Passive solar house by Denise Aughtman in San Miguel de Allende Mexico (C) Daniel Friedman

Low-Budget Passive Solar House Design Details

Low cost passive solar house design details and case study
Photographs of an inexpensive, affordable passive solar home, design details, evaluation
Photo examples of using graywater for onsite irrigation at a low-energy home
Photo examples of collecting rainwater at a low-energy-consuming home
Questions & Answers about how to design and build low-cost passive solar homes
References

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This article describes the construction and energy features of a low-budget passive solar home constructed in San Miguel de Allende Mexico.

We describe cost and design trade-offs made by the owner-builder Denise Gelpi Aughtman, a doctor of oriental medicine and acupuncture who practices in Mexico. The home is functional, occupied, has extremely low operating costs, and like most solar home projects, Aughtman has more improvements in the works. Our page top photo shows windows admitting morning solar gain in this nearly-balanced-energy passive solar home in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Readers should also see SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS our solar energy home page, PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN METHOD, and SOLAR HOUSE EVALUATION. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.

Case Study: a Modest Passive Solar Home Combines Beauty, Low Cost, and Minimum Energy Consumption

Like many homeowners who are attracted to homes designed to make use of renewable energy, Denise Aughtman, the owner-builder of the home described here could not approach her project with a fat wallet.

The modest passive solar design house described in this article provides a real-world example of a working solar home built on a shoestring and operated on a thread. Sited with a beautiful view of the mountains above San Miguel de Allende, and located a few kilometers outside of town, this modest home needed to provide shelter, beauty, and economy without breaking the bank.

Passive solar home interior (C) Daniel Friedman, Denise Aughtman

The passive solar design Aughtman used to lay out and construct the home combines utter simplicity, very low cost, effective solar gains providing light and warmth during cold weather, very efficient use of water and electricity, and the beauty of open space inside the home, and views of the mountains over San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico.

The sense of smallness of the overall size of the home when first viewed from outside is promptly lost on entering the structure: Aughtman designed a single large room divided into kitchen, dining, living room, work, and sleeping areas by furnishings or bookshelves (photo at left). A single partition wall was constructed to provide privacy for the bathroom.

The structure is designed to permit a later addition of a second story, accessed by a separate stairwell in an attached tower.

Passive Solar Design Simplicity - Thermal Mass

The home is located on a high plain at approximately 6200 ft. in a climate that combines warm daytime temperatures with cool nights. Constructed of plastered masonry walls and roof on a poured concrete slab set just above grade, the home's thermal mass absorbs heat during warm hours and returns it to the occupants during chilly mountain nights.

Our weather table below shows that in the climate of this passive solar home, annual average low and high temperatures are 52-77degF. During hot weather, the night-cooled masonry walls and roof help keep the house cool during the day. During cooler months, passive solar gain to the building's masonry roof and walls provides warmth for nighttime heating.

Adjustment to the amount of solar gain from single-glazed windows around the curved-wall front of the home is provided simply by opening or closing curtains to admit or stop sunshine onto the tiled floor of the building's interior. Additional lighting for areas of the home most distant from the glass window and door wall are lit by fixed glass glazing in the upper walls and glass block skylights.

Aughtman's budget did not include radiant floor heating for this passive solar home; she reports that the home is adequately warmed during cool weather by the solar-heated masonry roof, walls, and when needed (open the curtains), the tile floor set directly onto the 6 to 12-inch thick concrete floor slab.

See THERMAL MASS in buildings for details about using thermal mass for building comfort.

Potable Water Supply & Rainwater Collection at a Passive Solar Home in Mexico

Water supply for home use as well as agriculture is critical in dry climates such as the Southwestern U.S., Mexico (the location of this home) and many other parts of the world. Our weather table below shows that in the climate of this passive solar home, rainfall varies from about 3 mm in the most dry month (February), to 129 mm in the wettest month (June).

While the home is supplied water from a nearby community well, Aughtman elected to make use of several designs to collect rainwater and to make simple use of graywater at her home.

Basic water supply to the home is provided from a community well. However because the well is located in an agricultural area where well water is not necessarily potable and , most people drink purified or treated water, either purchasing inexpensive bottled water (20 pesos for a 5-liter container) or installing a water purification system such as a ceramic filter systems. See Filters for Drinking Water Purification.)

See DRINKING WATER PURIFICATION for details of various methods, including emergency methods for purifying drinking water. See WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES for more information on water treatment equipment.
Drinking water: Aughtman treats the incoming community well water with her own colloidal silver solution but in recognition that that method is unreliable for some contaminants (See Giardia in Drinking Water and see Colloidal Silver Water Purification), when budget permits she will install a ceramic filter (see Ceramic Filters & Water Purification) that can process either water from her community well or rainwater collected in her local cistern (below).
Rainwater is collected from a near-flat rooftop and channeled to a large fiberglass holding tank - the blue tank in our photograph, (above left). Piping also permits directing water into this tank from a well-fed cistern located atop the concrete block tower). The tower's height provides water pressure to the building.

