I need to know what materials, and how to build it
In our area, R30 is the minimum by codeThat equals about 12 inches of insulationNo, maybe it's 10 inches of insulationThe popular type here is blown in800 square foot of insulation blown in the attic cost 325 dollars for my Dad's rent houseIt was well worth it.
the easiest and probable the cheapest woudl be to use the blow inMost places will let you use the machine for free if you buy 20 bags or more Just make sure there are no leaks on the roof or sides as to keep water out Other then that do it and save a lot of money of your heating/AC bills.
UNFACED WITH AN R VALUE OF 15
You can look up the R rating requirements on the internetThey will show you what is required in your area for the minimum levelsYou don't insulate the ceiling of your attic but rather the floor or your atticThe attic is supposed to be a cold space and the block will be the floor of your attic thus buffering the ceiling of your actual houseWe live in Corpus Christi, TX for two years which has the opposite problem from Chicago and the required R rating for their was a 32I would 'guess' a 32 would also be what you are looking at for the cold weather of ChicagoLived there too so I understand what you are trying to doIf you can insulate your walls as well with a blown insulation you will find a huge difference in the inside temperature of your house during the summer and winterIf your walls are not well insulted your attic insulation does not matter muchYou can cut a hole in each wall about 14 inches apart and blow insulation into each spaceYou can do this yourself or hire someoneIf you are somewhat handy it isn't hard, you will just need to rent the machine and buy the material at Home Depot or somewhereGood luck.
Active or passive? Solar thermal or solar electric? Start by answering those questions and the answer can be any combination of all or one of themPassive collects (and stores) energy but does not convert light ot electricActive goes from light to electric or thermal as in hot waterHere are some of the materialsFor passive, create collectors , windows, skylights etc, have the light shine of heavy dense materials like rocks, brick, ceramic tiles to store the heat of the sunSolar electric you will need some solar collectors, batteries, power efficient devices (which would use the stored electricity) Solar thermal usually uses (black) panels to heat up in the sun and water runs through them heating up as it goes.
