OK, you’ve decided to build a 100% solar home; now you need to decide exactly what to build and how to build it. A set of underlying principles help provide direction and guidance when decisions need to be made, and many, many decisions will need to be made. Here are some of the “rules” I adopted in my design process:

• Build as small as you can. I coined the term, “The Just Big Enough House©” as my motto; this is an extension of what Sarah Susanka introduces in her very excellent book, The Not so Big House. Use “Zero Based Justification". It costs money, time, maintenance, taxes, energy, etc. for every square foot you build, so question deeply and be sure you need it before you build it.
• Look ahead. Hopefully you and your family will live in this home for many years. Build it with flexibility to adapt and accommodate your evolving life styles and physical needs.
• Demand that “Form follows Function.” This does not deny beauty; it just questions beauty for beauty’s sake. You won’t always win this battle, not even with yourself, but it is the right place to start.
• Conservation First. It costs about six dollars to create a watt or BTU for every dollar it costs to save one. If you don’t plan on having a very energy efficient house and family, just dream of being 100% solar but don’t waste your money building.
• Think Inside the Box. While energy was cheap, most everyone changed the way things were done, what was expected, and what was acceptable. With cheap energy: huge houses could be warm in every corner; cars could go 80 MPH carrying one person to work; food could be imported from the far reaches of the world; and a lot of energy was wasted. Now we must think differently; we must make some concessions; we must live within our means.
• Look to building and computer science. We can’t do what we have always done; if we do, we will get what we always got – energy inefficient homes. Build it tight, ventilate it right - be sure your builder understands this. Be sure everyone understands thermal barrier, air barrier and vapor barrier and the options available. Most of all, be sure you take advantage of the sun! It is a reliable, calculatable energy source, and there is science to back that up.
• Minimize technology. If it was possible, I’d build a passive 100% Solar Home; but it isn’t if you want daily, predictable comfort in our climate. Geothermal heat pumps are the best alternative for existing homes that can’t maximize their use of the sun and an overwhelming cost advantage for homeowners that only have access to propane or oil; however, for new homes the sun is a better way. The most complex components in my 100% Solar Home will be an inverter and circulator pumps – both fairly easy and economical to swap out in an emergency.

In addition to utilizing the above principles, I wanted to build a house that was somewhat “traditional” in appearance. I wanted to prototype a house that many others might want to live in, and appearance is part of that equation.

I also wanted to build a house that uses standard building materials and skills. It isn’t that I’m uncomfortable experimenting with both materials and processes, but I understand that to be acceptable to more people the fewer experimental aspects the better. This doesn’t mean this house won’t be different; there will be many aspects/prospects that people will need to adjust to (high insulation focus & cost; very low infiltration; no central heating system; an Active Area; sleeping in significantly variable temperatures; showering when the sun permits or in tepid water; etc.). These are all challenges my family and I are willing to accept to live within our resources; hopefully the inconveniences will be minimized, but until I can collect the data and report the actual results, these possibilities and challenges need to be acceptable.

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