Tierra concrete homes: Low-energy residential building design

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:361837

Hayter, S J; Torcellini, P A ^[1]; Neimeyer, J ^[2]

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1. National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States). Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems
2. Tierra Concrete Homes, Pueblo, CO (United States)

Using a whole building design concept, Tierra Concrete Homes, a home builder in Pueblo, Colorado, created low-energy, passive solar home designs. Passive solar features incorporated into the designs include house orientation, high-mass walls for thermal storage, exterior insulation, appropriate glazing type combined with overhangs to prevent summer overheating, open interior spaces to maximize daylighting potential, and high efficiency lighting. These ranch-style homes require no cooling and minimum heating equipment to maintain comfortable indoor conditions. They are economically competitive to build, consume little fossil fuel, and produce virtually no construction waste. This paper discusses how the design of one of these homes was optimized to further minimize energy consumption while maintaining an attractive livable environment. It also describes monitoring activities that are currently underway to verify predicted energy consumption.

• OSTI ID: 361837
• Report Number(s): CONF-970441--; ISBN 0-89553-212-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
COLORADO
DAYLIGHTING
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
HOUSES
PASSIVE SOLAR COOLING SYSTEMS
PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
SOLAR ARCHITECTURE
THERMAL MASS