Replies

1. 
   dovetail97128 | May 21, 2008 09:22am | #1

   Idea is good, specifics depend a bit on your location.

   Thermally isolating the slab from the ground and at the perimeter is good.

   They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
2. 
   Clewless1 | May 21, 2008 07:14pm | #2

   Right ... What is your location? The success of your approach will depend on your location.-

   Need to take care to preserve the aesthetics of your architecture. It can be easy to take a good idea of passive solar and destroy the aesthetics. Take your time.

   Is there an upper/second floor, too??

   Think about how to protect the glass in the summer w/ e.g. an overhang ... or are you lucky enough to have mature deciduous trees that will shade the glass through the mid day? This is a critical part of and the reason many people quickly grow to hate their sunspaces ... it can make the space competely unusable in the summer and contribute to a cooling problem in the rest of the house as well. While the front/south side of the house in the summer was protected by the porch, if you have unwanted solar gain, it may turn this into a problem.

   So ... I can't emphasize it enough ... summer shading on your passive solar glass is essential. If you have two stories ... consider an intermediate shading device between floors/at midpoints. You can do this an preserve the aesthetics of the architecture ... it just takes some effort ... but life takes effort to be good.

1. 
   jackwater | May 22, 2008 10:03am | #3

   Thank you for the responses:
   as for the floor- it sounds like a slab foundation would be the way to go- I will have to research how to insulate the foundation, and how thick to make it.
   As for unwanted solar gain, there are no deciduous trees to shade it unfortunately, I was considering using a vine to serve this purpose. I'm in the Northeast- but kiwi vines grow really fast and will actually produce kiwis. Alternatively, I was thinking about using windows that I could replace with screens in the summer. It is a 2 story porch, with some nice (although in need of attention)wood details.
   I am still trying to figure out how to measure hours of sunlight and to plan for site work- any particularly good resources? books or websites that would be good primers- I've looked at some. A friend has a device to measure this?It's still pretty new to me- obviously

1. 
   Clewless1 | May 22, 2008 11:25pm | #4

   What do you want to measure?

   I've learned that passive solar design is a solid balance of technology/science and art. Don't forget the looks/architecture otherwise you end up w/ a funky looking sunspace that may work well but looks like heck.

   Don't worry about the hours of sunshine ... just do the most windows you can afford. Try to have an overhang for the summer ... if not ... your vine should work pretty well. Avoid east/west glass as they are net energy losers all the way around. Ditto glass in the roof ... that's the kiss of death.

   Use lots of glass, maintain your architectural style and you'll end up w/ a nice result.

2. 
   KFC | May 23, 2008 01:48am | #5

   Environmental Control Systems by Fuller Moore is a good intro book.  It's more approachable than the title suggests.

   k