Explore 100+ Captivating Most Efficient Solar House Design Top Choices Of Architects

Passive solar house designs, such as those embraced by the Art Deco movement, focus on the use of natural light and warmth to reduce energy costs while adding character to the home. A simple design feature, like changing the orientation of windows to face south, can be a subtle but powerful design move for harnessing the sun’s abundant energy. Faced south, an elliptical or cone-shaped window can capture the sun’s rays and distribute them throughout a room, while elegantly framed rectangular windows can draw beautiful, abstracted patterns of light and projection onto walls and floors. When used in combination with insulated walls, floors, and ceilings—or floor-to-ceiling windows—passive solar house designs can provide an efficient, stylish, and sustainable way to build.

An eco-friendly home is one that considers elements or materials—both natural and man-made—that contribute to its efficiency and sustainability. Art Deco homes often incorporated eco-friendly or renewable materials, such as cork, bamboo, and wood. Today, modern home designs can use these materials in combination with advanced energy saving solutions such as solar paneling, geothermal systems, and recycled glass countertops. Natural or organic textiles, such as hemp, cotton, and coconut, fashioned into energy-efficient living spaces, can add another layer of charm and comfort while contributing to a more eco-friendly house design.

Net zero energy house designs, also known as Net Zero Homes, use proportionally equal amounts of renewable energy to offset their energy needs. Achieving net zero energy can be done by incorporating a combination of sustainable design features, such as adjustable window treatments, off-grid power systems, and triple-paned windows. Passive solar house designs, such as those featured in the Art Deco style, can also be used to maximize energy conservation—especially when used in combination with energy efficient furnaces, LED lighting, and solar water heaters.

Increasingly, homeowners today are looking for ways to create homes that exist beyond the bounds of the existing electrical grid. Off-grid home and building designs provide a more sustainable and cost-efficient solution to energy needs, while often allowing for a more integrated aesthetic appeal. In the case of Art Deco homes, incorporating off-grid elements—such as solar-powered lighting or rainwater collection—can further enhance the modernist aesthetic, seamlessly blending both form and function.

Green roofs, or roofs covered in vegetation, can provide an efficient solution to reducing cooling costs while offering an aesthetically pleasing design element to modern and Art Deco home designs. Not only does green roofing improve insulation by providing a thermal mass that helps to regulate air temperatures, but the vegetation can also reduce internal heating costs by reflecting the sun’s energy. Furthermore, green roofs reduce runoff, conserve energy, and improve air quality, making them an ideal choice for eco-friendly home designs.

Today’s solar home lighting designs can provide an effective and stylish way of lighting up even the darkest of spaces. Solar lighting can be combined with accent walls of colored glass, or bold designs with distinct corners or curves. Fitted with new solar leds, and custom-designed to maximize and diffuse natural light, these designs can produce dynamic lighting to any modern or Art Deco home while saving electricity.

Light shelves and shading designs are a great way to reduce overheating while providing privacy and solar control for living spaces. Shading can be achieved with louvered windows, shutters, canopies, and solar blinds. Light shelves, often employed in modern and Art Deco houses, can direct sunlight into a room while providing a visual accent and increasing the room’s daylighting capability. By combining these two strategies, an elegant and energy-efficient design solution can be achieved.

Optimized solar heating systems for homes offer a viable and cost-efficient solution to the energy demands of modern and Art Deco home designs. A combination of passive solar design and efficient solar heating solutions—such as evacuated tubes, solar thermal panels, and phase-change or smart materials—can ensure reliable temperatures throughout the year. Strategically-placed, well-insulated walls, roofs, and windows can support an optimized solar heating system, resulting in a comfortable and energy conscious home.

Green building materials and finishes are gaining more attention today as homeowners attempt to build more sustainable homes. In particular, finishes, such as bamboo, slate, recycled wood, and green building materials, can contribute to a stronger and more energy efficient house design—including those of Art Deco style. Other finishes, such as earthen plaster or cob walls, can also contribute to a pleasant, earthy aesthetic that complements the modern look of an Art Deco house.

Lightweight sustainable roofs offer an efficient and modern design solution for Art Deco houses. Materials, such as stone-coated sheet metal and sloped shingles, can create a low-profile, elegant aesthetic, while still providing an extended life cycle popularity for over time with minimal maintenance. Composite materials, such as slate composite shingles and recycled roofing, can also be employed to provide a lightweight and modern roofing solution.

Daylighting strategies can make a great contribution to any modern or Art Deco house designs. Differently-sized, strategically-positioned windows—supported by using angled or sloped walls—can capture and redistribute natural light within a home, resulting in an architecturally dynamic design. Tubular skylights are especially effective in illuminating multiple levels of a building, while clearly-defined partitions and wall lines can provide visual clues for notable daylighting designs.