ABSTRACT
Ninety 55-gallon metal drums, filled with water, are stacked up to form walls on the four south-side zomes of the house. This remarkable house, made up of 11 metal zomes clustered together and offering 2000 square feet of space, is 85 per cent heated by the sun. The drums are painted black on their sunlight-catching side and placed behind glass, which helps retain the solar heat they collect. Overhead Skylids are another of Steve Baer’s devices for warming his house with solar energy. Each solar collector is a rectangular flat-plate collector angled to catch the sun’s rays, and its angle is adjusted from season to season. Electricity from the local power plant operates the lighting, refrigerator and laundry equipment. The house is built on a concrete slab with a wooden sill. The walls are insulated aluminium panels, similar to those used in trailers and aeroplanes.
