I wish I had a passive solar home, but for now, I'll have to be content to create one for my plants. This is an afternoon photo of the site where I plan to build a coldframe later this month. It is situated about latitude 42, longitude -71 and is in gardening zone 6. Although, I'm hoping that close to the house is actually a higher gardening zone micro-climate. It faces south, southeast and is in a sheltered L shaped area. I chose it because it gets the most sun of any area adjacent to the house. I plan on building the cold frame next to the house to take advantage of heat that leaks out through the walls, as well as using the masonry foundation of the house as one of the heat stores. This place seems warmer than other areas. I notice the snow always melts here first. The small tree in the photo is a Bartlett pear and won't leaf out early enough to cause shade too early in the season. The coldframe will be a lean-to design with the top meeting the house just above the cellar window. Two important things to consider for the coldframe will be heat and ventilation which I will discuss in my next post.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Passive Solar Home Site
I wish I had a passive solar home, but for now, I'll have to be content to create one for my plants. This is an afternoon photo of the site where I plan to build a coldframe later this month. It is situated about latitude 42, longitude -71 and is in gardening zone 6. Although, I'm hoping that close to the house is actually a higher gardening zone micro-climate. It faces south, southeast and is in a sheltered L shaped area. I chose it because it gets the most sun of any area adjacent to the house. I plan on building the cold frame next to the house to take advantage of heat that leaks out through the walls, as well as using the masonry foundation of the house as one of the heat stores. This place seems warmer than other areas. I notice the snow always melts here first. The small tree in the photo is a Bartlett pear and won't leaf out early enough to cause shade too early in the season. The coldframe will be a lean-to design with the top meeting the house just above the cellar window. Two important things to consider for the coldframe will be heat and ventilation which I will discuss in my next post.
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Have you ever seen David Wright's "Natural Solar Architecture"? If not, make sure you check it out before you design your next home! It's all about passive solar home design.
ReplyDeleteI disuss the book briefly here: http://www.annarbour.net/christo/2005/11/natural-solar-architecture.html
The book is quite helpful. Look forward to more info on coldframes.