Humans are diurnal beings. We live by the light of day, and studies continue to show that exposure to daylight is linked with health and wellbeing. Homes and buildings that are lit with natural light, are not only more favorable to our bodies, but to our energy bills.
Our goal at the Go Green Home was to maximize the full potential daylight since we’re in Southern California, where we average 330 days of sunshine (90%) a year. To do this, we paid particularly close attention to the orientation of the home relative to the path of the sun in its seasonal cycles and designed the home accordingly.
At The Go Green Home, all of the South-facing walls have large glass windows and doors to maximize the daylight that can enter to not only light up the rooms, but also heat up the floors during the winter. On the contrary, in the Summer time, when the sun is higher in the sky, the direct light is blocked by specially designed awnings.
By taking the time to make these extra calculations at the onset, we’re able to save tons of energy and dollars by limiting our reliance on artificial lighting and heating.
And, it feels so good to know that we don’t have to flip a single light switch when it’s light outside.
I think it is fantastic how we are using renewable energy and going green in so many ways. I think we also need to do things like reducing our energy usage, like installing geothermal heat pumps to replace high energy heating and cooling systems.
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