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For more information on siting principles, additional detailing, and solar-design strate­gies for houses, as well as the mathematical formulas required to analyze these strate­gies for their potential energy savings, check out the second edition of Sun, Wind & Light: Architectural Design Strategies by G. Z. Brown and Mark DeKay (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2000). […]

Generally, summer and winter winds come from different directions. It’s usually pos­sible to divert winter winds and to channelsummer breezes by carefully locating the house in relation to its surroundings. Check with your local airport, meteorological sta­tion, or state energy office to determine the prevailing summer — and winter-wind direc­tions for your area. Also, this […]

Placing the long side of a house along the east — west axis exposes the south elevation to year — round light and warmth. In summer, this orientation minimizes overheating on the short east and west elevations. Grouping private and unoccupied spaces on the north side of the house, where they act as insulators for […]

BY M. JOE NUMBERS A rchitecture professors love a good riddle. Here’s one: How do ancient Greek town grids, Anasazi Indian pueblos, and New England saltbox houses differ from most residential construction today? Give up? Each culture understood how to site ahouse. The ancient Greeks oriented their town grids to receive winter sun and sum­mer […]

A ir-to-air heat pumps use pressurized Freon® gas to absorb heat from the air outside and transfer it to your home. When the thermostat calls for heating, Freon is pressurized, it condenses, and then it turnsis distributed through registers in the floors, walls, and ceiling. At the same time, a fan in the condenser sends […]

■ BY DAVE YATES The economy is down, fuel costs are up, and chances are that your heating budget is already busted. You need to do something—but what? Only a few of us are ready to invest in geothermal or solar. The rest of us need to find the answer in the heating system we […]

Different manufacturers have different details for securing and weather­sealing their windows. However, they all have a sill expander of some type at the top and bottom, and rely on screws to secure the frame to the jamb.   3. Partially driven screws secure the window for centering.   4. Mounting screws in the window frame […]

W indows wear out before a house does. Sometimes the need for replacement windows is obvious, such as when you encounter poorly functioning single-pane sashes with weights. But even windows with insulated glass become difficult to operate, suffer from damaged seals, or show signs of deterioration. The good news is that replacement win­dows eliminate these […]

The U-factors reported by European window manufacturers—whether given in European units (W/m2^K°) or North American units (Btu/ft2^F°)—are difficult to compare with U-factors reported by North American man­ufacturers. European and North American laboratories use different protocols to test window U-factors, and most glazing experts agree that European U-factors would look worse if the windows were tested […]