.

Maybe not a biggie, but in case you haven't already; consider one ( or perhaps several ) "light tubes" . . such as Solatube. Not only do they let in the "perfect" spectrum of light; but they do it without the usual heat gain. They can certainly brighten up an otherwise dark hallway or such and preclude the need for lights during daytime. By using a diffuser where it enters living space; they disperse the light very nicely. Get the benefits of a skylight without the drawbacks . . . .

I'll also toss out the idea of metal roofing . . . holds FAR less heat in the summer . . . making it easier to maintain reasonable temps indoors. It is also fast and will outlast YOU. When it's done for many years from now; it is easily and readily recyclable. Choice of colors / patterns can very easily make a dramatic difference in the apperance of your place as well.

I would think that ALL you fixtures will be fluorescents .. . if not it's worth doing; literally it pays for itself . .. not only in lighting costs; but also far less heat generated which again eases maintaining reasonable indoor temps. I'll also suggest a reasonable bath fan ... I really like the Panasonic I got. . .. VERY quiet, moves lots of air, and uses 1/3 energy of an essentially similar Broan I looked at. The Panasonics also come with fluorescent built in.

Good luck with your endeavor . . .. .

Bob

We are doing a metal roof, possibly white. We also looked at the solatube, but our house design actually lets south light into almost every room. Still might be useful. My wife and I want a bright house. And yes, most lighting will be fluorescent, although, I want to find out more about L.E.D.'s that I saw reference to in another thread. I had not thought about the fans yet.

Thanks! Just the kind of suggestions I was looking for.

Here is a link for a heat recovery for use in bath/shower drains. From what I can make of them they seem to work best when taking showers, as you need water moving in both directions to gain anything (preheat your incoming cold with grey warm water)

chief

Here is a link that might be useful: http://gfxtechnology.com/

This looks interesting. I was imagining something like a shower drain pipe going through some thermal mass like the concrete slab to transfer heat into the house, with a manual valve to divert in the summer, but this would be advantageous year around. Thanks for the link!

First, orient your house to get the most out of the sun and to give you air flow. Use ceiling fans and put one in the stairwell to move the air.

Get an attic fan to move air out in the summer. Insulate well and insulate the electric outlets.

Thanks, our design is getting the most out of the winter sun and Thermocore is extremely well insulated. I've also been asked to consider white for the color of the metal roof, but not completely sure about the how that is going to look yet.