This passive solar house is situated in a residential area and blends into the surrounding mixed forest environment being adjacent to a city woodlot.
The high insulation levels of ICF (insulated concrete form) construction, R-30 to R-50, are key to the passive solar heating. The generating element of the passive solar heat is the 2-storey south wall of 80% glass made up of EnergyStar rated high performance windows with triple glazing.
On the interior, the space behind the windows is a full open floor-to-ceiling area, 6.10 m (20′) high, encompassing the living room and dining area. The solar heated air circulates by natural convection throughout the open space and reaches into the rooms off the solar space.
The owners are satisfied with the design of the house as it takes into consideration their present and future needs as access to all necessities are on a single level with no stairs to climb. Also they comment that the south face glass feature of the house makes the interior of the house feel like an atrium capturing the natural forest surroundings of the location.
Other features of the house include efficient use of building materials, sustainable building products, natural woods, task lighting, exterior lighting emits no light pollution, dual flush toilets, recycled glass tile in bath and shower area, natural Canadian granite counter tops, high efficiency appliances, and roof top garden. The roof top garden is effective insulation above the bedroom, warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
The high efficiency air-to-air heat pump is the main forced air heat system for the 300 m2 (3200 sq. ft.) home, which makes up for heat not provided by the passive solar feature of the house design. The back-up system is natural gas when the outside air temperature is below the operating efficiency of the heat pump. A heat recovery ventilator makes for a more efficient operation of the heat pump recovering heat from the exhaust air being expelled from the house. The forced air system also picks up and distributes the hot air generated by the passive solar heated space.
