day. 10 minutes ago, I got an estimate for removal of a tree so I can install a solar panel system in my back yard.

@cockswain You have to survey the site to ensure that no shadow falls on the PV panels at any time of the year. A shadow on part of a solar water heater just reduces it’s efficiency, but the same shadow on a photovoltaic panel will shut it down completely.

I’m aware, thanks. That’s exactly why I have to remove this particular tree.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land – Giving tours?

Your home must be pretty cool. :-)