Tracey Allen is tired of seeing her heating costs disappear into the cold outdoor air.
So she and her husband, Stephen Allen, decided to actively seek the possibility of building a passive solar home from scratch and to consider other aspects of sustainable living for a good level of comfort.
They live on an Earth now.
Insulation concrete formwork (ICF)
Passive solar housing near four acres.
Alan shares her happiness.
Gained experience in a new book, Building passive solar houses, which provides homeowners views on the process from start to finish.
"We always come back-to-
But I like ordinary houses.
So I'm half.
"1 feet housewives, 1 feet city girls," Allen said with a smile . ".
The former urbanite is now firmly rooted in the countryside. E. I. , just a 10-
Only a few minutes drive from Charlottetown, she and her husband used to live in 1,600-square-
Although it has a high energy level, it requires a lot of oil to heat.
It has been a long time since the green couple decided to build a sustainable house,, when Allen began to look at the downward trend in the financial world and admitted that the world had passed the peak of cheap oil readily available, her real push came. "Add to this [the fact]
When the hope of retirement grows over time, we are at this age --
What must we do?
"This is to fix our fixed fees," she wrote in the introduction of her book . ".
Economically, it makes sense for the couple to move to an area with a property tax of about 1 --
This is the third money they paid before.
"Please note that we are not served.
We have our own septic tank and our own water so you can pay the upfront fee when you build
That's it, "said Allen, who offered their home countless possibilities for sustainable development, including bundles of grass, sticks and solid-
Earthwork construction method.
The couple eventually went from the insulated cement board to the raf and had a retaining plate on the west and north sides of the house.
Although it is generally believed that all houses should face streets or roads, they let the position of the Sun determine the location of their house.
"In fact, a lot of people say, 'Why don't you face this path? ' And [my reply is]
"The sun is like this, the window is in front, so this is the way the House is facing," Allen said . " Windows are a super efficient T-
Rio three-layer glass low E and ar gas ther-mopane.
The House is out of oil-
But it does have a 1,200-square-foot Mosuo firewood stove with a heating capacity.
Outside the city border, they can also install a small wind turbine at some point.
"We are looking for a city that will not cost a lot of money, is close to the town, and there are not many restrictions," she said . ".
I'm still working on it [wind turbines]
And prices have been falling.
"The couple has an electric heat-
But they added the infrastructure for solar hot water during construction.
The hot water system they plan to buy.
"To be honest, I don't think our house is more than £ 1,200 --
Because there's something you can trade, "Allen said.
"We paid a little more here, but we didn't pay much there," she said . ".
"We only have one bathroom and there is no stove, so it also reduces your cost. "Another cost-
The cutting measures were polished concrete floors, which the couple did on their own, eliminating the potential cost of $20,000 for the ground floor and the floor.
In addition to this, increasing the floor will reduce the heat
About 70 collection capacity.
"It costs $200 to make a floor.
We use polished concrete because of the use of passive solar energy, which is the best way to absorb heat and then release it at night.
This is the whole principle [of the system]," Allen said.
The couple are highly adaptable in the design and construction process, and in some cases their plans do change a lot.
For example, the garage was removed from the original design.
They chose to focus most of their attention on the housing of the house.
"What else can you change.
But your windows, walls, or roof, these things will last.
"Our steel roof will last 50 years, not 20 years," she said . ".
A shift from a typical passive solar house design is the addition of windows in the North
The front of the House, traditionally not.
"To be honest, the reason we put them inside is the cross-flow because it's a problem in a lot of houses," said Allen, who makes hot curtains in winter, to reduce the heat loss when ventilation is not required.
Allens has also installed Solatube lighting in places where there is not a lot of natural light, which greatly illuminates these areas. "The only [overhead]
The light in our bathroom was the solar light and we had people try to turn it off because they thought it was [an electric]
"Light," she said.
In her book, Allen also came up with the idea of helping homeowners renovate their existing homes for passive solar revenue.
"This is the first house we built, so I would like to share the experience.
On the other hand, everything I study on passive solar homes or networks --
Zero family of these new energy sources or all these fancy names
Their house is efficient, but it takes a mint.
"I think, 'We are in the budget, there may be more people who can relate to the budget and want energy --
"Efficient home," says Allen, who will soon enter the first winter of a passive solar home, she expects the Morse stove to need less than a piece of wood.
"I can look at a tanker every time. it drives by]
Really great. "FAST FACTS?
Building a passive sun House: share my experience. . .
Published by Earth Haven. ?
Amazon's Kindle store and color paperback are available online.