![]() This aspect can also lower energy use throughout the house since it minimizes the use of artificial light.Īll of these factors can be used to one’s advantage, depending upon the site location and depending on the specific characteristics that you want within the house. Glazing is the fancy architectural word typically used for southern facing glass that has the capacity to transfer the sun’s energy.Īnother benefit of having windows on the south side, is that it allows natural light to bathe the house throughout the day. You may hear people referring to glass as glazing. Southern facing glass allows the sun’s energy to be absorbed and distributed through the building’s thermal mass. Because the southern side of the building is the side that will potentially receive sunlight throughout the day, most passive solar buildings will feature glass dominating the southern side. Southern facing windows (southern solar glazing) are a vital component for a passive solar design and building. Passive solar buildings typically have many windows facing the south As the building’s glass (glazing) faces more to the southwest, more energy may be needed for summer cooling. As a result, larger amounts of supplementary energy may be needed to heat the building in the winter. Put another way, the greater the degree variation from true south, will decrease the amount of the the building’s solar gain. However, windows that are within 15 degrees of true south are said to function almost as well.Īs the degree difference from true south expands, the overall potential solar efficiency of the structure decreases. It is ideal to have the windows (solar glazing) within 5 degrees of true south. This is one of the lessons learned in the construction of this Off Grid Passive Solar Earthship-Style Home. The distance from the source of incoming heat (south) to where it is absorbed (typically a northern wall) should be minimized. ![]() Passive solar buildings are typically rectangular with the long side of the building facing south. If the building in the middle were longer, stretching toward the two houses located on either side of it, more of its mass would be ideally situated to absorb and radiate heat in the winter If the building’s axis is located on the east-west direction with its longest dimension facing the south, more of the building is situated to absorb the sun’s heat energy. (In the picture at the very top of this post, you may also notice that the overhang is keeping the high summer sun from entering the house.) Building Orientationīecause the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the side of the building that is utilized for solar gain needs to be facing the south to take maximum advantage of the sun’s potential energy. The summer sun’s path aides in this process by traveling high in the summer sky, thus a proper overhang or other type of system is needed to shade or cover the widow, in the summer so that the sun’s heat energy is blocked or avoided when it is desired to have the building cooler than the outside temperature.Ī properly designed overhang keeps the heat and energy from being absorbed into the house in the summer. In order for this to happen, the summer sun is kept from reaching the thermal mass of the building. In the summer, as temperatures rise, a passive solar building uses its thermal mass to help keep the building cool. An insulated window covering or thick shade can also be used to help insulate the windows and help keep the heat in the building after the sun goes down. In order to keep this from happening in cold climates, it is recommended that the glass panes are doubled (double glazing) or even tripled. ![]() While windows allow heat into a building to be absorbed, their thin and transparent nature also allows heat to escape a building. ![]() (See the building at Zion National Park.) During the day, the low winter sun can shine through windows are to allow heat energy to be absorbed into the building’s thermal mass. The diagram to the left shows how the sun is lower in the winter, while it is much higher in the summer. The diagram shows how the low winter sun can enter the building, while the high summer sun can not.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |