PV Gap

Heather Said:

Any good sites for inexpensive ideas on passive solar and?

We Answered:

Centre for alternative technology

Ian Said:

How well is your home utilizing passive solar energy? Have you make improvements that capitalize on this?

We Answered:

Great Question.

"Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)

-The National Trust is one of America’s leading organizations dedicated to historic preservation. As president, Moe leads the organization in its mission to save the nation’s diverse historic places and create more livable communities for all Americans."

His speech ended up being more about conservation, how the old, old buildings were built using passive solar, and wind energy, and by refurbishing instead of mowing down the old structures, you save the same energy of like a million car emissions in a year. It was good.

Derrick Said:

we have a passive solar home for sale?

We Answered:

Thats a question?

Ummmm No you don't have one for sale :P

Shawn Said:

How can I test how good my passive/active solar heating is?

We Answered:

call a heating expert

GOOGLE WORKS TO!

Hilda Said:

Is there a simple way to figure out the details of a solar heated home?

We Answered:

There's a great article in this issue of Home Power Magazine (HP136, April/May 2010) about designing a slab foundation with PEX tubing in it to evenly distribute the heat in a passive solar house. The other advantage to that is you could also integrate in solar water heating for additional heat source for the slab.

We sell a couple of books on Passive Solar Design, there's lot of great details in them. http://www.altestore.com/store/Books-Cla… and http://www.altestore.com/store/Books-Cla…

Connie Said:

Heating homes with glass ? also known as passive solar heating?

We Answered:

Homes can be designed to take advantage of the low winter sun. The southern windows have eaves over them, so they shade the sun in the summer when the sun is high in the sky, but allow the sun in when it is low in the winter. Generally a passive solar home would have concrete floors and possibly walls that act as thermal mass to store the heat. It gathers the during the day, and slowly releases it throughout the night. If designed properly, they can be very effective.

You can read more about it at the US Dept of Energy site, http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/de…

There are also plenty of books on the subject, http://www.altestore.com/store/Books-Cla…

From the DoE Site:
The following five elements constitute a complete passive solar home design. Each performs a separate function, but all five must work together for the design to be successful.

Aperture (Collector)
The large glass (window) area through which sunlight enters the building. Typically, the aperture(s) should face within 30 degrees of true south and should not be shaded by other buildings or trees from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day during the heating season.

Absorber
The hard, darkened surface of the storage element. This surface—which could be that of a masonry wall, floor, or partition (phase change material), or that of a water container—sits in the direct path of sunlight. Sunlight hits the surface and is absorbed as heat.

Thermal mass
The materials that retain or store the heat produced by sunlight. The difference between the absorber and thermal mass, although they often form the same wall or floor, is that the absorber is an exposed surface whereas thermal mass is the material below or behind that surface.

Distribution
The method by which solar heat circulates from the collection and storage points to different areas of the house. A strictly passive design will use the three natural heat transfer modes—conduction, convection, and radiation—exclusively. In some applications, however, fans, ducts, and blowers may help with the distribution of heat through the house.

Control
Roof overhangs can be used to shade the aperture area during summer months. Other elements that control under- and/or overheating include electronic sensing devices, such as a differential thermostat that signals a fan to turn on; operable vents and dampers that allow or restrict heat flow; low-emissivity blinds; and awnings.