Easy diy heating

The most important concept of passive solar design is matching the time during which the sun provides maximum lighting and heat to a building to that time when the building requires the lighting and heat.  As simple as this may sound, it is in fact, a very complicated process to design passive solar strategies that are the most effective.  For this reason many commercial buildings require computer analysis by an architect or engineer to successful devise a design that uses the maximum amount of passive solar energy.

To achieve maximum use of passive solar heating, this often requires direct sunlight striking dark-colored surfaces, which absorbs the heat and radiates it into the building.  However, to achieve maximum lighting, the sunlight has to be diffused over large areas of light-colored surfaces.  Therefore, to successfully integrate both processes requires the understanding and the coordination of day lighting, passive design, electric lighting, as well as mechanical heating systems.  As you can see, this is not a simple task.

The first step in this process requires the designing of a floor plan, which optimizes the benefits of passive solar heating.  For example placing solar collection surfaces, such as windows and doors that have the appropriate glazings facing at least 15 degrees of true south.  This is because the system’s ability to control shading as well as summer overheating are drastically reduced the farther away from due south the surfaces face.

Overheating and glare are problems that can occur whenever sunlight directly enters a building, which can be corrected through proper design.  This overheating and glare are known as “direct-gain.”  In these areas, the direct sunlight is many times brighter and warmer than normal indoor lighting.  For these areas, designers often use glazings, which reduce the amount of direct-gain and deliver the desired amount of heating, and lighting as well as offer cooling in the summer months.

Glare is often a problem in late morning and early afternoon, when the sun enters at low angles, penetrating far into the building.  To correct this problem, many times blinds or shades can be used to diffuse the daylight, without blocking out the heating benefits. 

When designing a building architects and engineers often attempt to locate the thermal mass of the building so that it will be warmed/lighted during the winter when the angles of the sun are low.  This helps to contribute to the heating requirements during the winter as well as the cooling requirements during the summer months.

The next time you enter a building that uses passive solar heating, consider all the work, which went in to the planning process in order for the building to achieve the maximum benefits of the sun.  As stated earlier, it takes skill and knowledge to design a building with passive solar strategies that are the most effective.

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