What makes your home a Green or Healthy Home?
Solar panels with antifreeze heats from the sun, circulates to a 95-gallon water heater that also serves for domestic water. The heat is exchanged and heats the water. There is a photo-voltaic panel alongside the large heating panels and that powers a pump to move the water to the water heater. There is propane back up for this system which heats water for the infloor radiant heating system.
The home is sited to achieve maximum solar gain in the winter, but has an overhang that prevents the sun from heating the house in the summer.
There is a curved, barrel-ceilinged hallway to the guest wing and home office that continues the winter solar gain aspect through the house.
The studio/workshop building is strawbale with R-50 insulation in the ceiling and this building is also sited for maximum winter solar gain.
The materials in the home are dyed Structolite plaster, concrete floors with some mosaic ceramic tile floors.
The adobe construction creates a huge heat sink which collects heat during sunny days and radiates it back into the building at night.
There is a water catchment system with two cisterns to impound water for landscape irrigation.
The stated annual utility cost is a conservative estimate and includes trash pick up.Property Description
What happens when an artist who happens to also be a master builder has a goal of creating truly green homes builds his own home? Art as living space happens, and now that home is on the market in Dixon, New Mexico, a haven for artists and craftspeople.
Add to those elements a ruggedly beautiful setting with a Bureau of Land Management boundary and you have the spectacular home pictured here.
Every detail was created for energy efficiency combined with aesthetic appeal. The construction is adobe, the insulation is far beyond code, the heating system is powered by solar heated water with propane back up, the design of the house is passive solar and there are photo voltaic panels on the roof so that, in the summertime, the house sells electricity back to the electric cooperative. It is on the grid and uses co-op electricity as needed.
There are two bedrooms, one at either end of the home plus an office which has a closet and can be used as a third bedroom if that serves your family better.
Basically, the house is reasonable to heat, domestic water is free, it's cool in summer and electricity cost is almost free.
That's the economic reality of the house. Now look to the details for the artistic elements. It has acid-stained concrete floors except for where it has mosaic-inspired tile floors.
It has dyed plaster walls and ceilings, most of which are diamond finish in lush colors that flow from room to room. Ceilings range from rough-sawn board and batten in the kitchen/dining area, to hard troweled plaster barrel ceilings in the curved solar hallway to the guest wing.
The tile work in the bathroom is again, mosaic inspired artwork . . . unique, one of a kind.
Every window frames a scene that is more a painting than a mere window. There are even intentional interior windows to tie the rooms together and add interest to the wall spaces.
Take a minute, check out the built-in spice rack in the kitchen beside the open doorway to the walk-in pantry. Check out the handmade folk art chandelier over the dining room table . . . the artistic expressions are every where you look.
Then, the owner/builder also added even more "green" to the home by utilizing vintage materials like old interior doors for the closets and bedroom doors, recycled colored sinks and tubs in the bathrooms. The list goes on and on.
Here's an added bonus. You not only get the artist/builder's home, there's also a detached garage, but even better, you get his 600 sq ft studio/workshop. It's passive solar with R-50 roof insulation, has a woodstove if you need additional heat, water, a work sink and lots of outdoor storage. It wouldn't take much at all to turn this studio building into a guesthouse.
If you appreciate excellent construction, artistic skills, recyling of vintage construction materials and very low utilities, you must see this home.
Neighborhood Description
Dixon is known for being a very community minded village which, over the years has pulled together to get a library and a co-operative grocery market and a low-wattage radio station. It is a haven for artists and craftspeople as well and was the first village to have an annual Art Studio Tour every year. It is still the most well attended of all the village studio tours. The exact location of the house is up an arroyo just off of a county maintained roadway that heads from the main road of Dixon up almost to BLM land. This house has a boundary with BLM land, so there is unlimited hiking right out the back yard.Market Area
Dixon is a small village in between Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is about 23 miles south of Taos at an elevation of 6,000 ft (Taos and Santa Fe are at 7,000 feet). It is also about 23 miles from the town of Espanola which has a Lowe's, a Wal-Mart and other shopping.School District
Community
Location of Home or Land
Rural
Elevation of Home
Mountain
Air Quality
| Agriculture in Area | yes |
| Industry in Area | no |
| Air Pollution in Area | no |
| Pesticide Free | yes |
| Fragrance Free | yes |
| Cleaned with Green Products | yes |
Interior Environment
| Heating System | Hydronic Floor Heat (radiant) |
| Cooling System | Other |
| Ventilation System | Other |
| Whole House Filtration | None |
| Whole House Vacuum | no |
Energy & Water
| Energy System | Solar - Photovoltaic |
| Water System | Well |
| Wastewater System | Septic System |
Construction Information
| Construction Type | Adobe |
| Exterior Finish | Stucco |
| Interior Finish | Cement Plaster |
| Interior Paint | Other |
| Floor Material | Concrete |
| Roof Material | Metal |
| Window Material | Metal Dual Glazed |
| Insulation Material | Other |
Garage / Car Port
| Garage / Carport | yes |
| Garage Type | detached |
| Number of Cars | 2 |
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