- Beyond Sustainability - The Case for Regenerative Design
- Understanding Place - Climate, Site, and Solar Geometry
- The Six Integrated Systems - An Overview
- Building with the Earth—Natural Materials
- Passive Solar Design - Heating and Cooling Without Machines
- Off-Grid Energy Systems - Power from the Sun
- Water - Catching, Storing, and Cycling
- Liquid Waste Treatment - Botanical Systems
- Food Systems—Buildings That Feed
- Community Design - Scaling Up
- The Integrated Design Process
- Appendix A: Glossary of Key Terms
- Appendix B: The Pangea Textbook Series
- Appendix C: Key Design Principles at a Glance
- The Regenerative Community Vision
- Site Assessment and Land Reading
- Land Use Law and Legal Frameworks
- Master Planning for Regenerative Communities
- Infrastructure Systems Integration
- Housing Typologies and Density Design
- Community Governance Structures
- Economic Models for Community Development
- Phased Development Strategy
- Community Resilience and Long-Term Stewardship
- Appendix A: Legal Entity Comparison Chart
- Appendix B: Community Design Checklist
- Appendix C: Glossary of Community Development Terms
The energy system of a regenerative building has two tiers: passive first, then active. No amount of solar panels compensates for a poorly designed building envelope; passive performance is always the priority.
Passive solar design — the use of building orientation, glazing placement, thermal mass, insulation, and shading to manage heating and cooling without mechanical energy input, is covered comprehensively in Book 4 of this series, Heating and Cooling Buildings. In a well-designed passive solar building in a temperate or arid climate, passive strategies can meet 60 to 90 percent of space heating needs and most of the cooling load through natural ventilation.
Active off-grid energy systems, solar photovoltaic arrays, battery banks, charge controllers, and inverters, supply the electrical loads that passive design cannot eliminate: lighting, appliances, water pumping, and communication. A properly sized off-grid system can supply all of a household’s electrical needs indefinitely from sunlight alone. Book 7 of this series, Off-Grid Energy Systems, covers the design and installation of complete off-grid energy systems from load calculation through battery sizing and system commissioning.
The relationship between the energy system and other building systems is rich with synergy. Solar thermal collectors heat domestic hot water, reducing electrical demand. Thermal mass in the structure provides passive temperature regulation, reducing both heating and cooling loads. Greenhouse spaces on the south face capture solar energy as heat in winter, reducing heating loads while also producing food.