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Colorado» SOLARGON Smart Cabins
(30/04/2008)
SOLARGON DESIGNS by ICS
Solargon homes and cabins are inspired by design elements from Native American "hogons" and "hidatsa lodges" and Asian nomadic "yurts" and "ghers" or "gers" and combine them with passive solar design principles. Using the latest in green-building technologies we have created structures that work with and within the environment rather than dominating or disregarding it. Green-building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources: energy, water, and materials . . . while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual removal — the complete building life cycle. A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Solargon homes combine elements of both concepts.
Various models and sizes of Solargons are available:
Model 30 (699 square feet octagon), shown above, is available with 8' or 10' side walls. The walls and roof are made with R-42 ICS SIPs. The roof has four planes.
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Model 20 (311 square feet octagon), shown above, is available with 8' or 10' side walls. The walls and roof are made with R-28 or R-42 ICS SIPs. The roof can have eight planes or four planes.
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Model D (the Solargon Diamond), shown above, is available in 20' x 20' (400 square feet) or 24' x 24' (576 square feet). It has 9' side walls. The walls and roof are made with R-42 ICS SIPs. The roof has two planes.
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Model Q (the Solargon Quadra), shown above, is available in 20' x 20' (400 square feet) or 24' x 24' (576 square feet). It has 9' side walls. The walls and roof are made with R-42 ICS SIPs. The roof has four planes.
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Various configurations of Solargons are possible. Use your imagination!
 
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ICS SIPs Solargons can be mounted on a slab-on-grade,
over a crawl-space, over a basement, or on piers.
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ICS SIPs insulated floors are availble for Solargons and yurts.
The floor can be R-28 or R-42.
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Photo gallery:
Here are some customers' photos:
 
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30' Solargon on piers west of Loveland, Larimer County, Colorado
   
  
  
