Brian Segal, Birdman, has been in the world of Solar Home Design and Appropriate Technology for 30 years. Starting in 1980 with the construction of his first home, a 12' X 12' Solar Triangle Tent with a water bed dug into the ground as a solar heat storage device. Today, he has recently completed a 5,000sf  5-bed, 4 bath passive and active solar house in Columbia, Missouri, a Modern Prairie Style Home with a 4.2 kw photovoltaic system and high performance flat plate solar thermal collectors.
     Along the way, Brian has built one Solar Spec House a year, since 1993 and made the decision in 2001 to build only sustainable or transitional projects from here on out. It was the right thing to do. Birdman talks a lot, too. Call him on the Skype and he'll give you some direction  and consultation  for an affordable hourly rate. All systems have been pre-tested on his own projects, and have stood the test of time, built to code or gorilla style. Brian has traveled often to create solar houses and retrofits. These days, most of the designing is done over the internet, to try and reduce the amount of necessary site visits, and his personal carbon footprint. Interesting conversations on world energy and sustainability bring into focus the need for rational and renewable home building techniques.
    Birdman also does solar remodels, slashing energy bills and doing so with quick payback periods. Many projects can pay back less than 5 years, some in as little as one. Examples include: adding solar water heater to assist radiant and domestic hot water needs, making electricity from sunshine, digging out an entire house foundation to insulate, waterproof, mold-proof basements, changing conventional forced air heaters into green and house healthy radiant forced air systems, and yes, Birdman has also converted a few dog houses.
    We also sell product. Products that reduce your energy consumption, and have less than 1 year payback period. Right now, I have a client that would like to sell a slightly used Evergreen Solar Photovoltaic System Coplete with racks and inverter, for under $10,000. He is shipping out on a call to duty and would like to cash out. I would like to use this site not only for new product sales, but as a networking site for used equipment sales.
    Starting out a California son with education from UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz,  Birdman learned about Southwest Style living in Santa Fe from 1983-1994, and then he headed North with his Bride to Be and settled in Bozeman, MT to practice solar living in a rather frosty climate. For reason's nobody knows, he is constantly challenging himself with tougher assignments.