ABSTRACT
In Harold Hay’s view, the use of Skytherm systems would make houses comfortable, resilient to energy costs fluctuation, and able to lower the carbon footprint. He proposed to build a Skytherm factory to supply the industry with his system. To learn more about the housing production system and demand for Skytherm, he commissioned various studies. This chapter explores two of these studies: flat roofs and housing projections. Because of Skytherm components’ design, flat roofs were the preferred housing type for thermal systems. The research questions who is building this housing type in California, New Mexico, and Arizona; and was there consumer satisfaction when living in a flat-roof house? The study found that the production of flat-roof houses is influenced by design guidelines provided by land developers and municipalities; and also by market preference. At the time of the study, California had no production (tract) builders who provided this product. For California, at least, migration patterns, changes in building technology, climate, and consumer preference combined to produce fewer and fewer flat-roof homes. From the 1980s on, however, the ‘southwestern and pueblo revival style’ was popularized by tract builders in Arizona and New Mexico. Because of its growth potential the housing demand feasibility study focuses only on California. A 25-year period was chosen to establish overall housing demand. An ‘opportunity model’ was developed to provide locational, thermal, and quantitative projections. The model had three projections levels: optimistic, moderate, and conservative. The projections yielded dramatic variation, with nearly a million units’ difference between the optimistic, moderate, and conservative categories. Even at a conservative level, there was large enough market projection that even a small share (<15%) would likely have provided commercial feasibility for a small Skytherm system factory.
