This 2,640 s/ft passive solar home is near the Wisconsin River. It has a 1,000 s/ft walk-out basement and main floor, plus a 640 s/ft second floor. The home has photovoltaic (PV) panels mounted on the roof to provide electricity, and ground mounted solar hydronic panels to heat water for domestic use and the in-floor heating system. The masonry heater has hydronic loops to heat water as well. Between the wood lot and the sun, we expect that close to 100% of this home's energy will be produced on site. Siding is sustainably harvested rough-sawn pine, milled by Menominee Tribal Enterprises.
Quarried local sandstone steps up to the front entrance were set with a backhoe by Rusin's Evergreen Excavating at the Owners' direction.
The masonry heater is veneered with the same earth-clay plaster used on the walls of the main floor. Rounded corners mimic the plaster returns on the windows. A heated bench topped with sandstone makes for a warm perch on winter days.
A nook off the living room area is the perfect spot for a desk.
The Owners made a tremendous contribution to the finished project, including finishing stairs, varnishing doors & windows, installing siding, upstairs finish work, and landscaping.
Interior finishes include naturally tinted earth plaster veneer, and acid-etched concrete floors with in-floor radiant heat. Additional wax coating on the floor brings out the rich color.
Main floor powder room with
pocket door. The walls are textured, tinted plaster veneer which will hold up to water splashes better than clay-based earth plaster.
Kitchen cabinets are by Steve Morgan of Twin Springs Design. The island has a butcher block top.
Open shelving lets light into the kitchen, uninterrupted by upper cabinets.
The Owners selected & installed local sandstone for windowsills.
The 480 s/ft. solar hydronic panel array was designed & installed by Solar Mining Company of Green Bay as a single unit. A small PV module provides power for the circulation pump, making the heating system operational even when the grid is down.
Heat exchangers from the solar system and the masonry heater dump heat into a 1,000 gallon concrete storage tank lined with EPDM. The heat can then be extracted for domestic hot water or space heating requirements via heat exchangers. Originally, we planned to bury the tank beneath the basement floor, but granite on site prevented that option.
Diagram of the renewable space heating and domestic hot water system. Back-up boiler is an on-demand, modulating NITI 150, which when operating, fires at a different rate depending on load requirements and the temperature of the water from the storage tank.