Green House Floor Plan | Build An Energy Efficient Home

by lexington.homes

Green House Floor Plan | Build An Energy Efficient Home

When planning your new house, an energy efficient green house floor plan would be an excellent alternative to a traditional stick built home. One improtant thing to consider is the orientation of your home on the property. One way to gain energy savings is to situate the house toward the northwest and use fewer openings and heavier walls on that side.

The house should open up to the southeast in order to take advantage of solar heat. Use louvers to block harsh summer sun angles and also allow weak angled winter warmth. With a southeast orientation, the slope of the main roof should face southwest with solar panels placed on that side.

Another way to save money is in the configuration and construction of the house. Heavy mass should be used on the north or northwest side in a green house floor plan to block the winter cold. It also is an efficient way to run plumbing and HVAC. The roof may be designed to collect rainwater in large barrels or cisterns which will cut down on city water costs.

The interior of a green house floor plan should be open and spacious to allow for natural airflow from open windows and stragically placed panels. This type of design cuts down on the need for air conditioning by making use of wind currents to bring fresh air into the home. Pick out the most energy efficient doors and window you can afford since they will provide an excellent return on you investment in lower energy bills month after month.

The true beauty of a green house floor plan is the ability to live "off the grid" with only a few extra features. A combination of features such as rain water collection,gray water reuse, solar panels and wind power with battery back up will afford a better lifestyle that is also easier on Mother Nature. With careful design and planning you can make your new home easier on the environment with a green house floor plan.

Zero Energy Design® coined the term "Thermal Buffer Zone" in the materials about our first ZED home in 1979. It is the extremely efficient concept that two small temperature differentials result in lower undesirable heat transfer than one large exterior envelope temperature differential. Since 1979, "TBZ" has appeared in popular architecture literature many times, but most Architects(R) still do not understand how to use it cost effectively in a zero energy building. This narrated video shows a beautiful, open, efficient, abundant-daylight floor plan, and how our refined Double Shell Thermal Buffer Zone transfers solar gain from the sunny side of the home, to the cold side of a Zero Energy Design building with NO electricity. We also describe summer Energy Recovery Ventilation solar cooling, and how we hide all solar panels and satelite dishes from view on all sides. By Larry Hartweg Zero Energy Design® "Abundant Energy Man" ZEDmaster@ZeroEnergyDesign.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5