Passive Solar Design Techniques . Every home is solar heated whether we want it to be or not. Using this free heat in a way that makes our lives better and our energy bills lower is what passive solar design is all about. Homeowners who learn the techniques of passive solar design will be able to realize many benefits, such as:
1- Reduce your energy bills
2- Lessen your dependence on fossils fuels
3- Improve the comfort of your home.
4- Improve the ventilation of your home with benefits to your health.
Most people know that the sun can be used to heat a building, but I would suppose that not many people know that passive solar can be used to cool, light and ventilate a building as well. We have pulled together for the reader all of the videos in this excellent 6 part series on passive solar design techniques for the homeowner from Architect Thomas Doerr. He also has books available on the subject
Here is what you will learn:
1- Overview and definitions
2- What are direct gain systems
3- Indirect and Isolated gain systems
4- Building orientation
5- Solar shading
6- Thermal mass
7- Glass type
8- Ventilation
9- Room arrangement
10- Daylighting
11- Other strategies
12- Case Study
Many of the passive solar techniques and technologies do not cost more to implement and can save the homeowner big dollars on expensive HVAC systems.
Source : Solar Thermal Magazine
