The Larson home on Lookout Mountain in Golden incorporates the winning entry from the University of Colorado in Boulder in the 2002 Solar Decathlon, which can been seen on the left.

Credit: Ronal Larson

Freestyle / Offgrid Housing Category
Lookout Mountain, Golden, Colorado

The Larson Home is the winner of the Colorado 2006 Renewable Energy in Buildings Award in the categories of freestyle and off-grid housing. 

	Use of Renewable Energy
	Project Team

The home incorporates the winning entry from the University of Colorado team in the 2002 Solar Decathlon. The Solar Decathlon is a nationwide competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and held every three years in Washington D.C. to see which university or college team can construct the most attractive and energy efficient off-grid home. http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon/

The Larson home also includes seasonal energy storage. Solar thermal collectors on the roof heat a large, 10,000-gallon cistern located in the basement. They work all year, however, they produce more energy in the summer when the sun is higher in the sky. The heat is stored in the water in the cistern, and provides heating for the home in winter. The hot water delivers heat through pipes laid into the floors in a radiant heating setup.

The building has 2800 square feet (sf) of conditioned floor area, and there is a 450-sf unconditioned garage and a greenhouse attic, which is also unconditioned and has about 400 sf of floor area. The Larsons completed construction in August 2005. .

The north elevation of the Larson Home during construction in 2005.

Credit: Ronal Larson

Use of Renewable Energy

The Larson home takes advantage of the following renewable energy systems:

• A photovoltaic (PV) array rated at 7 kilowatts (kW).
• A solar domestic hot water system that came with the Solar Decathlon house.
• Eight solar thermal panels that collect heat for seasonal storage.
• Passive solar design, with south-facing windows covered with overhangs.
• Three skylights provide natural daylight to the interior spaces.

CRES 2006 Vice President Doug Seiter awards members of the project team the 2006 Colorado Renewable Energy in Buildings Award.

The winning project team consisted of:

• Walt Kaesler, architect
• Ken May of Industrial Solar Technologies in Golden, solar thermal design
• Ken Thames of Thames Electric, PV installation
• Doug Larson, builder
• Ronal Larson, owner