Currently water is taken out of the bottom of this tank by a simple tank drain valve and hose attachment; to supply this water upwards to the building plumbing fixtures or perhaps to the cistern, a small electric pump will be installed. The tower and a ramp connecting the tower's second floor to a future second story addition on the main house were un-finished at the time of our photograph.
Graywater is collected from sinks and a shower/tub and used for irrigation, as we discuss and illustrate just below.

Onsite Waste Disposal - Passive Solar Home Septic System in San Miguel de Allende

Sink graywater used for irrigation (C) Daniel Friedman

Graywater from the kitchen sink and bathroom shower/tub and sink as well as from a laundry is routed outside to a simple surface channel cut into the soil where it waters ornamental plants, fruit trees, and a vegetable garden.

While a professionally designed graywater system makes use of filtering, Aughtman's budget did not provide for a graywater holding tank, filtration, and a pump. Instead she makes sure that soaps used in the home are low-nitrate, low phosphate, biodegradable products. Washing machine drainage is passed through a simple external laundry filter to remove lint.

[Note: in the U.S. and many other jurisdictions, discharge of raw graywater to the ground surface is prohibited by local building and sanitation codes.]

See GREYWATER SYSTEMS for design and maintenance details for graywater treatment/disposal systems.

Cesspool for blackwater at a passive solar home (C) Daniel Friedman

Blackwater, sewage from the home's toilet is routed to a 1000 gallon site-built cesspool located on the property.

The volume of wastewater to be processed is low because of the separation of graywater for onsite irrigation use.

See TANK PUMPING FREQUENCY TABLE for general septic tank pumping frequency; those septic tank cleaning intervals would be significantly extended for this home of a single occupant, occasional guests, and graywater separation.

For detailed information about cesspools, see CESSPOOLS or go to SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR to access our septic system design, construction, inspection, and maintenance site.

Composting Food Waste at a Passive Solar Home

In keeping with the energy conservation and recycling spirit of the Aughtman passive solar home, Denise has included a compost facility in a corner of her property (photo at left).

Because of the seasonally very dry climate in San Miguel de Allende, Aughtman covers the compost pile with plastic to improve its decay-conversion to mulch for use on her vegetable garden, fruit trees, and flowers.

Passive Solar Design for Average Temperatures and Rainfall in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Simply put, when outdoor temperatures vary roughly the same amount above and below the human comfort zone (65 degF to 70 degF) then in principle, a passive solar home should need almost no additional energy source to provide heating and cooling. Our table of average weather conditions in San Miguel de Allende (below) shows that in that climate, while daytime highs are not much above the comfort point of 78 degF., nighttime lows average 26 degF below that number: solar heating of a thermal mass in the building is wanted for night time indoor comfort. (This information with other weather comments is also at WEATHER in SAN MIGUEL de ALLENDE).

At THERMAL MASS in buildings we describe a second home in this climate and we report that its typical morning low temperature in the coldest months falls to about 61 degF inside that home when no heating source is provided other than the daytime-warmed thermal mass of the building's masonry walls and roof.

Weather Conditions, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico¹
	Temperature Range	Amount Below/Over 78 degF	Rainfall
January	44-71 degF / 7 - 24 degC	34/-7	.5 in / 13 mm
February	46-73 degF / 9 - 25 degC	32/-5	.1 in / 3 mm
March	49-78 degF / 11-27 degC	29/0	.2 in / 5 mm
April	54-82 degF / 12-29 degC	24/4	.8 in / 20 mm
May	57-85 degF / 14-31 degC	21/7	1.2 in / 30 mm
June	58-81 degF / 14-27 degC	20/3	5.1 in / 129 mm
July	57-78 degF / 13-24 degC	21/0	4.7 in / 119 mm
August	57-79 degF / 13-23 degC	21/1	4.6 in / 117 mm
September	56-77 degF / 14-24 degC	22/-1	4.7 in / 119 mm
October	52-76 degF / 12-24 degC	26/-2	4.7 in / 119 mm
November	49-74 degF / 9-23 degC	29/-4	.6 in / 15 mm
December	46-70 degF / 8 - 21 degC	32/-8	.4 in / 10 mm
Annual Average	52-77degF	26 / -1

Notes:

1. Other San Miguel de Allende weather estimates including average high and low temperatures and rainfall vary slightly around these temperature and rainfall estimates. On average the warmest month in San Miguel de Allende is May, the coolest month in San Miguel de Allende is January, and the wettest month in San Miguel de Allende is July.

