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Passive Solar Design
Passive solar design refers to the use of the sun's energy for the heating and cooling of living spaces. Key elements of passive solar design include orienting a house on its building lot to take advantage of the sun at various times of the year, the use of thermal mass, appropriate ventilation and window placement. Traditional passive solar homes are oriented so that their broad side faces south or slightly southeast. In winter the sun's angle is low and sunlight shines directly through the south facing glass, heating up the thermal mass (masonry floors, walls, and countertops) inside the home. At night when indoor temperatures cool, this mass continues to radiate heat in the home.
In the summer, properly-sized roof overhangs shade south windows from the sun, and cooler objects with high thermal mass absorb unwanted heat keeping the interior temperatures more comfortable.
Notice the shadows in these pictures, taken on June 21 (Summer Solstice) and December 21 (Winter Solstice) and how the roof overhangs work with the sun's angle to control solar gain in a home.
Back to Go Green Building and Design
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Advantage Contracting, LLC •
12 Westbrook Rd •
West Hartford, CT 06107 •
Phone (860) 944-2659 •
Fax (860) 284-9060
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