Abrams Primary School Passive Solar System, Bessemer Board of Education, Bessemer, Alabama. Final Report

摘要

The general economic feasibility of the project was poor. Without federal assistance the solar enhancements would never have been considered economically feasible. The most optimistic payback time ranged up to 30 years or more. The construction was not any more difficult than a conventional building. Operation of the building is not affected by the solar enhancements insofar as any human participation is concerned: it is completely passive in response to the owner's original program criteria. Natural daylighting would be the feature the architect would recommend most to other designers. The advantages are obvious to anyone who sees the building, whereas the effect of passive heat storage and rejection systems is too esoteric and not directly discernible to the layman observer. The architect would design another passive commercial building without federal assistance provided the owner was willing to pay for the extra design effort and greater cost of construction. Federal participation created a paradox: funding was crucial to the realization of the project, but the cost of design was increased substantially by the level of detail required in reporting. The architect realizes very well the need for such detail in a publicly funded project but he doesn't think he would be inclined to participate in such a program in the future. (ERA citation 10:020338)