More about the hilltop town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

San Miguel de Allende - 88 Great Photographs of San Miguel de Allende" - A Photo Tour of the historic village of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico
San Miguel de Allende - A Great Hike just Southeast of San Miguel de Allende" - A photo tour of a 2 to 3 hour hike in the hills Southeast of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico, featuring fabulous views, a waterfall, pertroglyphs, animals, flowers, mushrooms, rocks near a small village.
San Miguel de Allende - Another Great Hike at just South of San Miguel de Allende" - A photo tour of a leisurely meandering 2 to 3 hour hike in the hills South of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico, views, rare flowers, rare butterflies, birds, burros, horses, goats, sheep, friendly people, village church.
HOUSE PHOTOS - San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Mexico description of a private home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
PASSIVE SOLAR HOME, LOW COST a description of a low-budget passive solar home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
WEATHER in SAN MIGUEL de ALLENDE average temperatures, rainfall, etc.

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Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

Dr. Denise Gelpi Aughtman practices oriental medicine and acupuncture in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Dr. Aughtman can be contacted by email: daughtman@gmail.com or by telephone 044 415 113 1043. The passive solar house described in this article is a private home occupied by Dr. Aughtman, but may be available for occasional rental when the owner is traveling.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.

Building inspection education & report writing systems from Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd

Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, have provided us with (and we recommend) Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates' Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment
Special Offer: Carson Dunlop Associates offers InspectAPedia readers in the U.S.A. a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Technical Reference Guide purchased as a single order. Just enter INSPECTATRG in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
Passive Solar Design Handbook Volume I, the Passive Solar Handbook Introduction to Passive Solar Concepts, in a version used by the U.S. Air Force - online version available at this link and from the USAF also at wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/pshbk_v1.pdf
Passive Solar Design Handbook Volume II, the Passive Solar Handbook Comprehensive Planning Guide, in a version used by the U.S. Air Force - online version available at this link and from the USAF also at wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/pshbk_v2.pdf [This is a large PDF file that can take a while to load]
Passive Solar Handbook Volume III, the Passive Solar Handbook Programming Guide, in a version used by the U.S. Air Force - online version available at this link and from the USAF also at wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/pshbk_v3.pdf
The Passive Solar Design and Construction Handbook, Steven Winter Associates (Author), Michael J. Crosbie (Editor), Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-047118382 or 0471183083 is available at Amazon.com and via the The Passive Solar Design and Construction Handbook, Steven Winter Associates (Author), Michael J. Crosbie (Editor), Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-047118382 or 0471183083 is available at Amazon.com and via the InspectAPedia Bookstore
"Passive Solar Home Design", U.S. Department of Energy, describes using a home's windows, walls, and floors to collect and store solar energy for winter heating and also rejecting solar heat in warm weather.
"Solar Water Heaters", U.S. Department of Energy article on solar domestic water heaters to generate domestic hot water in buildings, explains how solar water heaters work. Solar heat for swimming pools is also discussed.
"Heat Exchangers for Solar Water Heating Systems", U.S. DOE describes the types of solar water heater heat exchange methods between the sun and the building's hot water supply
"Heat-Transfer Fluids for Solar Water Heating Systems", U.S. DOE, describes the types of fluids selected to transfer heat between the solar collector and the hot water in storage tanks in a building. These include air, water, water with glycol antifreeze mixtures (needed when using solar hot water systems in freezing climates), hydrocarbon oils, and refrigerants or silicones for heat transfer.
"Solar Water Heating System Maintenance and Repair", U.S. DOE
"Solar Water Heating System Freeze Protection", U.S. DOE,using antifreeze mixture in solar water heaters (or other freeze-resistant heat transfer fluids), as well as piping to permit draining the solar collector and piping system.
"Scaling and Corrosion in Solar Water Heating Systems", U.S. DOE
www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12850 is the base U.S. DOE website for these articles
"Active Solar Heating Systems", U.S. Department of Energy, including
"Radiant Heating Systems" U.S. DOE
"Absorption Heat Pumps & Coolers", U.S. DOE
"Solar Air Heating" U.S. DOE also referred to as "Ventilation Preheating" in which solar systems use air for absorbing and transferring solar energy or heat to a building
"Solar Liquid Heating" U.S. DOE, systems using liquid (typically water) in flat plate solar collectors to collect solar energy in the form of heat for transfer into a building for space heating or hot water heating. The term "solar liquid" is used for accuracy, rather than "solar water" because the water may contain an antifreeze or other chemicals.
"Basic Hydronic under floor - thermal storage 8 to 14 hours of control", this sketch, provided by OPTCO, is not a conventional radiant heating system design - and you'll see that the designer places the tubing too deep for efficient radiant heat delivery to the occupied space. However this design is intended for heat storage, such as in a solar heat storage system. See PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN METHOD for more information. See Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid for a discussion of effective radiant heating floor slab design.
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