Builder keeps passive solar active
By Connie L. Sheehan
Senior Editor
Active solar construction is
"pretty much dead" in Nebraska
since applicable tax credits expired
in the '70s, according to Jim Christo,
owner of Christo Construction Co.
in Lincoln.
But Christo still uses a variety
of passive solar techniques in his
construction to save both energy,
and in the long run, money for tne
owner.
"The only place I can recom
mend active solar to anybody is
for helping heat domestic hot
water/' Christo explained. In the
'70s, people were heating their
homes wsth solar power.
Christo installed active solar
units to heat homes but then found
he could incorporate passive solar
techniques into the ouilding for
the same savings.
Passive solar techniques work
best when the length of the house
can face south to use the sun for
heating, he said, and then the
construction can serve as a natu*
ral break from the north.
The large overhang in the front,
he explained while pointing to the
large front porch on his most re
cent construction at 1320 Furnas
Ave., keeps the sun out of the
house in tne summer and lets the
sun in during the winter when the
sun is lower on the horizon.
"This (overhang) is a little bit
more than is necessary, but this
house was designed after the archi
tect, Frank Lloyd Wright," Christo
said. Part of his styling included a
lower pitched roof and larger
overhangs, Christo said.
Christo then added a deeper
wall construction, which allows
for thicker fiberglass insulation
batting and more energy savings.
"About a year ago, tne highest
"R" factor you coula get was Rl 9,"
Christo said, referring to the rat
ing given to items that help in the
resistance to energy loss. But now
the insulation is available in a fac
tor of R21.
The higher the R value, the more
resistance to energy loss, Christo
explained.
"By the time we have half-inch
Dow sheeting on the outside, and
the gypsum on the inside, we almost
have a R26 factor on a wall," he
said.
Christo said the blown-in ceil
ing insulation is rated R40. Blown
in insulation is preferable since it
settles in all the voids around boxes
Michelle Faulman/Daily Nebraskan
Builder Jim Christo's wife, Vicky and cat Snowball, lounge in the
sun of the windows which run along the south face of their passive
solar home.
and switches to prevent drafts.
When it comes to windows,
Christo suggests double-glazed,
Low E argon-injected windows.
Double glazing provides two
panes of glass in which argon gas
is injected to aid insulation, he
said. The Low E is a thin metallic
coating on the outside of the win
dow that stops 80 percent of the
ultra-violet light in the summer
and radiates neat back into the
room in the winter.
"Double glazing is pretty much
standard, but Low E and argon
gas are upgrades that I suggest,"
he said. Windows and doors are
expensive parts of the house, but
usually last extremely long peri
ods o( time.
"Just to give you an idea, the
windows afone in this home cost
$9,000," Christo said. The design
called for more window space than
usual, however, he said. And that
doesn't include the patio doors,
See CHRISTO on 13
i—-- r
Recycle
Continued from Page 8
livery cost, she said.
And Asche said some out-of
state companies have contacted
"Recycle With Michael" and of
fered to help out financially.
She said the recycling company
hopes to buy a larger truck. Cur
rently, it uses an "old Ford pickup
truck" for the curbside route.
The larger truck will enable the
company to pick up recyclables
from apartment complexes, she
said. And the company recently
moved to a bigger warehouse,
which has created more storage
space.
But, Asche said, in order for the
company to expand, it mainly needs
one thing — more profits.
Personnel Pool
Temporary
Services
Office Clerical
Light Industrial
223 N. 48th St. Suite U
Lincoln NE 68504. 466-1996
Located between Target &
Super Saver
1
I - I
Earn cold cash for
hot summer fon!
Call Harris today and discover how you can earn extra
cash for summer time fun.
Age: Male!
Sex: 19 or older!
Condition: -Healthy
•Non or light tobacco users!
•Able to stay at Harris from
1 to 30 days!
Earn from $250 - $3000
IE HARRIS 474-0627
621 Rose Street, Lincoln, NE 68502
Monday Thursday 7:30 am-7:30 pm; Friday 7:30 am-5:30 pm
--
wmg-umg
Wednesday
66th & O Complimentary 3pm.,lprn
TEX MEX WINGS
NEXT
WEEK:
Save...
Reduce_
Restore...
Prevent...
Grow
Greener