Welcome to the par/PAC™ ThermSmart^SM Passive Solar Demonstration Home.

Par/PAC presents the positive cost saving techniques of a practical passive solar home system. This passive solar home will consist of several critical elements that are designed to prevent heat loss with dry dense packed cellulose insulation. Allow radiant energy to heat, obtain heat through natural sunlight and disperse stored heat by allowing heat to flow naturally throughout the home from a passive solar heated mass. All of this will be discussed and shown in these few pages.

Our demonstration home is designed to minimize air leakage and heat loss by as much as 50% showing a savings over homes insulated with conventional home home insulation systems.

All successful passive solar homes start with a tight, well-insulated building shell. Higher R-values and airtight shell details, along with advances in low-E glazing materials, combine to make the passive solar concept a practical reality, with today's systems easily outperforming earlier solar homes. Our standard insulation package - a combination of blown cellulose and airtight rigid-foam insulation - creates a high-performance thermal shell (see "Fixing the Holes Where the Air Gets In," 01/04). By using dense-pack cellulose and a 1 inch layer of taped foam board under the drywall, we achieve a nominal value of R-24 in the 2x6 wall cavities. Ceiling values-again, using blown cellulose - are around R-45, and the floor system averages R-22, thanks to cellulose insulation and the application of sprayed foam around the rim joist.

This home is designed to be passive and not requiring any of the below

• No active elements such as voltaic power panels
• No active thermal heating panels or plumbing and distribution systems
• No active hot water heating panels or plumbing