Custom Design

Our design approach involves a thoughtful blending of aesthetic, client, site, energy performance, healthfulness, comfort, sustainability and budget criteria. Every design decision is thoroughly evaluated for its impact on all these criteria. This evaluation represents years of continually researching materials and strategies, real world experience, monitoring and analysis and carefully listening to our clients.

Since no other factor so affects the comfort and costs of operating a home, we begin by following the principles of passive solar design.

  • Orient homes to face south.
  • Utilize south facing windows and doors to collect solar energy
  • Locate main living areas on the south side
  • Provide concrete floors to store heat for nighttime.
  • Provide for natural convection and circulation through open architecture, operable windows and vents.
  • Locate non-living areas on the north side and minimize northern exposure by reducing windows and building shape.
  • Provide for summer shading of south windows with overhangs, trellises or deciduous trees.
  • Properly insulate and weather-seal your home.
  • Use sustainable building materials.

Only when armed with these principles can we assure a "sun-smart" home—a home that is light, comfortable and cost effectively energy efficient year-round. We review these principles with our clients and discuss how these principles will affect their home’s basic structure, layout and materials. We visit the building site; we document the important site characteristics, such as slope, location of true south, views, and any obstructions to solar access that may exist. We document all of the critical building regulations that apply to the property, including those that may affect solar access. We review energy conservation strategies and options for sustainable materials and structures. We discuss and document the client’s criteria for their home, such as style, size, types of rooms, lifestyle, etc. Then and only then, we begin designing a home that blends all the criteria into a livable, functional, three-dimensional object of art.

Objective critical analysis of energy performance

We continually subject the evolving design to rigorous energy performance analysis. Energy performance characteristics of relevant components of the proposed design are continually entered into a computerized program which allows us to model the size and efficiency of the solar collection area, the building’s resistance to heat loss, the volume of the building to be heated or cooled, the thermal storage capacity of the building, the building’s orientation, local climatic variables, etc. Our program is then able to calculate the amount of energy that will be provided by solar and the amount that will have to be imported to keep the building interior at desired temperatures. And it allows us to experiment with these variables to achieve optimal levels of comfort and energy performance.

Every urbansun custom design includes an energy performance report which can be used for sizing back-up heating and cooling systems and is formatted to meet Oregon State Solar Tax Credit application requirements.

Construction Management Services

urbansun only designs and builds solar homes or structures. Our research and 25 years of actual experience in building solar homes has resulted in many substantive changes over the years to simplify the construction, use more sustainable materials, reduce increases in costs of construction, and ensure key sunsmart solar features, such as convective air thermal storage components, are installed properly.

Cost Estimating

As a first step, urbansun develops a complete cost estimate that includes all bids from specific sub-contractors and suppliers in a 80-100 line item format. This permits the owners to review likely real costs of construction, compare this estimate/bid to other general cost estimates, shop for alternative subs and suppliers, make appropriate adjustments in design, size, materials, and/or finishings prior to loan application and/or construction.

Construction Management

Once the cost estimate is final, our approach to construction management services involves the owner in a number of key aspects.

First, the owner maintains complete financial control over the project from loan application processing to paying all subs’ and suppliers’ invoices for work performed satisfactory. Although urbansun reviews the work and recommends disbursement, the owner pays the subs/suppliers directly.

Before and during the construction process, urbansun continues to look for more cost-effective bids from subs and suppliers as well as provide monthly actual-costs-to-date and budget variance reporting with the intent to keep the owners appraised of future funding requirements.

Project Management

urbansun typically only manages a single project at a time which permits us to focus our efforts on quality. We manage the project from permit processing to final inspection and all the tasks in between to ensure the house meets the approved plans and owners' specifications.

Our scheduling technique involves the identification (in advance) of key responsibilities of urbansun, such as arranging material delivery or coordinating inspections. In addition, we also go to great detail to identify owner-responsible tasks, such as selecting all finishing materials and fixtures, in order that the project will be completed in a timely fashion.

And although we adjust the schedule a number of times during construction, our software-based approach readily permits re-scheduling of future tasks to ensure a timely completion.

Management Services Fee

We provide an affordable management service because the owners and urbansun work as a coordinated team to achieve a cost-effective, long-lasting and quality sunsmart home.