FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA

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Our Building
More Buidling Info

Our Passive Solar Building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our center was built in 2003 with the help of many wonderful community volunteers! The design of our education center incorporates passive solar features such as trombe walls and south-facing windows, which allow the sun to warm up the colored, scored and grouted concrete floors. Because of these features, we are able to heat our building without auxiliary heat!

 
Straw Bale walls provide R-33 insulation (conventional walls = R-12). The ceilings have blown-in insulation that provide R-50 insulation (conventional = R-30 to R-38) and floors at R10 (conventional = none).
The building has wood frame construction with straw bale walls on the West, North, East, and three trombe walls on the South. Trombe walls are 12” sandblock filled with grout, mortared, and painted black on the outside. The glass pane above the wall helps to trap heat which will be transferred to the interior of the building at night.
The floor is 5” think solid concrete, gridded and grouted to look like tile. The concrete was dyed red and then sprinkled with a yellowish powdered dye while still damp. The floor is insulated around the perimeter with 4 feet of foam insulation.

The result is an eco-friendly, low-cost building that functions as both a comfortable workplace and useful education facility! Come visit our center and see first-hand how beautiful green can be!