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Ski Patrol Hut at Powderhorn Ski Resort, Mesa County, Colorado
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View 30' Solargon Interior Virtual Tour
View 30' Solargon Bathroom Virtual Tour
Our open, octagonal designs allow convective airflow for more even distribution of passive solar-generated heat. Properly sized windows are placed at the southeast, south, and southwest walls. Passive solar designs can reduce demand for heat by 60%. These advanced building technologies represent one of the largest and most promising techniques to contribute significantly to low-impact living.
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Our 30’ diameter building makes an ideal starter home, and can be attached or linked to additional 20’ (311 sq. ft.) or 30’ (699 sq. ft.) units. Your desired square-footage and arrangement can be tailor-made to fit a variety of needs with unlimited designs. Each unit is green-built, has an “extreme insulation” value, and is affordable, with less than half the heating requirements of conventional buildings. The pre-built wall and roof panels (SIPS) are assembled onsite in less than two days, ready for interior and exterior finishes. These panels surpass conventional framed buildings for R-values by a large margin. The wall panels are manufactured with electrical conduit embedded at customer-selected locations and are ready to run wiring after the building is erected. With the addition of appropriately sized solar panels and an optional solar radiant floor heating system, heating costs can be reduced to near zero.
Large houses generally use a tremendous amount of energy to heat and cool. This energy usually comes from the combustion of fossil fuels, depleting these resources and emitting greenhouse gases and pollutants into the air. The larger the house, the more materials go into its construction. The octagon shape of the Solargon uses 20% less wall materials to enclose the same floorspace than a square shape. Small can be beautiful and cozy. You can upgrade your lifestyle by reducing living costs and downsize your living space without losing a sense of openess and light.
See MORE PHOTOS and FLOORPLANS . . .
For more information, call ICS/Solargon at [1] (970) 282-7477.
ICS SIPs Solargon factory site (International and National Sales)
Solargon Blog 1 (project photos and information)
Solargon Blog 2 (project photos and information)
Solargon Blog 3 (project photos and information)
 More » (PDF-document)
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Testimonials
"Our Solargon has exceeded all our expectations, both from the standpoint of cost efficiency and quality of the finished product. We are delighted that we came upon this option and would recommend it to anyone."
Bob Sutherland, Loveland, Colorado
"What a treat working with the ICS and Solargon team. Their devotion and commitment is unparalleled. Our community came together with ICS and erected our Solagon over the weekend. Then, my son’s and I finished the inside and outside. We have the R-value of 28 in our floor and walls and R-42 in the roof, and the air tight assembly adds to the ease of heating. We are so impressed with the ease of construction. The money saved in labor and time was a eye opener. We are now planning a Solargon village here at our Hummingbird Community as part of our infrastructure and facility development. The Solargon structures, and this way of building with SIPs technology, is for sure the future. I can’t imagine, once folks find out about this method of construction, that they would go back to the old stick frame building methods."
Makasha Roske, Mora, New Mexico
"Thanks to the Solargon design, the main structure went up very quickly so that we were able to get windows in and a roof on right away, followed by tar paper and siding. One thing that has impressed us lately is that, true to its design, the Solargon is quite warm inside simply on the basis of solar gain, even on frigid days! Also, the last time I was up there the wind was as fierce as I've seen it. The Solargon is solid! The Solargon has captured our attention as an outstanding "demonstrator" for the practicalities of photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind energy sources in a highly efficient, high solar gain design with LED lighting, a small wood stove, composting toilet, and conservative water management."
Carrick Eggleston, Ph.D., Laramie, Wyoming
"GREAT WORK, ICS TEAM!
The install went great.
We did the whole job (21 panels)
in 8 hours with 4 guys.
All the overhangs ended up
within 1/16th of an inch.
Great job on those;
I guess the building
was built square too.
Thanks again and hope to
work with you in the future."
Daniel Poten,
EcoFutures Building,
Boulder, Colorado
"It came out great. The panels seem to be performing very well.
We’ve had a couple of cold nights and it stays nice and warm inside.
In fact, my wife’s already got it loaded up with all her plants and
they’re doing well and staying warm enough despite the coldness
outside. Stunning success. I’m real pleased with everything and if
you guys want to use us as a reference, that is absolutely fine with
me. I’d be more than happy to give you guys a glowing
recommendation. Your product and interactions and service were
fantastic. Have anyone you want give us a call."
Jeff Rearick; Fort Collins, Colorado
"We would definitely recommend ICS SIPs. We’re happy with it. When
the wind blows, you can hardly hear it. We’d definitely recommend you."
Wayne Dennis; Golden, Colorado
"Dear ICS:
I am writing to inform you of our great success with your product.
As a custom home builder, we have seen and used many products in the
marketplace and undoubtedly know yours has been the best construction
system hands-down. We even chose to use your product for the
construction of our own home. We started our home in October of 2005
during one of the worst winters in 10 years in Fraser, Colorado
located close to alpine ski areas in the Continental Divide. Using
the ICS panels proved to be a very good decision because of the cam
lock system that allowed us to erect the home easier in very harsh
conditions. There was no way that the house would have been erected
as fast as it was by using stick built methods in over 2 feet of
snow. I would highly recommend the ICS panels to anyone for ease,
speed and lack of waste.
The high R-value for a 4 1/2” wall also increased our square footage
and will provide for us exceptional consistent insulation as opposed
to the typically used insulation that leaves gaps and inconsistencies
in each framed wall as it can move during construction. Having been
in the construction business for over 30 years, this has been a very
enjoyable project.
Thanks ICS—Let’s do it again!"
Rick Hensley
President
Hensley Construction, Inc.
Fraser, Colorado
"To the entire crew @ICS-RM,
Just a quick note to thank everyone for your excellent work and
service far above and beyond the ordinary. The house looks and feels
great. Everything is screwed down tight and feels very solid. Any
potential customers needing a reference can be directed my way.
Thank you, Joe Tuomey"
Joe Tuomey, Ignacio, Colorado
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