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Chapter 22LIVINGWe moved into our new home on May 26, 2001. I slept at the site for two nightsprior to the actual move to safe guard construction materials. The first few nights,with insulation not yet in place, were cold. It was striking how much warmer it gotonce the insulation was in.For the first eight weeks the main south windows were covered in a thick plasticsheet in order to prevent water leakage during rains until the windows had their finalseal, flashing and siding applied. This, during the middle of our summer, has meantsome warm evenings. With the few small windows on the e ast and west side thathave been completed we do get a good up -draft at each end of the house. Withoutthe windows on the south side operating the second floor remains quite hot duringthe night. We believe that once the green roof is filled with plants and the outsidesun shades are installed, the overall natural ventilation and a minimization of solarheat gain will create a much cooler pleasant indoor environment for sleeping.Already a dramatic temperature difference exists between the basement and the 2 ndfloor of the house. In fact a constant flow of air is pulled up through the vents fromthe basement into the ground floor. This natural air conditioning system, even atthis very early stage, appears to have great potential. The solid concrete floors, staycool. This coolness reaches me as I sit in the living room reading a book on a hotand muggy evening.TourThe opportunity to tour a natural home can be a turning point for people who areserious about renovating or building. Many people are surprised to learn that a largepart of the design is determined by the particular conditions of the site. Unlike large -scale developments the orientation of the sun at different times of the year, locationof trees for protection from cold north winds, the slope of land, and access to256