Solar Retrofit 2007
* * * This house is now for sale! * * *
The walls and roof are up! This was thrilling, especially as I tracked the sun into the greenhouse. I was really looking forward to winter with this addition! The solar panel for hot water is on the roof to the right.
The cat checks out the interior space. She loved to sit on the open window sills. She was disappointed when the glass went it! Rather, she had to adjust to a smaller, but warmer, space.
The south glass and skylights are in, and the planting bed is to the left. The X on the ceiling to the right is where one of two operable skylights went in for summer ventilation. The adobe along the right wall is thermal mass to retain the heat fom the sun.
A close-up of the adobe wall. They were in the process of removing excess mortar. The door to the right leads into the kitchen. All the doors leading from the greenhouse into various rooms are exterior doors in the hopefully unlikely event it is cloudy and 40 below for weeks at a time, like the old days.
The Adobe Wall on January 31, 2009
Tomatoes, greens, herbs and flowers line the wall! The temperature along that wall does not go below 40 at night without window coverings. This was an experiment, but it worked!
Last summer, I grew these tomatoes in pots outside. I brought them in before the first frost to see if I could push them to produce until Christmas. Check it out:
Ta da! I am looking forward to growing heat loving vegetables in the greenhouse this summer and much more than this minimal experimental crop next winter. Now I know the hot and cold spots, so I can plan accordingly. I will also get some heavy, insulating window coverings to retain heat at night and on cloudy days.
Continue on to page 4 for more construction pictures.
page 1, page 2, page 4, page 5
Read more about solar power and green building on my blog, desert verde.
