I am in the planning stage of a new house and so far this is where I am leaning. Ranch Style Sip's on a pre-cast foundation. Rear of the house south facing with no obstructions of the sun except clouds. I am considering radiant heat but with the south facing back of the house what should be considered in deciding what kind of system to use. I am in the NC mountains so temps are cooler here than in lower elevations. Last week we had lows around 2 degrees. I picked the building site because of the south facing advantage. Any advise would be apreciated or directing me to an expert in this field would be great also. Geo thermal? As I said I am in the planning stage and getting a much needed education at the same time. Thanks guys

Re-reading my post I see that I didnt ask a clear question. I want to use the sun to produce electricty and passive solar heat. That being said is radiant heating in the basement floor and main level a mistake or can I do that and get a solar gain with the use of windows, Sorry for my ignorance as this is all new to me. Thanks again for any advise.

Could someone direct me to an expert/experts on this subject please? This concept is very new to me and I admit complete ignorance. I want to find someone in the N/W NC area (that would be the easiest but it's not an absolute) that sells and installs these type systems but I want someone who KNOWS what they are doing. The more I know the easier their job will be. My building site may have more potenial if viewed by someone with this background. Thanks and again I appreciate any help or advice.

Hi B_Edwards-check this site out if you haven't already:
http://builditsolar.com/
Lots of good info. As far as radiant heating-if your pouring a slab anyway, insulate with 2" minimum rigid foam and run O2 barrier pex(1/2" tubing, 300' loops). In a well designed passive solar house you may not need or be able to justify the added cost of low temperature radiant on the upper level but you will need some backup heat source for those cloudy days. I am not a heating pro and things are not as simple as I made them sound.
This site has a ton of info in older posts on radiant heating.
Are you hiring a contractor for the house or is this DIY? Good luck, Noah