Passive Solar Energy

Passive solar energy converts sunlight into usable heat without the assistance of other energy sources.
One good example of this is the heating of buildings when sunlight passes through a window. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used these techniques when they built their houses. The most efficient window orientation for heat gain is due south.
You can apply passive solar techniques most easily when designing a new home. However, existing buildings can be adapted to passively collect and store solar heat. And when incorporating these design techniques into your home, you want to design for summer comfort, not just for winter heating. Nobody wants to be uncomfortabley hot during the summer months. If you want to understand more about passive solar energy, then you need to learn more on how solar power works. The benefits of using these techniques include simplicity, cost and the design elegance of fulfilling your requirements with materials already at your disposal. Passive solar power can also be used to describe technology that cools spaces during summer. The need for air-conditioning in homes can be greatly reduced by using passive solar cooling. When designing with passive solar cooling, heat from the sun is kept from reaching the building. Heat from appliances and occupants are minimised and exhausted by natural ventilation. To return to our facts about solar energy page. To return to our solar energy home page.


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