Helen Richards combined her skills as an architect with her concern about sustainability to create an award-winning home with low environmental impact and constant warmth, ranging between 16 - 24 degrees.
Combining the right site with passive solar design has kept the temperature of Helen’s Nelson home constantly above 16 degrees since March 2004 – with no need for extra heating or air conditioning.
“The house always feels warm. I’ve never woken up cold. I underestimated the amount of difference one degree can make – 18 degrees can feel chilly, but at 19 I always feel fine,” she says.
North facing for both sun and views, Helen’s home uses a concrete floor and concrete internal walls to collect, store and release the sun’s energy from dawn to dusk, keeping the home at a comfortable temperature. The polished concrete floor can store as much heat as 20 oil heaters burning continuously.
Helen says a house designed for passive solar heating costs the same to build as an average house: “Where most houses go wrong is that the rooms are not oriented correctly to the sun…this doesn’t cost any extra! If you want extra insulation or double glazing you will pay more, but the benefits are ongoing.”
Image provided copyright to Stirling images.
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