This 2-bedroom superinsulated, passive solar apartment was converted from an old, unused chicken barn by Sr. Paula Gonzalez, SC, working with mostly volunteers under supervision of Price Hill builder Jerry Ropp. Original design was by Sr. Paula and AEA's founder and solar homebuilder, Ray Baker. Recycled and reused materials were used throughout the structure in addition to new stuff only where necessary.
There is about 1200 square feet of living space, heated primarily by the south-facing windows, all fixed quadpane units. The two interior panes of these unit are 3M "Sungain" films originally used in this type of glazing. 206 square feet of quadpanes are in the sunspace covering the apartment's south face. Thermal storage is below the apartment floor slab, which was poured atop 8 inches of stones and concrete blocks. Solar heated air rises from the sunroom through French doors and high transon windows in the backwall, then rises through the great room into a loft where there are another 44 square feet of south-facing quadpanes. Solar-heated air in the loft is forced down into the subfloor thermal storage by thermostatically controlled blowers. Air is returned to the sunroom through concrete blocks aligned as ducts, so the solar-heating cycle can be repeated. A wood-burnning stove in the great room is the backup heater. The two north bedrooms have small electric radiant wall heaters.
New construction walls were insulated to R-24, but the old chicken barn walls were retrofitted to R-30. Ceilings were insulated to R-30-32. The airflow floor has R-12 insulation. Cross-ventilation from low north windows to high clerestory windows provides most of the cooling, but there are also paddle fans to keep air circulating on hot days. Sunscreens are hung on the outside of the quadpanes to block solar heat during summer. Preheating of domestic hot water is accomplished with a single solar collector.