The passive-house building standard relies on lots of insulation and intentional design to use as little energy as possible for heating and cooling. "Things like 'passive house' have become more ...

Building a passive solar adobe home wasn’t the norm in 1982. But studio artist and Zen practitioner Susan Linnell, driven by a desire for efficiency and an interest in architecture, knew what she ...

Following the first energy crisis in 1973 there was a rush to heat homes with the sun. It was a tinkerer's paradise, with all manner of solar heating systems migrating from garage workshops to ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Paul and Patricia Grogan, both 81, built an energy-efficient passive solar home near Dublin in the 1970s. After almost 50 years, ...

Question: I want to build a conventional-looking house that uses solar heating and cooling without the big solar roof collectors. I would like a spacious, open floor plan. What solar features are best ...

As I discussed in last week’s column ("Resilience: Dramatically Better Building Envelopes," Jan. 4), a resilient home is extremely well-insulated, so that it can be kept warm with very little ...

Q We're hoping to buy a large lot soon and eventually build a retirement home there. Any tips for picking a good site that will let us use many of the passive solar principles you have written about?

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