2.1b Siting

Feature	Situating the house on the lot to take advantage of sun for passive solar and solar power, and to take advantage of prevailing winds for natural cooling is part of a green strategy. This house in Claremont, in a hot mountainous area east of Los Angeles, was sited on the lot to take advantage of the afternoon winds that come from the west in the afternoons. After keeping the French doors (seen in the kitchen at right) closed in the mornings, the owners retain the coolness the house achieved at night. Then, when the house begins to warm up in the afternoon, they open the doors to allow in the breezes . . .
	The afternoon breezes then travel up the open stairwell . . .
	. . . and out the operable clerestory windows at the top of the house. The house was sited on the lot to capture these breezes and designed so the breezes had a pathway to push warm air up and through the house. With most house designs you would find closed-in stairwells and walls and rooms. In that case, air conditioning would be needed more often, raising the cost to operate the house and keep the occupants comfortable. Comfort is just as much a function of green building as is energy efficiency.
Function	Siting the house properly helps it work in concert with nature, instead of against nature. This includes orienting a solar-powered home in a way to take best advantage of the sun’s arc across the sky. According to green publisher Oikos: “An energy-efficient home isn't complete until it faces the sun. Passive solar design and orientation reduces a home's heating and cooling costs and provides more spacious, well-lit and comfortable spaces. For builders and developers, reorienting a new home to take advantage of the warmth of the sun will increase the home's appeal and marketability. It will provide that extra benefit that makes a home stand out from all the others, an added sales tool in a competitive market.”
Cost Range	Theoretically, it would not cost any more to site a house properly on a lot. However, practically speaking, such a process requires the knowledge of a green-trained architect or designer.
Benefits	When sited properly for sun and breezes, the house is more comfortable for occupants and requires less conditioning of interior space, thus saving money on utilities.
Challenges	The biggest obstacles to siting properly are ignorance, apathy and a “this is how we’ve always done it” mentality. In a large tract of homes, where the cheapest possible method is to create cookie cutter homes sited identically on lots, there may be a cost to orient the homes properly.
Data	Research supports the energy-savings claims of passive solar designers. A study by the Bonneville Power Administration placed home space-heating savings between 10% and 20% and a study by the City of San Jose, California, estimated savings for cooling costs between 10% and 40%. The homes in both these studies were simply reoriented to the sun and did not include any special solar design features. It's not surprising that proper orientation increases heat gain in winter and saves money by reducing heating bills. However, homes with good orientation also save money on summer cooling. The south wall and its windows are shaded from the high summer sun by the roof overhang. (Source: Oikos)
Another Example	This house in California was oriented on the lot so the solar panels on the roof get the fullest exposure to the sun.