Concept
Armory Park del Sol is a unique solar oriented community being built in Tucson Arizona. Developer John Wesley Miller envisioned a community which combined attractive architectural principals with eco-friendly features designed to maximize energy savings. His concept has been a success, as homes which embrace solar energy and sustainable features have been going up since 1999.
The community is one of the most well planned in the country, both for eco-friendly principals and design features. Besides for being extremely energy efficient (see below), homes are also built by incorporating "universal design". This means making the homes as accessible as possible to the widest range of people. Features include: step free entryways, extra wide doors and hallways, and hard surface flooring, among many others.
Neighborhood
Armory Park del Sol is located on the site of an old railroad neighborhood located southeast of downtown Tucson. The piece of land sat unused for many years before the developer John Wesley Miller stepped in with his vision of a sustainable neighborhood focused on harnessing the sun. The neighborhood was designed to be appealing to the eye. Homes feature architectural features such as arches and columns, and there is abundant drought resistant landscape throughout the property.
A short distance from neighborhood residents will find amenities including the Santa Rita Park, Tucson Children’s Museum, and Center for the Performing Arts. Armory Park del Sol is also within a mile of Tucson’s central business district, the eclectic 4th Avenue shopping district, and the city’s main public library.
Homes
All homes built at Armory Park embrace several green technologies. Homes are built with at least a 1.5KW/h solar electric system and a passive solar water heater that meets approximately 50% of the hot water needs. The following eco-friendly features are incorporated into all homes:
- Thermal mass solid concrete block walls
- 10 inch or thicker slabs
- Energy saving appliances and mechanicals
- High performance windows.
Overall, the homes are built to exceed the Model Energy Code by 50% and it is estimated that energy bills should average about one quarter to one third as much as comparable sized homes. That amounts to serious savings!
There are also a group of homes at Armory Park built to an even higher standard. These are the Net Zero Energy Homes, and they integrate even more green features, such as an even larger solar array and better insulation. Over the course of the year, the Net Zero homes are designed to feed more power into the grid than they take out.
Armory Park del Sol - Green Homes 
Overview
