When I designed my own home, based on some adapted Frank Lloyd Wright "Usonian" designs, I talked with a solar guy about passive solar. His recommendation, which I took, was to calculate the summer sun angle and put an overhang on the roof that would keep all sun out of the house from mid-May to the end of July, but allow full sun entry all day from mid November to February at least. It works, and works well. In winter, on a sunny day, we hardly use any heat (Virginia - Shenandoah Valley). The straw bale walls and R50 insulation in the ceiling prevent heat loss. In summer that same insulation reduces solar gain, and the shade from the overhang keeps the sun from overheating the house. We still have no air conditioning, though the impact of global heating may change that sooner than we expected. Good shade from trees as well as awnings are a great value. Awnings help more when complemented by keeping impervious surfaces cool with street trees. More trees and fewer cars complement good design.
When Frank Lloyd Wright did it on his Solar Hemicircle house he didn’t have double glazing and he didn’t put any heat in the main living spaces and the Jacobs family had to get dressed in the bathroom, the only room that was warm!
True. And he had flat roofs that almost always leaked. My builder insisted on a slope and I have not regretted that either. I do have double glazed windows and was careful to avoid thermal bridges. My regret - skylights. I would not do them again.
Wayne, Frank Wright's contemporary, Irving Gill, designed a great number of houses and other structures in Southern California. Many (not all) of Gill's houses have solar overhangs that shade in the summer yet allow sunshine in winter months. The following link shows some examples. http://recenteringelpueblo.blogspot.com/2010/03/irving-gill-part-1.html
Our house has a big overhang above our 12' tall south facing triple pane window wall in Maine. It keeps summer sun out, but lets winter sun in. As for overheating in Fall through Spring, it never gets too hot. 77° inside in February is pretty nice.
I wonder if awnings didn’t also go away because they lasted well enough to not need annual replacement and there really wasn’t a need for a maintenance contract so awnings makers moved towards some other trade as the hvac industry developed sales, installation, and maintenance divisions. And eventually there wasn’t anyone repairing or replacing worn old fashioned looking awnings.
Fixed awnings don’t work so well in northern latitudes, as low-angle sun comes in underneath them in the shoulder seasons—so operable awnings are a great solution for us here in Seattle.
One issue for me has been finding exterior operable shades or awnings that are fire-rated, for use in WUI zones or elsewhere new regulations protect against wildfires.
ASU researchers years ago created a (mostly) clear window film that blocks >95% of solar heat gain whilst still retaining visibility through the glass. Technology has advanced more than 100 year old risky-to-open-close-and-clean awnings.
Street level hipster vibes? Sure, but everyone dogs on small towns and want mega corporate businesses on every corner instead of the mom-and-pop shop. Vote with your dollars, maybe you can get it back.
... or not. Yesterday the post was about nostalgia and living in the past, and today we're being told to think backwards to yesteryear. It's like Schrödinger's cat ... you never know which time direction Lloyd will go with his articles until you read them.
When I designed my own home, based on some adapted Frank Lloyd Wright "Usonian" designs, I talked with a solar guy about passive solar. His recommendation, which I took, was to calculate the summer sun angle and put an overhang on the roof that would keep all sun out of the house from mid-May to the end of July, but allow full sun entry all day from mid November to February at least. It works, and works well. In winter, on a sunny day, we hardly use any heat (Virginia - Shenandoah Valley). The straw bale walls and R50 insulation in the ceiling prevent heat loss. In summer that same insulation reduces solar gain, and the shade from the overhang keeps the sun from overheating the house. We still have no air conditioning, though the impact of global heating may change that sooner than we expected. Good shade from trees as well as awnings are a great value. Awnings help more when complemented by keeping impervious surfaces cool with street trees. More trees and fewer cars complement good design.
When Frank Lloyd Wright did it on his Solar Hemicircle house he didn’t have double glazing and he didn’t put any heat in the main living spaces and the Jacobs family had to get dressed in the bathroom, the only room that was warm!
True. And he had flat roofs that almost always leaked. My builder insisted on a slope and I have not regretted that either. I do have double glazed windows and was careful to avoid thermal bridges. My regret - skylights. I would not do them again.
Wayne, Frank Wright's contemporary, Irving Gill, designed a great number of houses and other structures in Southern California. Many (not all) of Gill's houses have solar overhangs that shade in the summer yet allow sunshine in winter months. The following link shows some examples. http://recenteringelpueblo.blogspot.com/2010/03/irving-gill-part-1.html
Our house has a big overhang above our 12' tall south facing triple pane window wall in Maine. It keeps summer sun out, but lets winter sun in. As for overheating in Fall through Spring, it never gets too hot. 77° inside in February is pretty nice.
For temperature control we could also bring back transoms and vestibules.
I wonder if awnings didn’t also go away because they lasted well enough to not need annual replacement and there really wasn’t a need for a maintenance contract so awnings makers moved towards some other trade as the hvac industry developed sales, installation, and maintenance divisions. And eventually there wasn’t anyone repairing or replacing worn old fashioned looking awnings.
Fixed awnings don’t work so well in northern latitudes, as low-angle sun comes in underneath them in the shoulder seasons—so operable awnings are a great solution for us here in Seattle.
One issue for me has been finding exterior operable shades or awnings that are fire-rated, for use in WUI zones or elsewhere new regulations protect against wildfires.
ASU researchers years ago created a (mostly) clear window film that blocks >95% of solar heat gain whilst still retaining visibility through the glass. Technology has advanced more than 100 year old risky-to-open-close-and-clean awnings.
Street level hipster vibes? Sure, but everyone dogs on small towns and want mega corporate businesses on every corner instead of the mom-and-pop shop. Vote with your dollars, maybe you can get it back.
... or not. Yesterday the post was about nostalgia and living in the past, and today we're being told to think backwards to yesteryear. It's like Schrödinger's cat ... you never know which time direction Lloyd will go with his articles until you read them.