From 1981 to 1985, the Southampton Company built 258 solar homes. The sub division became known as Solar Village. All the homes featured solar water heaters, six inch walls, R30 attic insulation and dual pane thermal windows. Even the landscaping fit into the green lifestyle. There were deciduous trees planted on a southern exposure while evergreens and shrubs to deflect the north winds.
Solar Village, which has an active system with pumps, most solar systems today are passive. Many of the Fiberglas tanks storing hot water sprang leaks from cracking. Solar Villages systems automatically switch to the grid if the stored solar heat was insufficient. Subsequently many homeowners decided not to spend the money on repairs. Approximately 75 homes still have a working solar heat system, but it was the component failures that caused homeowners to remove or disconnect their systems.
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