Reviews from Home Owners & Builders
Reading
comments from home owners living in sun-inspired, passive solar homes, or from
builders who have constructed them, can be beneficial. It’s normal to have apprehension towards
something that seems new, and the construction industry is notoriously slow to
change, especially when compared to the changes in the computer industry over the last 20
years. "The amount of sun light in the rooms. The lower heating
bills are great but the feeling from the light and not having to use lights is
hard to describe."
Passive solar design is NOT new. The concepts were used
thousands of years ago. When American Indians built housing, they often chose a
south facing hill or cliff. In the case
of the cliff dwellers in the hot southwest, the living areas were built within
the sunny front spaces that would receive low winter sun while the cliff
overhang above would shade those same south spaces in summer. The thermal mass of the surrounding earth
absorbed the sun, which minimized overheating and kept the spaces warm long into
the night. For thousands of years, sun-inspired home owners have been enjoying and bragging about the comforts of their homes.
Home Owner Reviews
“So
far it has been great, with our primary heat (close loop geothermal system) not
running at all during sunny days here in Ohio.
We have only been in for a month and a half, but we are pleased how the house
is reducing our energy usage….”
- Mike and Leslie
(moderate climate)
“I’m
very satisfied. The Sun Plans book was a great tool for additional information
as needed and [I] would recommend anyone ordering plans get a copy of this as
well.”
- Karen (cold climate)
(Incidentally,
our book, The Sun-Inspired House is
now free with the purchase of any of our sun-inspired products via our Specials!)
“Visitors
to our house comment on how comfortable they feel in the house...”
- Randall (hot climate)
“We
are thrilled with the design and plans, and we love the house. It is very
bright, and the passive solar design works beautifully. In summer 2008 we
received the city of Lakewood’s
Sustainability Award.”
- Dale and Leslie (cold
climate)
More comments from home
owners can be found scattered throughout the Sun Plans website in Open Houses and at the bottom of the Detail tab for each individual house plan. You may also:
- Read selected comments from Create-A-SunPlans clients
- View unsolicited comments from Adapt-A-SunPlan clients
Builder Reviews
Vern Little of Anchorage Builders tells us:
"The Solstice was built for Bill and Nicole in Efland, NC. It turned out great and they are experiencing a comfortable, self regulating house with very low electric bills, in the $40-60 per month range depending on season. Bill's professional woodworking shop is running off the same meter, too. They have great cross breezes and the passive solar works like a dream."
Comments from others builders are scattered through out the web site. Something we often hear: "We cannot find a builder that is experienced
in passive solar design." Not everyone is lucky enough to have Mark Bighley or Anchorage Builders in their town.
Lack of
experience building a passive solar home is not a good a reason to turn away a
builder, nor should a builder turn away from accepting a job for the same reason – at least not one from Sun Plans, whose designs are based on
conventional construction methods. However,
lack of understanding, education, or experience with construction of tight,
well-insulated homes in general would be a reason to keep looking for another
builder.
Builders and their subcontractors, especially the subcontractors who
will be designing and installing the heating system, also need to realize that low-energy,
high-performance homes need much smaller heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning (HVAC) systems. Builders
should hire trained HVAC subcontractors, energy-consultants, or home energy
raters that can assist with proper equipment sizing to avoid over-sizing for
both heating and cooling. Sun Plans has
an HVAC energy consultant that is available to consult with home owners, builders
and their HVAC subcontractors, should there not be one near the building site. See Consulting Services for more information about this HVAC-related service.
