Solar Passive Home
A solar passive home has several critical design innovations that allow it to be cool in the summer and warm for your family in the winter. These design details can be built
into a brand new home or added to a certain degree to an existing home to help lower your energy needs. The true definition of a solar passive home is one that relies totally on the sun and nature to provide its climate. Even though the actual temperature can be regulated by venting and shading when needed, the power for the climate comes from the sun.
The first concept that is important to understand about a solar passive home is that the heat for the home comes from heat that is stored in its walls and floor and is radiated into the living space. This is different from many efficient designs that try to minimize the leakage of heat from a home. The problem with relying on the air in a home to carry the heat is that for a home to be healthy it needs to have the air circulated and fresh air brought in. If all of your heat and cooling is in the air itself, you lose this energy every time you circulate the air. Most of these efficient designs reply on a house being completely sealed and do not present the most healthy alternative to living.
In contrast, a true solar passive house uses the energy of the sun to heat the walls themselves and then uses this stored heat to warm the home through radiation. This type of heating provides a very comfortable environment and allows the air to be vented as needed to maintain a given temperature and freshness.
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To guarantee the best warming and retention of this passive heat, you need to be careful in your selection of building materials. Unlike materials that are normally chosen to insulate, the materials used in a solar passive home need to be able to absorb and then radiate heat. Some common materials that work well in constructing this type of home are concrete blocks or even poured concrete. This material has a great capacity for the retention and radiation of heat and is also inexpensive and very durable. The key here is to not insulate the interior walls, as you would be defeating the purpose of using the concrete for heating. The insulation would prevent the material from releasing its stored heat through radiation and would limit its ability to heat your home.
Another key consideration for a solar passive home to work best is the windows used. In the northern hemisphere a home should be facing south in colder climates and larger windows should be installed on this side of the home to capture as much sunlight as possible. In warmer climates the home should be facing closer to the northern exposure to limit the heat gain in summer. There should also be some type of variable shading to help regulate the amount of sunlight hitting the exterior walls and windows if possible so you have a way of adjusting the heating and cooling.
The cost for constructing a solar passive home can be similar to a conventional building. The advantages to incorporating these passive solar designs into the home are more long-term and can save the homeowner a lot of money in heating and cooling costs over the life of the home.