Good article thanks. One question- are eaves not a good and useful thing? The old villas here in NZ were built with eaves to shade windows from the sun (occasionally oriented incorrectly to a Northern aspect due to confused Northern hemisphere immigrants). We did the same thing with our (otherwise relatively simple and boxy 2 storey) home to help shade the north and west facing windows. It's not perfect, but it does make a difference.
Good article, glad someone is saying this, but not enough people are listening. Colorado is an example of things that are wrong with house building. It's grotesque in many areas. With the natural sunlight, it's possible to get a lot of passive heating, and don't forget solar thermal panels--you can heat water and run the hot water thru the floors or into radiators--thus getting the sun's energy cheaply and without needing PV wiring.
Good article thanks. One question- are eaves not a good and useful thing? The old villas here in NZ were built with eaves to shade windows from the sun (occasionally oriented incorrectly to a Northern aspect due to confused Northern hemisphere immigrants). We did the same thing with our (otherwise relatively simple and boxy 2 storey) home to help shade the north and west facing windows. It's not perfect, but it does make a difference.
Good article, glad someone is saying this, but not enough people are listening. Colorado is an example of things that are wrong with house building. It's grotesque in many areas. With the natural sunlight, it's possible to get a lot of passive heating, and don't forget solar thermal panels--you can heat water and run the hot water thru the floors or into radiators--thus getting the sun's energy cheaply and without needing PV wiring.