The best part of having passive solar heating is the cleanliness that it boasts. There are no moving parts, no machines to breakdown, no mechanical items hanging from the ceiling, mounted on the roof or hidden in the cellar. It’s all down to the passive solar heating design of your home or business building, and it can leave you living or working in the very same space that the ‘heating’ system itself is occupying.
When it comes to designing a passive solar heating building then there are five key elements that must be applied to ensure the highest efficiency levels are achieved. Of course, these elements are best applied before the building is built, but renovation work can alter an existing home or office to comply with the principles of passive solar heating.
The five elements are: Aperture; Absorber, Thermal Mass; Distribution; and Control.
Aperture refers to the solar collector, except in this case, instead of a solar panel, it is the glass windows. It is vital that these windows face south if you’re in the northern hemisphere or north if you’re in the southern hemisphere (or face the equator). Since the glass will trap the heat of the sun in the room, it must also be insulated to prevent heat escaping, and should be clear of shading from trees or other buildings. They should also be exposed for the maximum time in the sun, so ensure they catch the early morning and later afternoon sun.
Absorber refers to the sections of a room that can absorb the heat of the sun, such as a partition, wall, ceiling or floor. The efficiency of an absorber can depend on its position – it should be exposed to direct sunlight, not reflected – and even the color that it is painted. Dark colors are always better than light colors.
Thermal Mass and the absorber can often be mixed up, but thermal mass refers to the materials behind the exposed surface (absorber) that have the ability to store and then release heat. Concrete is highly effective, as is brick and wood.
Distribution is important if you want to ensure that the heat stored in the thermal mass actually heats the room effectively. There are three natural methods of distributing heat: convection, conduction and radiation. Convection uses the flow of heated air rising. Conduction is where the heat transfers from one item to another, for example a rug is warmed by the floor beneath it. Radiation is where heat is transferred directly from an item through space to another item, like the sun’s rays do.
Finally, control allows the degree of heat to be reduced when necessary, for example in summer when too much exposure to the sun can make a room unbearably hot. A roof overhang can shade part of the window in summer but not in winter as the summer sun is higher in the sky. Also, air vents and simply opening windows or skylights, or electronic thermostats, can help.
Passive Solar Heating Design – Comment Below
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