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PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING Passive solar heating is about keeping the summer sun out and letting the winter sun in. My passion is family and the unique architecture that makes a home and soul for a family.I recall my university days in Geelong, waking up in my humble home one wintery morning. In the summer, however, there would be a lot of overheating. Passive design reduces or eliminates the need for auxiliary heating or cooling, which accounts for about 40% (or much more in some climates) of energy use in the average Australian home.The importance of passive design cannot be overstated.
Here's How to Check Lead Levels in Your SoilEco Houzz Tour: Sustainability Lessons Lived and Learned7 Everyday Steps to an Environmentally Friendly Home5 Secrets to Running Your Home Appliances More EfficientlyA Room-by-Room Guide to Reducing Plastics in Your HomeGoing Green: The 7 Best Eco-Friendly Building MaterialsStay Cool: 6 Ways to Boost Natural Ventilation in Your HomeBest of the Week: 25 Eco Homes You'll Want to Emulate They are an excellent source of natural light, perhaps admitting more than three times as much light as a vertical window of the same size, and can improve natural ventilation. Direct sun can generate the same heat as a single bar radiator over each square metre of a surface. Good orientation reduces the need for auxiliary heating and cooling and improves solar access to panels for solar photovoltaics and hot water. Today, I will share with you the basic principles of passive solar design and how they could make a difference to your comfort inside the home. Good use of thermal mass moderates indoor temperatures by averaging day−night temperature extremes. As most Australian climates require both passive heating and cooling, it’s helpful to read this article along with Design for climate (to determine your climate zone) and Passive cooling.Passive cooling is the least expensive way to cool your home. Site Selection – Select a site protected from afternoon sun with good solar access, and is open to cool breezes while remaining sheltered from cold winds during winter. Traditional residential dwellings in Southern China and Ancient Greece were said to consider factors such as solar orientation, thermal mass and ventilation. 10 Principles of Passive Solar Design. It takes account of summer and winter variations in the sun’s path as well as the direction and type of winds. Window frames and glass have a significant effect on the efficiency of this process. The surface, which could be a masonry wall, floor, or water container, s… For example, if bulk insulation is compressed, so are the air pockets within it that provide the insulation and it doesn’t work effectively; neither does foil insulation if it is installed without an adjacent air gap. Orientation – Position the building’s long axis toward solar south with will maximize solar gain during winter month and limit western exposure in the summer. Homeward bound, we set up our practice and started our little family. The dwelling has extensive north … Although this is most easily done during construction or renovation, in many circumstances thermal mass can also be retrofitted.Glazed windows and doors bring in light and fresh air and offer views that connect interior living spaces with the outdoors.
Passive solar heating is the least expensive way to heat your home. 7 Everyday Steps to an Environmentally Friendly Home5 Secrets to Running Your Home Appliances More EfficientlyNeuroarchitecture: The New Movement at the Forefront of DesignFace Time: A Reno & Extension That's All About ConnectionPattern Cottage: A Second Storey & Pretty Prints for a Sweet HomeHouzz Australia Contributor. Put simply, design for passive solar heating aims to keep out summer sun and let in winter sun while ensuring the building’s overall thermal performance retains that heat in winter but excludes it and allows it to escape in summer. Use the Window Energy Rating Scheme (WERS), which rates the energy and energy-related performance of different window products.Up to 40% of a home’s heating energy can be lost and up to 87% of its heat gained through glazing.Skylights can make a major contribution to energy efficiency and comfort. It is achieved by appropriately orientating your building on its site and carefully designing the building envelope (roof, walls, windows and floors of a home). As sealing your home and increasing insulation levels can also create condensation and indoor air quality problems, this article explains how condensation works, which climates present the greatest condensation risk and how you can limit its impact.Insulation acts as a barrier to heat flow and is essential for keeping your home warm in winter and cool in summer. Climatic conditions determine the appropriate level of insulation as well as the most appropriate type to choose — bulk, reflective or composite. The aperture(s) should face within 30 degrees of true south and should not be shaded by other buildings or trees from 9a.m. Well-designed building envelopes minimise unwanted heat gain and loss.The most economical time to achieve good passive design in a home is when initially designing and building it. Poor use can exacerbate the worst extremes of the climate, radiating heat on a hot summer night or absorbing all the heat you produce on a winter night. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS), with its star classifications, is an additional and useful resource.Orientation refers to the way you place your home on its site to take advantage of climatic features such as sun and cooling breezes. to 3p.m. Aperture/Collector:The large glass area through which sunlight enters the building. For example, in all but tropical climates living areas would ideally face north, or as close to north as possible, allowing maximum exposure to the sun, and easy shading of walls and windows in summer. I live and breathe architecture with my lovely husband and fellow architect, Leon Eyck. However, they can be a major source of unwanted heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter. Passive design strategies vary with climate, as explained in more detail in Design for climate.