3-D views, June & December

The designer, Eric Hughes, just sent me these cool, beautiful drawings. Actually he sent me a Google Sketchup file that allows you to fly around and look at the house from any angle! These are screenshots showing how it will look at noon in June, when the sun is at the highest angle, and in December, when the sun is at its lowest angle. (Click the images for a bigger view).
June


December

You can see the effect of the awnings and roof overhang on the passive solar heating. The skylights in the sunroom will have shades to block the summer sun. The sun angles were figured using information from Google Earth for the precise site.

Building Section showing Passive Solar Design

Here is a building section through Turtle's Hope's showing how Passive Solar Design works. You can see a enlarged drawing by double clicking on the drawing above. Per the drawing you can see the sun's angles during June 21st are shaded by the 2'-6" overhangs on the house and on December 21st the sun's angles are not blocked by the overhangs. How does this help you might wonder! During the summer by shading the the hot summers sun it actually help cool the home by keeping the sun from entering through the windows. During the winter it has the opposite effect the sun is now let in to the home which is then store during the day through Thermal Masses such as the tile floor with Gyp-Crete underneath in the Sun Room. The Dinning Room also has windows going out to the Sun Room this will also act as a way to let more heat into the center of the home during the day. In the evening as the sun goes down the the thermal mass releases back the warm that it stored during the day. We add Hunter Douglas Duette Honeycomb blinds to all windows to insulate the windows from heat loss. Meaning the blinds keep the heat inside the home by insulating the window so the heat is not lost out them at night time. Energy Star Ceiling fan are also used to help cool the home during the summer and to help circulate the heat during the winter. For more information on Passive Solar Design read The Solar House by Daniel D. Chiras.

3D Perspective of Turtle's Hope

Here is a early (Lakeside) perspective of a 3d SketchUp model of Turtle's Hope it was used as a design tool to show Alison and Greg how all four elevations from below can come together to create their vision of a home. If you look hard enough you'll see that the elevations below are more up to date than the 3d model. Once the construction drawings are completed we will be revising the 3d model to reflect the change made to the plans since the first 3d model was created. We'll be posting the updated 3d model for all of you to see in the next few week. I would like to thank Alison and Greg for hosting this blog and sharing their journy through the design & construction process of a projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" project with you all.