Part memoir, part reference work, Green House is the story of a Modernist home designed and constructed to be healthy, energy efficient, barrier free, low maintenance and above all, as functional as it is visually pleasing.
In Green House, owner/designer Deb Christie explains how she chose architect/builder John Hartley, and how they worked together to research and decide on passive solar, Modernist design, metal roof, seamless covered gutters, borate-treated structural insulated wall panels, acoustical insulated ceiling panels, exterior stucco, low-pollution interior built-in cabinetry and paints, fiberglass-framed windows and doors, and exposed ductwork.
Readers of Green House will learn which additional experts and resources helped Deb and John identify the most energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems, including an active solar water heating system, an inexpensive auxiliary pump to minimize waste and wait time for hot water, and an inexpensive device for ensuring injection of fresh air into an efficient dual-fuel heat pump and gas furnace.
Specifications for desirable safety and emergency devices such as smoke alarms, lightning rods, whole-house surge protectors, a whole-house backup generator and security system are described in Green House, as are computer and home theater systems.
A companion book, Green House II: Well Water, Rainwater and Landscaping, will continue the story.
In Green House, owner/designer Deb Christie explains how she chose architect/builder John Hartley, and how they worked together to research and decide on passive solar, Modernist design, metal roof, seamless covered gutters, borate-treated structural insulated wall panels, acoustical insulated ceiling panels, exterior stucco, low-pollution interior built-in cabinetry and paints, fiberglass-framed windows and doors, and exposed ductwork.
Readers of Green House will learn which additional experts and resources helped Deb and John identify the most energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems, including an active solar water heating system, an inexpensive auxiliary pump to minimize waste and wait time for hot water, and an inexpensive device for ensuring injection of fresh air into an efficient dual-fuel heat pump and gas furnace.
Specifications for desirable safety and emergency devices such as smoke alarms, lightning rods, whole-house surge protectors, a whole-house backup generator and security system are described in Green House, as are computer and home theater systems.
A companion book, Green House II: Well Water, Rainwater and Landscaping, will continue the story.
