NEVER USE ROOF ANGLED GLASS ! ! !

This is a primary NEVER-VIOLATE ZED MANDATE. It may look like a good solar energy thing to do (to a person who is clueless about ZED) but, Roof-angled glass is a huge heat loser on winter nights, when warm air rises to touch the low-thermal-resistance highly-conductive glass. It is also a huge heat gainer on hot sunny summer days. This is the plain and simple absolute scientific truth, often overlooked by those who should know better.

VERY BAD DESIGN SUMMER AND WINTER !
These two stupid houses were costly failed experiments - by others

Their arrogant non-learning architects thought they were wonderful BUT - They used more expensive energy than conventional houses It is expensive to remove the glass from the roof and then insulate.

In the summer, huge exhaust fans with fresh air intakes cannot possibly make a greenhouse with roof-angled glass cooler than the outside air temperature. However, in a ZED greenhouse, the peak interior greenhouse air temperature is much lower than the peak outside air temperature, by using intelligent design and NO ROOF-ANGLED GLASS EVER!

Roof-angled glass is often leaky, and is difficult to shade or insulate. When the huge expensive Houston Astrodome was first built, they quickly wound up painting the glass. Many important issues had been completely overlooked by the expensive (but clueless) architects. As the expensive special paint peeled off the glass, the roof became REALLY UGLY.

Condensation forms on the inside of roof angle glass on cold days, and especially winter nights. Roof angle glass with stuck-on leaves, grass, debris, or rained-on dust, dirt, mold, mildew or algae is UGLY and difficult to clean. Just look at the windshield of your car, if you leave it outside very long. The sticky stuff on the glass exterior builds up and becomes worse over time. Small twigs carried by the wind often get stuck in the glass mounting system. I’ve even seen a mis-delivered newspaper lodged on a glass roof. That really impresses your guests (negatively). Would YOU like to slide around on top of a large glass roof to do maintenance?

Unbelievably STUPID, expensive, modern roof-angled glass architecture

Roof angle glass is at high risk of breaking in hailstorms, and possible heavy ice-and-snow loads in some northern locations. Rain and ice get caught uphill of a skylight mounting system, and can build up and expand underneath the roofing materials, causing leaks and rotting the surrounding roof decking. Water leak discoloration often forms below skylights on the ceiling, walls, or carpet. Large roof glass metal mounting systems can oxidize, rust, corrode and lose their paint over time – a real ugly maintenance headache.

Roof angle glass is ALWAYS BAD ON ANY BUILDING in any location. Roof angle glass is NEVER GOOD. New England settlers learned this important lesson hundreds of years ago by simple observation of poor thermal design, when every house was “off the grid” (no public utility companies back then). Old homes with roof angled glass simply did not survive for long. I can’t imagine why this dumb thing is happening today.

Plenty of cheery natural light can be designed into an intelligent modern Zero Energy Home using efficient vertical south-facing glass only. Even the most-northern rooms can make advantageous use of southern glass, using interior glass and mirrors – look at any of our ZED floor plans. We can easily accommodate artists who want diffused daylight, WITHOUT using north-facing roof-angled glass.

If you see a building with ANY roof-angled glass (skylights, domes, etc.) it’s clueless architect is BLIND, DUMB and COMPLETELY STUPID about the most critical issues of passive solar design, and ZED. Listen to NOTHING that such an idiot has to say about energy. If they have not discovered this foundational principle by now, they are a Non-Learning Entity with Zero Powers Of Observation. Let them experiment with someone else’s money, NOT YOURS.

Non-learning architects’ first experience with designing a passive solar house should be with their own home, so they will learn well the true price of ignoring the wisdom of others, and repeating the stupid mistakes that many have made before them, like roof angled glass. A few years of high winter night and summer day energy bills should be a memory they will never forget.

Here is Our
"BAD Architecture Creates Our Energy Crisis " Video

Get More Great Information Sources in Larry Hartweg's 800 page book on
Passive Solar Heating and Cooling Techniques
"Zero Energy DesignTM"

Zero Energy DesignTM Vision

Energy Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Humans MUST have a compelling irresistible vision of a superior tomorrow. It provides the Action Motivation (discussed in Chapter Three) to solve problems and move forward in the midst of adversity.

Hope is the essence of continual improvement, and the inspiration for making every new day incrementally better than yesterday. Focusing on the many errors and failures of the past, can lead to either negative depression, or the positive search for superior future solutions. Each of us must choose our attitude toward the past and future, which will determine the potential of what we will surely become.

We must learn from the past, but not dwell on it. We need to amplify and build upon our good experiences; Learn from, laugh at, and correct previous bad things. We need to develop and dwell on a persuasive picture perfect vision of the future that influences all of our thoughts

We did not inherit the Earth from our parents, to plunder for our selfish desires. We borrowed the Earth from our children, and we must return it to them one day soon. Our children will judge the value of OUR lives by the legacy we leave for them and theirs

Get More Great Information Sources in Larry Hartweg's 800 page book on
Passive Solar Heating and Cooling Techniques
"Zero Energy DesignTM"