A self-sufficient solar home has been designed and built for the hot and humid sunbelt climate. "Chez Soleil" has been recently built in the Texas hill country just northwest of Austin. This house utilizes a ground-coupled high thermal mass strategy. Efficient passive solar design with emphasis on cooling strategies provide the majority of the heating and cooling needs of the building throughout the year. Solar water heating, photovoltaics, and other active systems supplement the passive design to provide a comfortable, healthy and energy efficient living environment. Green building techniques, rainwater harvesting, and a constructed wetlands septic system are also integrated into the design and operation of Chez Soleil. This results in a totally self-sufficient design which provides water, wastewater, and electric utilities on site. Chez Soleil is an experimental house which will incorporate a variety of active systems for supplementing the primary heating and cooling systems already in place. This 3-bedroom/2 bathroom house is designed for a family of 4. The living area is roughly 3000 square feet not including the garage and attached sunspace. The thermal performance of the passive solar design will be analyzed in this paper. The results of the stand alone photovoltaic system for 1997 will also be presented. Chez Soleil demonstrates that an efficient house can be designed and built for Sunbelt climates.
