Here are some of the key features in our  home:

High Efficiency Design and Construction

Passive Solar Design - Our home was designed to allow sunlight to natural heat it.   The home's back and solar collection porch area face 190º which will provide the maximum amount of solar exposure for our latitude.  Theis porch area is designed as a four inch concrete deck with a tile surface and window positioning to allow sunlight to naturally heat it during the day.  During the summer when the sun is high in the sky, the overhang blocks sunlight from directly hitting the porch.  From September through May, reaching a peak a the end of December, sunlight hits the floor and warms it.   This heat is then dissipated during the night hours to keep the home warm.  In addition we will be providing a vent system to allow the warm air to circulate during the day and have added a 'heat sink' under the basement floor for storing naturally collected heat.  This 'heat sink' is a 4' X 10' X 30' pit filled with rocks (we estimate that there is seventy tons of rock in it).  We will pump hot air into this during warm periods using a PV powered fan.  Heat can be retained in this manner for as long as seven days.  Heat will rise from this source buffering the heat supply even on days when there is no direct sunlight.  We were fortunate, in North Carolina, to have a wonderful resource in the design of our home.  The North Carolina Solar Center, a part of North Carolina State University, not only provided us an opportunity to learn about solar design through special classes they hold around the state, but as a service, will review your plans and provide design advice at no charge.  You can get more information from them at:  North Carolina Solar Center

Heat Loss/Gain Resistive Structure - A tremendous amount of time was invested in our home to retain heat and reduce air infiltration.  There are opposing theories about whether homes should breathe or not.  After studying the alternative positions, we decided to make our home as tight as possible.  We felt that the need for ventilation could be adequately controlled by the use of windows, doors, and proper venting.  We have a big problem in the mountains with the infiltration of moisture in our buildings.  The two largest sources of water in a home are air leaks in the exterior walls and ceilings and the porting of water through exterior foundation walls, especially when made of cinder block.  We chose the use of ICFs (insulated concrete forms) described below to eliminate this problem.  Although the wall components are rated at approximately R26, in their use in this building system our home performs the same as a stick built home with an R50 rating.  The 'R' rating is used to quantify the amount of heat that will pass through a surface.  The higher the number, the more resistance there is to heat loss.  Our state building codes require a minimum of R19 in exterior walls.

Another area that was of concern was heat gain in the summer.  In our design we addressed summer heat by the use of high ceilings in the home, ceiling fans, and the installation of aluminum shingles (see below).  This combination eliminated our need for a summer cooling system.   In addition to these elements, we discovered that our ratio of window openings and placement gave us a natural air flow through the house caused by the predominant westerly winds flowing over the top of the house and falling off the back roof cause a vacuum that would pull a gently flow of air through the house.

Heat Sink
Nestled below the basement floor of our model home is an interesting experiment.   A space ten foot across, four feet deep and thirty feet long was excavated as a heat sink.  This area has a set of ducts, made from cinder blocks lined up so the holes meet, at the base of the pit.  On top of that more than 70 tons of rock covered the these ducts.  At each end is a vent pipe that will pump hot air from the solar collection area down into the rock.  This will be done with an electric fan run by a photovoltaic panel.  Early tests on this type of arrangement have resulted in heat being stored for as long as seven days.  Heat from the pit will rise naturally from the floor upward to warm the basement and then the main floor of the home.

Renewable Energy Systems
Our goal in building a sustainable home is to let it use natural power that flows around the house.  This comes in the form of sun radiation, wind, and water power.   All of these natural and free resources will be tapped to pump water, create electricity, and to warm the house and domestic hot water.  These systems are further described below.  We do have a backup system that will be used in case our natural power is inadequate.  There is a diesel generator to charge the batteries.  It will be run with waste vegetable oil from local restaurants.  This fuel is called bio-diesel since it is based on bio-degradable oil.  These engines, by the way, that use this type of fuel emit less toxic exhaust and require less maintenance.  The fuels is a much higher grade than standard diesel fuel.  are

Green Building Materials

All of the materials used in the building of our model Eco-home are called 'Green Building Materials'.   Products that can pass stringent tests for both their manufacturing and end use in which the environment is protected are called 'Certified Green Building Materials'.  To be certified, the products must pass these tests:

1. They must be made of recycled content or renewable content.

2. They should eliminate a natural resource from being consumed.   

3. Less costly to install than traditional methods.

4. Less costly to buy than traditional materials. (by a minimum of 50%)

5. Must improve the overall efficiency of the completed project.   (i.e. heating & cooling)

6. They must not off-gas or have a substantial reduction of off-gassing both in manufacture and final use.

7. They must be non-toxic in both manufacture and final use.

Use of 'Green building products' and recycled building materials is a key element in the construction of our model Eco-home. 

Aluminum Shingles
We looked at a number of metal roofing options for our home instead of asphalt, Fiberglas, or shake solutions.  Asphalt shingles were considered the worst solution due to their short service life and tremendously long bio-degradability.  It is estimated that 80 million tons of shingles are dumped into land fills in this country every year.  It will literally take thousands of years for the shingles to decompose.   Metal roofing, however, has a tremendously long service life.  We estimate our roof can last as long as three hundred years.  Our choice for aluminum was based on overall earth friendly statistics.  The shingles are made of 98% recycled product.   If they are ever damaged, they can be thrown in the recycle bin again with our soft drink cans.  They reflect 95% of the sun's radiant energy, thereby keeping the home cool in the summer and adding hundreds of years to the life of the roof's supporting structure.  The product we chose to use in our home has a lifetime warranty on the finish and uses a paint that is as reflective as the metal, even in dark colors.  A final feature, important to us in the mountains, is the ability of the product to withstand our sometimes violent winds.  We have measured wind speeds in excess of 100 mph on a regular basis during our winter months.  Our shingles are designed to withstand wind of 180 mph or more.

