Design lessons

The McCook house incorporates a number of design strategies that have been demonstrated as effective in numerous other passive solar homes.  The key lessons from this home come from the tilt slab construction technique and the use of Trombe walls.

In an environment where passive solar or environmentally friendly houses are often seen as expensive, the demonstration of a cost-effective approach using tilt slab construction is very important.  The construction method used provides the thermal performance of insulated double brick, yet has a construction cost comparable to that of brick veneer.  This is a valuable example that will help to overcome the cost barrier often associated with massive buildings.

The Trombe walls also represent another important design feature of this home.  The data collected on their performance demonstrates that they have a positive effect by providing winter warmth.  The Trombe walls present challenges for internal furnishings and visual amenity yet the owners believe they in fact do not impinge on internal layouts.

The issue regarding high relative humidity levels is also worthy of note.  A certain minimum air changes are required in a home and most provide this through unintentional gaps and cracks throughout the home.  In a tightly sealed home this minimum air change may not be achieved during low wind periods, especially during the colder months.  The owner is currently reviewing the option of installing an air-to-air heat exchanger as are found in the colder climates of Europe and North America where homes are very tightly sealed.