“Not only is [BGW2004] accurate when compared to actual results, it is user friendly and applicable to the entire continental United States.”
Assuming a proper building site is available, virtually any building can incorporate passive solar design!
Passive solar design uses a variety of mechanisms to reduce or eliminate the need for mechanical cooling and heating devices in a building. With this type of design, the need for artificial light during the day is also greatly reduced. The key to successful passive solar design is the building’s relationship with the sun; to get the most from this relationship, a building’s design should take into consideration solar geometry, window technology, and local climate.
A building designed with passive solar elements is heated in any combination of three ways:
Direct gain is the process by which solar energy directly penetrates building spaces and elements, through glazing.
With indirect gain, solar energy is collected, stored, and distributed using a thermal storage structure, or thermal mass.
Isolated gain spaces collect heat for later use, but in areas that can be selectively opened or closed off to the rest of the building.
Use these tools to get started