Jim from Colorado Springs

[JimGagnepain]

My name is Jim Gagnepain, and I'm from Colorado Springs. I am married, and a father of 2. My wife and I started building a zero-energy, bermed earth home in April of 2011. We got our Occupancy Permit in January of 2012. We love living on our home, comfortably situated on 11 acres, on the prarie. The passive solar designs affords beautiful views of the wildlife - rabbits, quail, other birds, hawks, owls, and an occassional fox. My wife also raises chickens, currently she has about 50 of them - all different varieties.


The views are incredible, with the Sangre de Cristo mountains and the Spanish Peaks, visible in the distance. Because our home faces South, one cannot see Pikes Peak from the home, but no big deal, because it looms to the West, anytime one goes outside.

 

[Ian]

Welcome to the forums Jim!

Your house sounds like a fantastic project - I'm looking forward to hearing about it .

 

[Melissa Berg]

If your window i facing towards south I think you get big amount of sunlight in Your house. You need to your conservatory pleated or roller blinds to cover these open spaces. to make better privacy and block sunlight. Direct Order Blinds one of the best pleated and roller blinds manufacturer in UK

 

[JimGagnepain]

If your window i facing towards south I think you get big amount of sunlight in Your house. You need to your conservatory pleated or roller blinds to cover these open spaces. to make better privacy and block sunlight. Direct Order Blinds one of the best pleated and roller blinds manufacturer in UK

Yes, we have outdoor shades that we retract on hot, sunny days. With the berming on the North side, the house stays nice and cool all day long. Of course the cool Colorado summer evenings, around 60 deg F helps. We open up the house at night for cooling in the summer. No A/C.

 

[Melissa Berg]

Yes, we have outdoor shades that we retract on hot, sunny days. With the berming on the North side, the house stays nice and cool all day long. Of course the cool Colorado summer evenings, around 60 deg F helps. We open up the house at night for cooling in the summer. No A/C.View attachment 257

That's Good it's really a smart way to cover your open space and save yourself by facing sun rays.

 

[JimGagnepain]

That's Good it's really a smart way to cover your open space and save yourself by facing sun rays.

I guess, in England, there's not a lot of passive solar design. However, here in Colorado, where we get 324 Sun-days per year, these designs are extremely efficient. We have electric heaters *required by code). The circuit breakers are OFF, because we don't need them. We also have a woodburning stove, which we've only used twice so far, this Winter. The incredible thermal mass and sealing and insulation of the home, hold the heat in incredibly well. Formula in Winter: 1. Heat home during day (usually Windows have to be opened, even during cold days). 2. Close windows in late afternoon. 3. As the house cools (mostly thru glass - the outside air often gets into single digits), the walls, floors, tile, etc, all start releasing heat. At this point, if you're in the house, it sometimes starts feeling hot. 4 Process repeats in the AM.

 

[Roger52]

My name is Jim Gagnepain, and I'm from Colorado Springs. I am married, and a father of 2. My wife and I started building a zero-energy, bermed earth home in April of 2011. We got our Occupancy Permit in January of 2012. We love living on our home, comfortably situated on 11 acres, on the prarie. The passive solar designs affords beautiful views of the wildlife - rabbits, quail, other birds, hawks, owls, and an occassional fox. My wife also raises chickens, currently she has about 50 of them - all different varieties.


The views are incredible, with the Sangre de Cristo mountains and the Spanish Peaks, visible in the distance. Because our home faces South, one cannot see Pikes Peak from the home, but no big deal, because it looms to the West, anytime one goes outside.

View attachment 204

Hi Jim , do you have any names of architects that can draw up plan for this ?
Watched your you tube video and thank you for the less labour intensive way of building earthships as well as explaining y not to use concrete