I would love to read a book on this: How far can you get relying purely on design and structure, not technology. "Passive" solutions, as you say. A fascinating topic.
100% is very feasible, even without going the Earthship route. Mostly it has to do with extra insulation but there are a couple other techniques that help. The reason more houses aren't like this is because it adds $10-20k to construction costs so developers don't bother.
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I would love to read a book on this: How far can you get relying purely on design and structure, not technology. "Passive" solutions, as you say. A fascinating topic.
100% passive is possible today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Umbrella_house
Earthships, if you are unfamiliar with them, are a great place to start: http://earthship.com/
100% is very feasible, even without going the Earthship route. Mostly it has to do with extra insulation but there are a couple other techniques that help. The reason more houses aren't like this is because it adds $10-20k to construction costs so developers don't bother.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house
two of my favorites...
Thermal Delight in Architecture
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/thermal-delight-architecture
Commonsense Architecture: A Cross Cultural Survey Of Practical Design Principles
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4584732-commonsense-archi...
Very cool, thanks to you both!