The Best Energy-Efficient Home Designs

Conservation

• The first consideration in designing a new home or refitting an existing home for energy efficiency is how to conserve energy. Insulation is a critical component of conservation, especially if the climate has periods of harsh heat or cold. Heating elements, such as water heaters, electric stoves and irons, create the greatest electrical demand, so finding alternatively fueled systems for can lower consumption considerably. The most common wastes of electricity -- aside from tank water heaters -- are communications and entertainment equipment that are left running. Skylights and well-placed windows help conserve energy for lighting in the day.

Going Off-Grid

• Many designs and redesigns are now driven by a tangible goal called "net-zero." Net-zero houses are houses that take no energy, neither electricity nor gas, from the commercial energy grid. A net-zero house will function even in an emergency when power systems fail. Net-zero is achieved by first minimizing demand through changed practices, and then substituting on-site energy production for external sources. This is not simply purchasing gasoline generators. The two most common substitutions are wood for heat and solar arrays with battery storage for electricity.

Passive Systems

• Passive system design is the use of sunlight, wind, plant growth and gravity to do those things that are otherwise accomplished using sources that are produced by human effort, like fuel and electricity. Windmills, water weirs and wheels, sunlight and temperate climate plant changes are all incorporated into the design. A good example of a passive system is a large, south-facing, louvered window with a trellis on the outside and large blinds on the inside. The trellis is covered in grapes or some other deciduous plant. In the summer, the plant foliates and provides shade, and the windows can be opened for circulation, with the blinds blocking more light. In the winter, when the sun is further south, and the leaves have fallen, the blinds can be opened, the windows closed, and the window creates a greenhouse warming of the whole house.

Materials

• Some materials contribute to energy efficiency on-site, while their production consumes a great deal of energy and other resources to fabricate. Solar panels are a good example of this, as are most modern building materials. To offset this, many environmentally conscious builders have emphasized re-use of existing of existing materials in designs, so long as these materials comply with building codes, and the use of more locally produced and sustainable materials. Straw bales are a super-insulating, sound-proofing material that is now incorporated into walls -- with appropriate fire-proofing measures -- as well as cobb -- a material made with straw and clay - and adobe.