Sustainable Design

Sustainable Buildings

Solar Design Associates has more than 25 years experience designing and building custom solar powered homes, and has designed dozens of custom solar homes from Maine to California. All incorporate passive solar heating and cooling, most include active solar thermal systems and many obtain their electricity from photovoltaic solar panels. Some are interactive with the utility grid, exporting surplus electricity to the distribution network, while others are located on islands or in remote areas independent of the utility grid and use a bank of batteries for on-site electrical storage. Unlike conventional builders who may cover parts of a roof with solar panels, SDA aesthetically integrates solar energy into the design of every home they build.

Sustainable Developments

Sustainable buildings are designed to lessen their impact on our environment through energy and resource efficiency. Implemented properly, sustainable development uses natural resources in a manner that does not eliminate or degrade them or otherwise diminish their usefulness for future generations.

For development to be sustainable it must integrate energy-conscious design, environmentally responsive planning and solar energy utilization. These are the cornerstones of SDA's design philosophy and experience.

Over the past 25 years, Solar Design Associates has designed, engineered and constructed dozens of sustainable buildings--custom solar residences, multi-unit residential developments and commercial buildings. SDA has also provided planning, facilities design and energy systems engineering to several clients developing ecotourism resorts.