subject: Passive Solar Heating - Using Free Energy From The Sun [print this page] Passive Solar Heating - Using Free Energy From The Sun
This article will cover some information on passive solar heating and how it can be used to reduce a home electricity consumption. A home that utilizes passive solar heating basically is using solar energy for heating but without using any electricity driven mechanical devices.
Now, let us focus on the design of this solar technology for residential unit. Firstly, not all passive solar systems are suitable for all climate and location. This means that one design working in one climate could be less effective in other climate.
The effectiveness of the passive solar system depends on the manufacturing industry which follows some set of rules called Rules of Thumb. These rules are of main emphasis and they are helpful in producing favorable solar heating technology.
Additional information about the climate variations is also helpful in formulating these Rules. In term of system design, the first approach is obviously the direct solar gain design. In this design, the energy from the sun is directly fetched through the glass and the entire solar power is converted to thermal energy.
This thermal energy is collected and stored in the walls and flooring of the house. During daytime, the room temperature is usually high hence more solar energy is stored. During nighttime, the entire process is reversed and heat is radiated back into the rooms from the internal storages and equilibrium is maintained. The effect is raising the room temperature without using any mechanical heating unit.
In this design, about 2/3 of the total interior surface areas is needed to build the thermal storage materials. These include the floor, roof and wall.
The second home passive solar heating design is the indirect gain. In this approach, a house is heated using the concept of convection and isolated gain where heat is collected by any medium and is transferred to the storage blocks.
