The Hybrid House: Designing with Sun, Wind, Water, and Earth
Here are real examples from around the globe showing how homeowners are creating dream houses that satisfy their low-carbon lifestyles. From solar homes in California to an ecovillage in New York, from a wind-powered ranch in Kansas to a home built from jumbo straw bales in the Swiss Alps, people are doing their part to build a healthful home and planet.\ In the industrialized world, half of the energy consumed is used to construct and power buildings. Burning fossil fuels for heating and...
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The Hybrid House highlights real people who have used a combination of design strategies to reduce their energy use - sometimes by as much as 90 percent! Author and photographer Catherine Wanek showcases sustainable new and renovated houses that incorporate natural building materials like straw bales, adobe and real wood, with renewable energy systems, that will minimize a modern home's carbon footprint, while ensuring a healthy environment for residents. See inspiring contemporary examples from the United States, Canada and Europe."Catherine Wanek is the author and photographer of The New Strawbale Home and co-editor/author of The Art of Natural Building. She lives in Hillsboro, New Mexico. Tap renewable resources to reduce carbon consumption and increase energy efficiency.
In temperate climates the sun may be seasonal.\ Typically, solar systems depend on temperature sensors, valves, electronic switches, antifreeze, and/or heat exchangers to keep pipes from freezing in the winter. However, the most practical solar hot water heaters are often the simplest.\ In some climates, a solar thermal system can provide all the hot water a hybrid household needs, for both domestic use and space heating. A radiant heating system circulates warm water (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit) through durable polyethylene (PEX) tubing encased in concrete floors or thick plaster. As it is pumped through the system, the warm water radiates its heat into the mass surrounding it. When the sun is shining, a solar system can furnish this heat, backed up by a conventional or on-demand hot water heater.
8 What is a Hybrid House? 10 Dangers and Opportunities 15 Strategies 33 Southwest 47 South 65 Midwest85 Northeast 95 West Coast113 Europe 140 An Inspired Future 142 Resources
