Passive Solar Home Heating

Daily we hear about the state of our planet and how if we do not act quickly we may soon be facing and irreversible situation. Sustainable and renewable sources of energy are not a new concept as they have been around for decades. Today however they are becoming a part of reality with local governments and communities encouraging and even enticing home owners to convert to sources of power that will reduce carbon emissions.

Passive solar home heating is one option people you may wish to consider. It works with the actual design of the home to gain the most from heat and light from the sun, without the use of solar panels.

Many office buildings today already work with this concept. Passive solar home heating works with the fact that the south end of a building is the one that will receive the most sunlight. These are then equipped to take full advantage of the sun and what it can offer. An example of a home with passive solar home heating plans might have large south facing windows to allow the sun in. In addition, materials can be built into the home’s floors and walls to absorb the heat during the day and slowly release it at night when it is needed most. This form of passive solar home heating is known as the direct gain method.

Another example of passive solar home heating is the use of sunspaces. Anyone who has ever seen a greenhouse is likely familiar with how this works. Again, using the south side of a structure, glass or other types of glazing is used to heat up a designated sunspace. Then with proper ventilation the heat that is generated is distributed throughout the home.

Solar walls or solar air heating are another effective use of passive solar home heating. Solar walls are again, south facing and painted black with an air membrane that draws the warmer air into the building as part of the HRV system. This black material attracts the sun and helps the material absorb and hold the heat.

Solar Passive Heating is one of the most cost-effective means of harnessing solar energy and can be done at a fraction of the cost of other solar energy systems. For more information on passive solar heating designs such as solar air collectors you can visit www.123zeroenergy.com.