Village Squire, 1980-10, Page 13Windows in the passive solar house
have slim shades between two panes of
glass which can be shut to deflect hot
morning sun. (Photo by Drummond)
utilizing them immediately."
When Karl put an underground hydro
cable to his shed, he also added an extra
line for future windpower. So the
"ground work" is prepared for when he
is ready to spring into his next energy
saving venture.
To the Lentz's, planning ahead seems
almost as important as energy saving
ideas themselves. They've shown their
foresight in the underground lines for
future collectors. They reviewed
hundreds of blueprints for houses and
even tried drawing their own before they
found the right plan.
ANOTHER ADVANTAGE
By finishing the basement and
planning the location of each room
beforehand, the Lentz's gained
another advantage. The basement parti-
tions acted as the bearing walls, and act
as the supporting structures, instead of
awkwardly placed beams.
Every room in the Lentz home was
planned for its future use before it was
built. Each was built and located
according to its frequency of use. The
couple decided on relatively small
bedrooms because they're not used
frequently, and they deleted a second
bathroom and added a laundry and office
room instead. The laundry room is
located near the bedrooms, close to the
clothes needing washing.
Three of the most important rooms on
the upper level are the kitchen, dining
room and living room, and they are all
placed in the warmest and brightest
area of the house, the south and east
sides.
The Lentz's wooden foundation was only
six inches wide, resulting in the saving.
Karl added six inches of insulation in all
of the walls instead of traditional four
inches. Wooden foundations are suppos-
ed to be warmer and dryer because they
don't sweat.
Outside, the building is covered with
masonite siding. Masonite was less
expensive than aluminum. The couple
wanted a natural beige brown colour for
their siding, but could not find any in the
colour they wanted. So before it went on
the outside wall, they painted it. Karl
"Living in a solar heated house means hours of
window washing"
The Lentz's rely on other sources of
heat besides the sun. On the lower level
they're installing a wood stove and a vent
will carry the warm air to the hallway
upstairs.
RADIANT HEAT
Karl says they could not use
conventional oil heat in their solar home
because the south rooms would be too
warm and the north rooms too cool. In a
solar home, each room's temperature
must be individually controlled.
They could have chosen electric heat,
but instead wanted radiant heat. With
radiant heat, a thin panel covers the area
between the joists in the ceiling. The
panel consists of a thin layer of carbon
graphite with a copper strip on each side
of it.
Teflon covers the panel, and the
system uses electricity for power. Radiant
heat warms the objects near it, and the
air indirectly. The concrete basement
floor gets as warm as the walls.
All of this heat may be fine in the
winter, but what about in the summer?
Karl and Lynda find few problems with
excess heat in the summer. They can
partly close the slim shades to keep the
heat out. Also a summer breeze through
the house adds comfort, and the lower
level is cool because it is partly
underground. Air conditioning did not
seem to fit naturally into their home with
radiant heat, so they do not have it.
WOOD FOUNDATION
The Lentz's decided against a
traditional concrete foundation and opted
for a wood foundation. This decision
saved thcm 100 square feet in space.
Their contractor Ron Wingfield, from
Wingham, was very much in favour of the
wood foundation Concrete foundations
require a four toot slab, eight inches
wide, followed by a two by four for
insulation, making it twelve inches wide.
expects the two or three coats of paint to
last several years because it's painted on
a dry non -porous surface.
Everything in the Lentz home speaks of
energy efficiency and preplanning, and
full energy efficiency cannot exist without
a great deal of forethought.
And the Lentz's have done both,
planned ahead and utilized their resour-
ces. Their goal was to live in an energy
efficient house. As Lynda noted, "That's
the only reason we built."
Visit
Jana
Natural
Foods
For all Your
Baking Needs
• CHRISTMAS GLAZED
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• DRIED FRUIT
• NUTS
• FLOUR
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75 Hamilton St.
GODERICH
Phone 524-7561
Hours: 9-30 to 5..10
Closed Wed. P M
VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1980 PG. 11
1