Passive solar gets place in the sun 'A smarter way to build,' says developer of energy-efficient homes near Ft. Collins
Aozotorp
Article Published: Sunday, August 17, 2003 - 12:00:00 AM MST
Passive solar gets place in the sun
'A smarter way to build,' says developer of energy-efficient homes near Ft.
Collins
By Chryss Cada, Special to The Denver Post
Judging by all the homes' big windows, a first-time visitor to Solar Ridge
might think all the neighborhood's residents are seriously enamored of their
view.
But while the foothills are beautiful on the northwest side of Fort Collins,
the windows in Solar Ridge are there to let in the sun more than to view the
scenery.
"Using passive solar is just a smarter way to build houses," said Charles Cox,
who developed Solar Ridge and built about a third of the houses in the
subdivision.
A self-described "back-to-the-land-type person," Cox built himself a passive
solar house in Rist Canyon. In 1993, he decided to take the concept to a larger
scale.
"It was unbelievable to me how wasteful we were as a society," he said. "I
wanted to integrate passive solar into mainstream housing."
Along with a partnership of friends and family, Cox founded Solar Ridge on the
west side of Taft Hill Road just north of County Road 49. Covenants require
passive solar in the development, which has only a couple of its 70 lots left.
Still, Cox laments that passive solar is an idea which "still hasn't caught
on."
But with rising fuel costs, he still hopes it will. "Mainstream housing is all
for show," he said. "People need options for houses built with better
priorities."
Solar Ridge resident Jane Albritton is glad an energy-efficient option was
available.
"I love having a passive-solar house," she said. "It definitely makes a
difference in the winter. "On cold, sunny days in the winter, the furnace
doesn't even come on."
Albritton's house, like all of the houses in Solar Ridge, is angled to harness
the energy of the sun in the winter. There are large overhangs shielding the
floor-to-ceiling windows on the south side of the house from the summer sun. In
the colder seasons, when the sun travels in a lower arc across the sky, the
windows are in an ideal position to harness the sun's heat.
High-performance windows used in passive solar homes are designed to collect
the sunlight, and extra insulation holds the heat in (or cold, depending on the
season).
Besides specifying dimensions for windows and overhangs, Solar Ridge's
covenants require that shade trees be planted a certain distance from the house
so as not to block incoming sun. While all are passive solar, the homes run the
gamut of styles, from colonial to adobe.
"It's nice because the houses are lined up with the sun, not the street," Cox
said. "So the houses don't have that cookie-cutter look."
Most passive solar homes have tile to collect and store the day's heat.
Albritton has black tile in her front entry, which serves as a "sunroom." When
the sunroom hits a certain temperature, a fan comes on to push the warm air
throughout the rest of the house.
A sunroom is also part of the design in the home of Solar Ridge resident Jim
Robald.
"We open the door from that little sunroom, and on a sunny day it heats up the
whole rest of the house," he said. "Besides opening and shutting some doors and
blinds, there isn't much effort involved in living in a passive-solar home."
Robald, who was one of the original eight homeowners in Solar Ridge, said
there's a simple reason passive solar hasn't made its way into the mainstream.
"Passive solar is a great idea, but it boils down to economics," he said. "It
means more decisions and some increased costs."
In the long run, people who do choose passive solar can expect a return on
their investment.
Robald said that passive solar is enough to heat his 2,200-square-foot house on
the majority of winter days, with the furnace only coming on at night.
"It (passive solar) is a real advantage for people when it comes to energy
bills," Cox said. "Those smaller bills are probably most people's favorite part
of living in a passive solar home."
In a 4,000-square-foot home Cox built in Solar Ridge, the highest natural-gas
bill was $54.72 for the period from mid-December to mid-January. The next
month, the bill dropped to $45.08.
"Given the high number of sunny days we have here, not using at least some
passive-solar elements is like throwing money away," Albritton said.
Residents of passive-solar homes also enjoy lower electric bills. The homes
typically have wide-open floor plans to allow the heat to move throughout the
house. This openness brightens every corner of the house - meaning lights have
to be turned on far less often. In small rooms that are enclosed, such as
bathrooms, "solar tubes" can be installed. The tubes to the outside, which are
like small skylights, bring in the sun's light all day.
While passive solar might stage a comeback to combat rising fuel costs, the
term "passive solar" is seen as passe.
"I think in general many people are still designing passive-solar homes," said
Doug Schroeder, associate director of the Sustainable Buildings Industry
Council, formerly the Passive Solar Industry Council. "But now you're more
likely to hear the term 'green home' or 'sustainable home' than 'passive-solar
home."'
Passive solar is still the "cornerstone of energy-efficient, environmentally
friendly homes," Schroeder said. "It's a fundamental kind of marketing.
Builders sell benefits, not features."
Cox hopes that more people will see the benefits of living in passive-solar
homes.
"I'm surprised that there hasn't been more interest in following this pattern,"
Cox said. "Maybe it will catch on yet."
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RESOURCES
Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse
Free general and technical information on energy efficiency and renewable
energy.
P.O. Box 3048
Merrifield, VA 22116
800-DOE-EREC (363-3732)
www.eere.energy.gov. A comprehensive online resource for the Department of
Energy's energy-efficiency and renewable-energy information.
ORGANIZATIONS
Efficient Windows Collaborative Alliance to Save Energy
Provides information on energy-efficient windows, including their benefits and
how they work.
1200 18th St. NW, Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: 202-857-0666
Fax: 202-331-9588
Sustainable Buildings Industry Council
Promotes the use of energy-efficient and passive-solar building design and
construction.
1331 H St. NW, Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: 202-628-7400
Fax: 202-393-5043
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems
Provides information on energy-efficient buildings, including passive-solar
design.
1617 Cole Blvd.
Golden, CO 80401
www.nrel.gov/buildings_thermal
American Solar Energy Society
A national advocacy organization dedicated to the use of solar energy in
buildings.
2400 Central Ave., Suite G-1
Boulder, CO 80301
Phone: 303-443-3130
Fax: 303-443-3212