Solar Hybrid Home

Basement: 603 s.f.
First floor: 853 s.f.
Second floor: 534 s.f.
Total size: 1990 s.f.

Basement

Spaces include garage, laundry, utility and storage.

What makes this EcoHouse design hybrid, is the fact that both active and passive solar systems are employed.
1) Passive systems:

• favourable building orientation on site, with the greenhouse facing south, whereby its heat flows into the EcoHouse interior simply by opening the sliding doors;
• a compact, double-storied plan, that can be further subdivided into separate temperature zones, and heat storage, a large utility room, and garage in the basement, thus reducing the energy requirement significantly in northern climates;
• a fireplace, used in conjuction with other solar heating solutions, located on an interior wall near the centre of the EcoHouse;
• all windows are double-glazed, with the possibilities of the beadwall system inclusion;
• increased wall and roof insulation, in order to reduce heat loss in typical construction; "breathing walls", naturally diffuse air and water between the interior and exterior, thus acting as the "third skin", were employed; they are constructed of concrete form made from mineralised wood chips and portland cement, making walls that are healthy, environmental, durable, easy to construct, and cost effective; roof tiles are earth-friendly, made of recycled materials and feature a Class 4 Impact Resistance and a Class A and Class C Fire Rating;
• air infiltration losses have been reduced by using air locks at points of entry, whereas the northern roof, pitched at 30°, was designed to retain snow build-up, that acts as insulation during the winter season;
• water-saving toilet seats and other water-saving sanitary equipment has been used throughout the project;
• all installations between the lower and upper floors run through a vertical service duct, which is also fully accessible for inspection and maintenance;
• the greenhouse makes use of the "greenhouse effect" principle to trap sunrays and build up hot air, that is further transferred to the living room and - using a system of open double storey spaces - further into bedrooms. The greenhouse also serves the purpose of a socialising space, and can be used for growing vegetables, breeding pets, etc;
• sunscreening is envisaged as an option, provided that your local latitude and climate so require;
• the southern roof has the optimum pitch of 45°, making it ideal for solar heat collection for latitudes from 30 to 60 degrees North;
  

2) Active systems:

• Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) System has been used in the form of The Solar Boiler™ state-of-the-art solar water heating appliances, manufactured by Thermo Dynamics Ltd; being environment-friendly and very affordable, 8 systems, amounting to 50% of the overall heated area in the EcoHouse were deployed across the southern roof, to supply domestic hot water and the entire quantites of water required to heat the premises; the heat pump used with the system is powered by the sun, and does not pollute;
• ventilation, Indoor Air Quality and heat recovery from within the EcoHouse has been achieved using the brilliant Lifebreath Clean Air Furnace®, manufactured by Nutech Brands Inc. that uses a domestic water heater as its heat source; the Heat Recovery Ventilator removes stale, contaminated air from inside the EcoHouse to the outdoors and at the same time, draws fresh, oxygen-laden air from outside and distributes it throughout your home; the hot, stale air from the greenhouse and the EcoHouse's interior is converted to fresh air, which is then distributed as fresh air and heating through the registers throughout the home;
• the water heated by the solar collectors is, in turn, used in the System Wall Heating, providing optimum heat transmission and operativity with lowest possible water heating temperature; having heating within the walls is cost-efficient, helps save heating costs, can be used reversibly during the summer season for cooling, and is completely ecological;
• Central Vacuum System has been used to remove 100% of contacted dust, dirt, mites, pollen and other allergens, then carry them to a central canister located away from living areas (in the Utility room) — helping improve indoor air quality. Experience shows that by combining these passive ecodesign planning and construction techniques alone, the effect of reducing the total heating energy requirement by about 40% when compared to standard house construction can be achieved! In a well-insulated EcoHouse by the likes of Solar Hybrid, the size of the heating system can be smaller than that required in a conventional house, thus reducing heating equipment costs to offset the cost of increased insulation. It is an organised, well-zoned EcoHouse, energy-efficient in its planning and design.
  

An insulated vertical wind shaft, ending in a skylight, provides natural cross-ventilation and lighting of the living room and the bedroom above. 1) Sunlight reflected into the building in the morning/afternoon or the winter season 2) Protection against excessive sunlight

The windcatches provided for natural cross-ventilation are provided with skylights to serve as additional natural lighting sources. The skylights should be directed to face your prevailing winds and/or natural light sources. They are designed with an inner reflecting surface attached to to an insulating board. The former reflects sunlight into the home, the latter prevents heat losses from inside to the outside.

Plans

When building a new home, you will need working drawings which provide hundreds of additional details. You can save time and money by purchasing these eco-home building plans, professionally designed and produced in English language to meet ISO and BS recognized building standards. Best of all, you will only pay a fraction of the original design cost because the design cost is shared by so many people all over the globe.

Working Drawings include:

* Site Plan:
Shows the proposed site layout of your eco-house and the corresponding design elements.
* Foundation Plan:
Show foundations with all load-bearing points and footings applicable to your eco-home.
* Floor Plan(s):
Show the placement and dimensions of all interior walls in your eco-house floor plans, materials, levels, specifications, etc.
* Roof Plan:
Show roofs with all constructional elements, specifics and dimensions applicable to your eco-home.
* Section(s):
Cross-sectional views of your entire eco-house, with materials, marked details, sectional labeling, dimensions, levels, roof pitches, etc.
* Exterior Elevation(s):
Show exterior materials, details, and all necessary measurements from all sides of your Eco-home.
* Vertical Circulation Details:
Shows additional details and dimensions of elaborate staircases, ramps, elevators, and other vertical circulation means within your eco-home building plans.
* Joinery details:
Shows additional details and dimensions of elaborate ecological window and door designs within your eco-home building plans.
*Structural calculations
*Specifications of materials and products
*Specifications of HVAC and IAQ (Indoor Air Quality)
*Roofing details
*Wall details
*Floor construction plans
*Shading devices details
*Plumbing plans
*Rainwater treatment details
*Water Supply and Drainage details
*Surface Water Drainage details
*Landscaping details

Ordering
When placing orders for plans you can choose between downloading your purchased plans from the Internet, and/or ordering plans printed in black and white on ISO A3 recycled, acid-free paper, containing a minimum of 50% recycled de-inked fiber paper, register airmailed to your postal address. By expressing preference for the printed version of the purchased design, and including an extra-charge to cover the plotting and shipment expenses, you could not only have the CAD Working Drawings that you could modify to meet your requirements of your energy-efficient dreamhouse, but the printed version of the original, as well! The facility of black and white print on A3 format means that you can literally photocopy your EcoHouse plans to as many copies as required by your local building rules and regulations. Likewise, the structural calculations, the materials lists and the specifications, are all printed on Letter and A4 paper formats respectively, which further facilitates reproduction for your needs. Included with the printed plans is a business-card CD comprising the house plans in CAD and PDF format.

For ordering the CAD files only, once you have placed your order and your payment has been processed and approved, an email with your Internet download address is sent automatically to your registered email address. Each download address can be used once, and once only. Should you encounter any difficulties or inconvenience with the download, please contact us immediately.

CAD DXF files
Ferid Abbasher and Associates usually create designs on computers by using CAD (Computer Aided Design) software. The most common type of CAD files are the DXF files, which can be opened by various brands of CAD software. The DXF files downloadable for our designs give you all the features you would get from the blueprints for the same eco-house, and still have all the important details you need to build an eco-home. There are also software utilities available that let you convert a CAD file from one format to another. If you need a different file format we can sometimes provide other file formats. If you have a question about what version the CAD file will be, then please ask about this before ordering.