MakeHeat

“In late July the Batchelder home, located on Lawrence Street in Portsmouth, was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’s LEED Platinum certification, the organization’s highest mark. The home, which was visited by Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter in June, will be one of a number of Seacoast properties on display for the upcoming New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Resources NHSE Green Homes Open House on Saturday, October 3rd. …”

“…’In essence, the way this or any solar system ought to be set up, they’re supposed to produce an excess of energy 9 months out of the year,’ says Bingham. ‘And Marc’s house was so well built and insulated that this excess became an electrical energy credit, which basically paid for all the bills in the winter.’ …”

via Seacoasts First Platinum Leed Home | The Exception Magazine.

  By using Trombe Walls (southern facing walls made of solar absorbing material like stone, metal, concrete, adobe, water, etc.), computer modelling the airflow of the building’s inner space, as well as other technologies, the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Destination Center has gotten a “10″ for energy efficiency from the U.S. Green Building Council
    Trombe walls got their name from Felix Trombe, who, with Jaques Michel improved the basic principal and built a passive solar house in Odellio, France.  Many of the basic ideas are now incorporated into solar air heaters, including using a vent at the top to create a solar chimney for use during the summer*
  There are many variations of a Trombe Wall, including using the floor of a sunroom as the heat sink, and drawing the hot air into the house during the winter, and taking advantage of an extended overhang to shade the floor in the summer (solar house plans at hubpages.com has a good overview).

Read further at Destination Center gets a 10″