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Old 10-16-13, 08:42 PM   #1
evel_knievel
Lurking Renovator
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Indiana
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Default How to heat a passive solar house? Besides the sun! Lol

Hello Eco_folk!!
We are currently debating on building a new house and want to make it as energy efficient as possible(who doesn't). I've done a lot of research so far and pretty much have a good idea of what we want right down to the floor plan in general.
Luckily we live in the country and our lot allows us to build long east to west and the back of the house faces south. Seems logical to build something passive solar friendly.

I could use some advice on how to heat this house fairly cost effectively.

To start with, we live in Zone 5 in the open country. No natural gas runs out this far and propane is fairly expensive and the prices can be very volatile.

Some design aspects of the house are for cost savings and some are to simplify construction. It's a fine balance I know!

The basics of the construction are as follows:
4" concerete slab on grade with a foundation, not monolith. 4" of XPS foam under the entire slab as well as the perimeter. 4" XPS foam also on the outside of the foundation even below grade.

Wall construction will be 2X6 2' on center, double top plate, sealed base plate. 5/8" drywall inside with vapor barrier, dense pack cellulose insulation in the cavity, then 1/2" OSB outside that is glued(for air tightness) and screwed to the studs. Followed by a moisture barrier, then 4" XPS foam sheets(not 2 layers of 2") and then stucco using EFIS finishes.

30' 4/12 pitch trusses with a 12" energy heel to install blown cellulose to about R60 in the attic space.
Roof will be covered with 1/2" OSB then thin foam followed by raised rib steel.

As you can see by the attached floor plan, the only north windows will be over the kitchen sink and in the office. These will be high quality windows.
No windows on the west wall and no windows on the east wall as that will be against the garage.

The south wall will have four identical windows(2 in livingroom, one in each bedroom) which are 4' wide by 6' high. These will be stationary glass(except one for egress code) using Cardinal Low e glass with U-Factor of just 0.26 and an SHGC of 0.69 for allowing high solar gain with minimal heat loss.
Also there will be 2 sets of french doors (one in master bedroom, one in livingroom), hopefully with the same glass.

This should do quite well heating up the slab as we plan on using dark ceramic tile in all the south rooms.

A lot of attention will be spent on detailed sealing, etc.
So with an idea of the general house design and thermal envelope, I have no idea what to expect as far as what it's going to take to heat/cool this.

I considered running PEX in the slab and heating it, but will the sun do an adequate job of that in this scenario? If I did run the PEX what would be a cost efficient way to heat it, geothermal? electric?

If the sun is going to do a fine job on heating the slab then would a better option be a forced air geothermal? or maybe just a few mini split heat pumps? If geothermal, we have plenty of room for horizontal pipe runs.

Or is this going to be so efficient I could get away with a cheap electric furnace with the right duct design? I know I need to keep the ducts inside the conditioned envelope.

I really have no idea what we may need to handle the heat/cooling loads. Anyone have any experience with a very efficient home heating/cooling?

I'm open to suggestions but i'm not fond of heating oil or a wood burning outdoor unit because i don't want to worry about stocking wood when we're older.
We may also consider heating our hot water with solar if finances allow.
edit: there will be a wood stove in the livingroom but it doesn't run all night or all day when we are at work.

Thanks for all your help.

here is the floor plan

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