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Western Solar's Green Building Options
Buildings account for one-sixth of the world's fresh water
withdrawals, one-quarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and
energy flows. Building "green" is an opportunity to
use our resources efficiently while creating healthier buildings that improve
human health, build a better environment, and provide cost savings.
Western
Solar designs energy-efficient quality "green" homes. Our
commitment to energy saving includes the use of solar space heating,
super-insulation, and green building practices. We design homes that are beautiful, functional, and energy
efficient. Our homes add a unique dimension to the real estate of Washington
State. We work closely with you to design a custom home which meets your
specific needs and budget.
WSI designed home in Ferndale, WA
WSI
designed solar home in Bellingham, WA
Key Benefits
 | Quality - Designed to use the best quality "green" materials. |
| Savings - With our energy efficient designs you will save
on heating and power costs. |
| Health and Comfort - Radiant heat, abundant natural daylight, and
hypoallergenic air quality. |
| Sustainability - Designs utilize roofing, flooring and insulation made from natural
materials, and can include water conservation, drought tolerant landscaping, etc.
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How Does It Work?
A green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a
structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an
ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet
certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee
productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and
reducing the overall impact to the environment.
Elements of green building
design
include:
Your home designed by Western
Solar will have all the elements listed above. In addition, if your
building site is exposed to southern sun most of the day, solar energy can
provide the majority of your space heating, hot water, and electricity.
Solar homes take advantage of the huge heating potential of the sun. Solar
homes are comfortable, affordable, and energy efficient. Despite cloudy
overcast winters, Washington State is one
of the best areas in the United States for solar space heating. With proper
design and construction, homes here can derive 70% of their annual heating
requirement from solar energy. With increasing energy costs, a 2000 square
foot home could save $35,000 in heating costs over 15 years. We design both active and passive solar
homes. Active systems use either air or liquid solar collectors and circulate
the heated fluid to the home interior through ducts or pipes. In contrast,
direct passive heating requires no active pumps or heat distribution system. In
both systems design adheres to certain principles, namely:
- A building site having a mostly unobstructed
southern exposure.
- Placement of a large percentage of the windows on the south side
of the house to maximize heat gain (in a passive system).
- Thermal mass such as stained concrete or tile slab floors, or
masonry or water tube walls to store heat.
- Good insulation to retain the heat and reduce loss.
- Properly designed roof eve overhangs to shade windows in summer
(to prevent excessive heat gain), but allow nearly full sunlight to enter the
house in winter.
What Does It Cost?
Construction costs
for your builder are usually little or
no more than other homes of similar size.
We can provide any of the
following services:
1) Initial planning. We generally meet with clients two or
three times (our consulting fee is $80/hr) and then develop a preliminary plan
including floor plan and general material specifications. As an example,
for a typical 2000 square foot plan will generally cost about $1000.
2) Approved construction drawings. If you decide to proceed
and develop a custom building plan, costs for construction drawings suitable for
a building permit are generally about $2.20 per sq ft. Of course, if we use one of our existing plans with few changes, the
cost is minimal.
3) Construction consulting. We can recommend builders who
are familiar with green building practices. We can also serve as the
consultant between you and the builder to advise on green materials and energy
saving appliances.
Solar Air Heating Options
WSI is an authorized dealer for the
SOLARSHEAT
System
Space heating accounts
for about 60% of all residential energy costs. Solar energy can meet 60 to
70% of that demand in the Pacific Northwest. We can design the best
approach for your new home or business. Options include: direct or
indirect passive solar heating utilizing south glazing and interior thermal
mass, liquid thermal collectors with interior radiant heating, hot air
collectors, attic space collectors, sun room or trombe wall additions, and
ground-source heat pumps.
Key Benefits
| Reduced heating costs |
| Greater comfort and air quality |
| Increased home value |
| Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions |
How does it work?
Solar space heating can be achieved in many
ways. However, the two general approaches are called passive or active
solar heating. Passive systems rely on direct solar gain through south
windows and do not have "active" systems to circulate the collected heat.
Active systems use collectors to concentrate solar thermal energy and then pumps
or fans to circulate that energy through the building.
Passive Solar Space Heating
In most areas, including the Pacific
Northwest, passive solar heating is the simplest and most cost-effective
approach. However, it works best when integrated into the initial design
of new construction. Western Solar has designed and
passive solar homes in the Pacific Northwest since 1979 (see "Green
Building"). Passive solar homes include a number of essential elements:
| south-facing windows for solar heat gain |
| properly designed eve overhangs for summer
shade and winter sun |
| thermal mass to store heat |
| good insulation to reduce heat loss
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Active Solar Space Heating
Active solar space heating, using solar heat
collectors and circulating pumps or fans, can be used in new or often in
existing homes. It is especially useful, where sunlight falling on south
facing windows is not practical. Western Solar can design and
install the system best suited to meet your needs including the
SOLARSHEAT space heating system.
 
Roof mounted air collector
Wall air collector Attic Collector Solar-Assisted Hydronic Radiant
How Much Does It Cost?
Features such as internal thermal mass, extra
insulation, additional glass, or active solar collectors can add 3 to 5% to the
cost of new construction. However, these features will pay for themselves
in a few years of added energy savings and re-sale value. For example,
with good design heating costs (gas) for a 2000 sq ft home in Washington
can be reduced from about $852 per year to $148 per year, an initial savings of
$704 per year. Natural gas costs are predicted to increase about 14% per
year. At that rate a solar home will save more than $35,000 in heating
costs over 15 years. Energy efficient mortgages can provide up to an
additional 4% borrowing limit and discounts on closing costs and fees.
Finally, the selling price of homes increases $20.73 for every $1 decrease in
annual fuel bills
(The
Appraisal Journal, Oct. 1988). Using the above example, a solar home
would have an added value of $14,593 compared to a traditional home.
More Information
Passive
Solar Design Article - DOE
Chiras, Daniel D. 2002. The Solar House:
Passive Heating and Cooling. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. 274 pp.
ISBN 1-931498-12-1
Kachadorian, James. 1997. The Passive
Solar House. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. 210 pp. ISBN 0-930031-97-0
Watson, Donald & Labs, Kenneth. 1983. Climatic
Design. McGraw Hill. 288 pp. ISBN 0-07-068488-X
Get a Quote -
Download Questionnaire
More Information
Building
Materials: What Makes a Product Green
Establishing
Priorities with Green Building
Checklist for
Environmentally Responsible Design & Construction
Sustainable Building Technical Manual
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