Straw-bale buildings can cut utility bills considerably.

Straw-bale buildings like the one at Willow Bend are three to four times more energy-efficient than conventional construction. Straw is often burned as a waste product and puts more than twice as many pollutants in the air each year in California than all of the fossil fuel power plants. When you use straw instead of wood, you not only save energy but you also use a renewable resource instead of other less renewable materials. Often, these less-renewable materials can be toxic and require more energy to produce and transport. However, one of the most compelling reasons for building a straw bale home is its beauty.

Our Building
- About Our Building
- Passive Solar Design Principles
Our Gardens
- About Our Native Garden
Discovery Room
- Activities & Exhibits
The BIOBUG
- BIOBUG Facts

Passive Solar Design Principles

Willow Bend is a beautiful example of a functional building that incorporates passive solar principles to use the sun’s natural energy while decreasing the impact of our office on the environment. These principles include:

Tightness: Passive solar buildings do not allow drafts through gaps in framing or around windows, doors, and venting or electrical fixtures.
Insulation: Insulation is complete; all voids are filled to recommended amounts.
Southern orientation: Because our windows face south, 5–8 percent of the total floor area is in sunlight during the winter and shade during the summer.
Heat storage: Thermal mass is critical for the comfort of a home, and passive-solar homes store and re-radiate heat at night.
Heat distribution: Let heat transfer through the house naturally without high tech devices.
Controlled ventilation: A tight, well-insulated house needs to breathe.

Willow Bend uses these passive solar principles to heat the building without auxiliary heat. However, we do have a wood-burning stove in case the need arises. In the past, we have only needed to use the stove six times each winter.