Almantas in Lithuania shares an ecologic straw-bale solar house.
Solar architecture is based on the efficient use of the energy and the direct solar energy utilization principle. Almost all windows are located in the southern side of the building. This way when the sun rays fall obliquely in spring, autumn and winter, more IR spectrum sun rays enter the building.
At the same time all efforts are put to keep them inside the building as long as possible: the windows are covered with selective film and the walls are plastered with clay, that among other good properties also have low thermal conductivity, i.e. it absorbs thermal radiation and when the sun is down, the accumulated heat is radiated to the surrounding environment very slowly, at the same time heating the building.
During the summer the sun rays are falling at right angles and not many of them enter the building, therefore it is not too hot inside. If needed, additional sun blinds or shutters may be installed, and that can help to reduce the solar radiation allowed to enter the house even more. Several smaller windows of the building are located in the southeast and southwest sides to ensure more light inside.
Regarding the windows from the northern side, only small ones are planned or they are completely eliminated there.
To learn more and see some other new technologies visit the Eco Cocan Solar House site.
Very charming and I want to know more. Like square footage, where can I get one and approximate cost.
Šaunuolis, puikus namukas 🙂
It is 387 square foot living area +65 warehouse from north side.Approximate cost-35000,-Euro. More info; http://www.ecococon.lt/en/projects_solar_houses/a_38_sq_m_house_near_babtai
Audrys – the link to the additional information seems to be broken. Any chance you have an alternate link?
Nice design! Clean lines and unique. I’m impressed!
It’s a step in the right direction. There’s a flaw though: these straw bale panels defeat the purpose of the straw. Heat & cold are transfered by the more dense material (wood frame) in and out. The beauty of straw bale is that there IS no transfer surface. But with those panels, there is a lot of transfer surface, basically meaning that it’s just substituting straw for fiberglass insulation. Not a bad GESTURE, but nowhere near as effective as if it were all straw bale walls.
I am a big fan of solar architecture and small residence. When is comes to sustainable design I think planning for the sun and reducing building sizes are the best things we can do. I think sometimes designers overlook daylighting strategies in favor of passive heating and cooling. I would like to see people who design with the sun in mind place more emphasis on daylighting.