Two of the best aluminum shingle products we found were manufactured by  Perfection USA and PRS Permanent Roofing Systems.  Both companies were extremely helpful and highly environmentally oriented. 

Insulated Concrete Forms
Our choice of ICFs for the building of our home's outer shell came after a lot of study and comparisons of products and concepts.  We decided on this new concept of shell structure after seeing a grocery list of advantages and very little in the way of disadvantages.  One of the most appealing ideas was that we could actually build the shell structure ourselves and then have the cement pumped into it.  The material was lightweight and easy to cut and install, even for a complete novice.  We did,  however, learn a number of 'tricks of the trade' that made the installation easier and more professional.  After deciding to use ICFs we looked at nine different products and evaluated them.  After looking at nine different manufacturers, we ended up choosing IntegraSpec by Phil Insul Corporation for the following reasons:

1. Inner concrete structure was a bull 6" width throughout the walls, giving us a much stronger structure and less of a problem pumping it.
2. Product is shipped without the webs.  This allows more product to be shipped in less space. Our whole house was shipped in one semi load.
3. With no webs, pieces could be used on either side in either direction.   This resulted in much lower waste.
4. This product was tighter and stronger than competitive products.  We actually poured ten feet of concrete in a single pour.  No other product could do this.  They were limited to a five or six foot pour maximum. 
5. Because of the design, the pieces interlocked allowing the walls to be built and remain straighter than other systems.  No bows or curves.
6. The wall system can withstand 200 mph winds and is very shock resistant.
7. The ICF system allowed us to meet our goal of providing a 500 year structure.  We discovered that it actually has a potential life of 7,000 to 9,000 years.
8. IntegraSpec is a certified 'green' building material.  It's foam is made by the use of steam instead of chemical reaction.  There is no off-gassing in the manufacture or use of this product.  Phil Insul Corporation

Form-a-Drain
Forma-a-Drain by Certainteed is an innovative replacement for forming wood used in footers that is discarded after use.  Instead of throwing away the forms, this product becomes a permanent part of the structure.  It is about the size of a 2 X 6 and is hollow.  Slits in the sides that face away from the concrete footer become, on the outside, a footer drainage system and on the inside become a part of the radon abatement system.  The result is a reduction of lumber consumption at the job site while reducing the requirement for additional plastic or clay tile products used in traditional construction.                                                 Certainteed Information

 
Roof and Floor Trusses
The use of engineered trusses is becoming more commonplace today, especially with the consideration that longer spans are available and there is a reduction of sag and bounce. Trusses allow a greater strength using smaller dimensional lumber.  This makes them cheaper and less demanding on the environment.  In the construction of our model Eco-home we worked with a company that made an extra effort to massage our design.   We ended up with a truss design for the roof that was incredible in both performance and material use. 

The roof truss we ended up with was a free span truss that hung over a distance of 52 feet.  Because of the engineering, we were able to make them from 2 X 4s instead of larger dimensional lumber and this resulted in about a 30% reduction of materials used.  In addition, this full span design will allow future owners of this home to make changes in interior walls without affecting the roof or sidewalls.  This flexibility allows future generations options for change instead of demolition.

The Nailer
Sometimes simple ideas can be such great ideas.  The Nailer is one such product.  It is a plastic tab that replaces wood blocking on                                           top of partition walls and also will replace the blocking stud in outside corners.  This allows the corners to accept a full size piece of insulation making the building tighter and more efficient.  The Nailer Information

Tri-Flex 30
One of the recommendation we were given by Permanent Roofing Systems in the application of aluminum shingles was the use of a product called Tri-Flex 30.  They indicated to us that their research had found this roofing underlayment far superior to traditional tar paper for two reasons.  The first was that the product was much more durable.  It could withstand long periods of exposure, even to high winds, without tearing.  This was critical for us since the winds in the mountains is often in excess of 70 mph.  I have watched tar paper be ripped entirely off a roof in a matter of hours.  The second was related to IAQ (Indoor Air Quality).  I discovered that tar paper will actually hold moisture for long periods of time creating a bed for mold and mildew.  Tri-Flex 30 is impervious to moisture so it sheds water and dries quickly.  This results in a substantially lower opportunity for a build up of irritating allergens and a much high quality of adjacent air.  This is an excellent product that can be used in homes that are specified as non-allergic.

Flexia Corporation Information

High Efficiency Windows

Sloan Valve Company - Flushmate IV

Recycled Materials

Managed Forestry Wood Products

Under Construction - Thank you for your patience.  More to come soon.

Recycled Products

Recycled Rebar
Recycled Beams
Shingles

Alternative Energy Systems

Wind Power
Wind Water Pumping
Water Power
Sun Power

Permaculture/ Sustainable Agriculture

The construction process is underway and is documented in this web site.  As this venture continues, we will keep you updated on the miracle of Mountain Mission Farms.  

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or call (336) 877-1860