Passive Solar Design – The Cheapest Solar Power Available
If you ever wanted to save electricity and improve the comfort of your home without using any high-tech gadgets, then passive solar design is the answer.
Passive solar design is a technique of using the sun to naturally heat and light up your home or office. This is achieved by using various building features and materials to improve heating and cooling efficiency. The best part about passive solar design is that it is relatively simple to implement, little maintenance is needed, and your home's market value can increase considerably.
When working out the passive solar potential of your home, you need to consider how it was built and what materials is was built from. The ideal position for your home would be either be on flat land or on a sun-facing slope. Also, in suburban areas, any trees nearby should be deciduous to shade your home in summer, and let through the sunlight in winter.
If you plan to build a new home, make sure it is designed so that the majority of it faces the sun. Also, the size, type and shape of your windows will affect how much sunlight and natural heat your home gets.
There are three ways the sun can heat your home:
1) Direct - the heat from the direct sunshine on an object.
2) Indirect gain - radiated heat from objects heated by the sun.
3) Isolated - the hot air that circulates through your home.
To maximize the sun's natural heat from all three sources, it is best to use large windows on the sun-facing side of your home.
It is pointless building a home that lets in a lot of sunlight during the day is that sunlight cannot be absorbed and used to keep your home warm at night. So inside, you should use materials and fabrics that tend to absorb sunlight and radiate that natural heat for a long time. And in winter, to maximize the use of the sunlight and warmth, try to close cold, dark rooms off from the rest the house, and locate to sunnier, warmer rooms during the day.
To control how much sunlight and heat enters your home in summer, you could install roof overhangs. They should be the right breadth to block out the hot midday sun, but let in low-angle, weaker sunlight too. And do not forget to use the right foliage and trees in your garden to control how much seasonal sunlight enters your home.
For your existing home, the easiest way to make it more heat efficient would be to install modern windows that can retain heat up to 50% better. Though they tend to be a little more expensive, in the long-term they pay themselves off many times over, by reducing your power consumption during the colder months.
Double-glazed or Low-emissivity (Low-E) windows let solar heat in, but keep in the indoor radiant heat. Another way to reduce heat loss is to ensure tight seals around all windows or by using multiple panes that have gaps between them filled with argon or krypton gas.
The type of windows frames you use can also make a huge difference. Metal frames should be avoided since they draw heat out of your home in winter, but heat up your home in summer. It is better to use wooden, vinyl or fiberglass frames to insulate your home better. When you do buy modern windows make sure they are labeled by the National Fenestration Rating Council or by Energy Star. That way you will be able to buy the right windows for your needs and budget.
To conclude, passive solar design is way of using the sun's natural light and heat in your home. The whole point behind it is to help reduce your energy needs and resultant costs. So before you go out and implement passive solar design at home, always weigh up the investment required against the potential energy savings.
While passive solar design is one way of reducing your energy costs, another is to build your own solar/wind power system. Learn how you can do this for under $200 by trying Earth4Energy for FREE and start saving up to 80% on your energy bills. Or, read the full Earth4Energy Review first.
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