DESIGN IMPLICATIONS OF LIVING WITH PASSIVE SOLAR HOMES

Case-study examinations of 14 passive solar and woodburning households are used to develop design guidelines and pattern language for passive solar homes. Comparison of differences and consistencies among alternative designs as well as user experiences with and reactions to operating their systems are used as the basis for generating these design criteria. Focus is placed on interior architectural aspects of space planning, furniture layout, and surface treatments. Other questions examined by this research that influence design criteria presented in this paper include: whether open-plan designs decrease privacy and increase conflict among family members; whether significant differences in thermal comfort cause space/time displacements of individual and family activities; how effectively woodburning systems are integrated with passive solar systems; and whether there are significant advantages and disadvantages among direct gain, greenhouse, and trombe wall systems.