Concept

The main idea is to put more active rooms on the south side, where they will receive solar heat directly and daylighting. Then put less used or less active rooms on the north side. In some cases, cooler spaces may be desirable for the function – for storage for example.

Other factors come into play, such as placing related functions, such as cooking and eating spaces adjacent to each other; zoning for noise; location of entrance, etc.

Application

In our case, one of the biggest factors was the need for a first floor master bedroom suite. It was very difficult to have all the first floor spaces fit in a clean, slightly elongated rectangle. On the flip side, the resulting upstair space was more than we needed for two children’s bedrooms and bath.

Our solution was to have the kitchen, dining, family room, and laundry/guest bathroom (see Active Area) occupying 2/3 of the first floor, on the south side.

On the North side of the first floor, we have a smaller bedroom “suite” than we wanted and it has an odd layout; but, it is on the first floor and it will meet our needs. This is an example of an adjustment necessary to have a 100% Solar Home – when your knees are getting old...

The children, on the other hand, have more space than they need (though not as much as they wanted) on the second floor. With the shed dormer, there is good southern exposure for their rooms and a bathroom, and there are closets and storage on the north side under the roof. I would have made their rooms smaller, but with a cape design this is pretty economical space and thermally effective. Also, since we will not have an attic for storage, we added a storage room in the center of the second floor, north side.

In the basement, we have plenty of space for the solar center (water storage tanks, electric meters, wiring, etc.), storage, and for a future play room and office. The playroom area and office are on the south side. The storage and utility areas are on the north side.

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