true. my spec sheet is for Louisiana,south central La., a hot humid climate. while location isn't in the actual specs location is in the links & of course my user name. lzerarc,you got my gender wrong. LOL. Are you still building Energy Star homes? I've been doing mostly existing homes but have a builder that wants to build to the 50% better standard, for the $3,000 builder credit. do you find this too much to ask of a builder? just wondering if I want to invest time & effort into this..again. glad to see my specs are helping. please no IC recessed lights. ICAT only. recessed lights & duct leakage is so easy to get right and has such a bad effect when it isn't done right. these two things are my pet peeves. best of luck.

. I applaud your efforts / goals. I'll suggest that radiant heat can do very well when used with either geothermal or solar heat collectors; especially in your climate. It can also supply a very good portion of your hot water needs too. Even up here in central New York state; solar water heating / pre-heating can pay for itself relatively quickly. I'll point out an issue you may have to deal with . . . . the "no flame" statement. Don't know why you want that; but realize that any appliance / whatever; that creates heat; will require large amounts of electricity to generate. VERY large amounts. You mention the possibility of using PV at some point; all the conserving / efficiency you may build into your place; will be completely SWAMPED by ANY electric heating appliance . . water heater, stove / range etc. Don't know why your aversion to flame; but from PV / electricity usage; you'll be FAR better off using propane / NG or such; to generate the heat required. I'm solar powered / grid tied . . and I went around the house to find the consumption of ALL my loads . . . the single biggest load in the whole place ? . . . the hairdryer. Followed by vacuum cleaner, well pump, then toaster. You may have your reason(s) for "no flame" . . but realize the implications of doing so completely. Also know, especially on a large chunk of land you've got; that PV panels do NOT need to go on the roof. That rarely is correct angle for the sun anyway. You could easily do pole mounts at a good location sun / exposure wise; and run cable to the house. Let's you orient your house the way you want; AND could reap great benefits electricity-wise. I'll also suggest Solatubes or such; as a very good way of bringing in as much light as you want; without introducing any heat; into the areas of your house that will have little window area. Good luck . . . Bob

Perhaps you would be interested in the article I wrote regarding energy conservation. Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss, resulting in increased energy costs. The same air leaks that cost us heat loss in the North can cost you cooling loss in the South. thanks, Mark D. Tyrol, P.E. Battic Door Attic Stair Covers PO Box 15 Mansfield, MA 02048-0015 tel. 508.320.9082 fax 508.339.4571 email: mark@batticdoor.com web: www.batticdoor.com Reduce Your Heating Bills This Winter - Overlooked Sources of Heat Loss in the Home, by Mark D. Tyrol, P.E., www.batticdoor.com - November 2004 Imagine leaving a window open all winter long the heat loss, cold drafts, and wasted energy! Well if your home has a folding attic stair, a fireplace, and/or a clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home! These often overlooked sources of heat loss and air leakage can cause your heat pour out and the cold outside air pour in costing you higher heating bills, causing cold drafts, and wasting energy. Air leaks are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Air leaks occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Homeowners are well aware of the benefits of applying caulk and weatherstripping to these areas to minimize heat loss and cold drafts. But what can you do about the three largest "holes" in your home the folding attic stair, the fireplace, and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. Attic Stairs: Do you have a folding attic stairway in your house? When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet!) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed. And what is installed to cover this opening? A thin, unsealed, un-insulated sheet of plywood! Did you know that your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors? In the winter, the attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood! Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the door. Try this yourself: at night when it is dark, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door - do you see any light coming through? These are gaps - which add up to a large opening where your heated/cooled air leaks out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year! This is like leaving a window open all year round! An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an attic stair cover. An attic stair cover provides an air seal, reducing the air leaks. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling. Fireplaces: Approximately 100 million homes in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home especially during the winter home-heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers! Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing! One remarkable research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating energy consumption by 30%! A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter just due to the air leakage and wasted energy caused by fireplaces! Why Does a Home With a Fireplace Have Higher Heating Bills? Hot air rises! Your heated air leaks out any exit it can find, and when your warm heated air is drawn out of your home, cold outside air is drawn in to make up for it. The fireplace is like a giant straw - sucking the heated air from your house. This is like leaving a window open all year round! An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a fireplace draftstopper. A fireplace draftstopper is an inflatable pillow that seals the damper, eliminating any air leaks. The pillow removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after. Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts: Have you ever noticed that the room containing your clothes dryer is the coldest room in your house? Ever wonder why? Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold air leaks in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house, while your heated air just pours right out! Dryer vents use a sheet metal flapper to try to reduce this air leakage. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the air leakage. Compounding the problem is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open. This is like leaving a window open all year round! An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal! A dryer vent seal will reduce unwanted air infiltration, and keep out pests, bees and rodents as well. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint, and moisture to escape. If your home has a folding attic stair, a fireplace, and/or a clothes dryer, you can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. At Battic Door, we have developed low-cost, green solutions to these and other energy-conservation related issues. For more information please visit our website www.batticdoor.com or send a S.A.S.E. to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048.

I'm building in SW FL and right now my windows are in but not my doors. No insulation yet. Our house has energy efficient, hurricane rated windows and the roof decks will have icynene blown in insulation. We of course will have insulation in the rest of the house and all openings will be sealed. Our AC unit is a variable speed unit and we'll have 3 zones. All lighting will be LED. First floor of the house is block construction and second floor is 2 x 6 wood construction with Hardie siding over it. First floor will be stucco. However like Virgil and JDS alluded to, I think the best things we did have nothing to do with modern efficiencies, but in old fashioned siting of the house, etc. We are building a U shaped house that is only 1 room deep on all sides of the U and we are already seeing the benefits. We sited the house with a north/south orientation with the backyard facing south. All our eaves are 32" wide and we have a 9' deep lanai on the back of the house. Ceilings on the first floor are 10' high. Because the rooms are only one room deep, it allows for windows on at least two sides in every room. My DH's office, the kitchen/dining room, the great room, the guest bedroom and my studio all allow for cross breezes and even the other day when it was 94 degrees with almost 70% humidity, those rooms with the cross ventilation were quite bearable with the windows open. While our master bedroom has windows on both the east and south walls, only the window and door on the east wall open. I purposely left off windows on the west wall, to try and keep the bedroom cooler. Being that we're only in the bedroom to sleep, I don't see the lack of extra windows as a problem. Especially since because of my bad allergies, we never sleep with the windows open at night. Right now there is almost no vegetation around but I imagine that once we plant trees, that too will help with the heating/cooling of the house.