FRANCES MIKYLLA B.

CASTAÑEDA TROPICAL DESIGN

ARC - 2109 AR. PHILIP NOLAN

PASSIVE SOLAR PLANNING

A passive solar home absorbs heat from the sun and cooling season, the windows should
as it enters through south-facing windows and be shaded to avoid overheating. Be sure
stores it in thermal mass, or materials that hold to keep window glass clean.
onto heat. The passive solar fraction, which is ● Thermal mass. Thermal mass in a
based on the glazing area and the quantity of passive solar home -- commonly
thermal mass, is the portion of the home's concrete, brick, stone, and tile --
heating load that the passive solar design can absorbs heat from sunlight during the
satisfy. Each environment has a different optimal heating season and absorbs heat from
thermal mass to glazing ratio. Additionally, well- warm air in the house during the cooling
designed passive solar dwellings give year- season. Other thermal mass materials
round daylight and comfort. such as water and phase change
products are more efficient at storing
In order to consume as little energy as possible, heat, but masonry has the advantage of
passive solar architecture makes the most of a doing double duty as a structural and/or
building's location, temperature, and materials. A finish material. In well-insulated homes
well-designed passive solar home decreases its in moderate climates, the thermal mass
heating and cooling needs through energy- inherent in home furnishings and drywall
saving measures before supplying all or a may be sufficient, eliminating the need
portion of those needs with solar energy. for additional thermal storage materials.
Make sure that objects do not block
Passive Solar Heating sunlight on thermal mass materials.
Passive solar heating systems capture sunlight
within the building's materials and then release ● Distribution mechanisms. Solar heat
that heat during periods when the sun is absent, is transferred from where it is collected
such as at night. South-facing glass and thermal and stored to different areas of the
mass to absorb, store, and distribute heat are house by conduction, convection, and
necessary in the design. radiation. In some homes, small fans
and blowers help distribute heat.
Passive Solar Cooling Conduction occurs when heat moves
Passive solar cooling systems use shading, between two objects that are in direct
thermal mass, and natural ventilation to reduce contact with each other, such as when a
unwanted daytime heat and store cool night air sun-heated floor warms your bare feet.
to moderate temperatures. Convection is heat transfer through a
fluid such as air or water, and passive
solar homes often use convection to
Basic Elements of a Passive Solar Design move air from warmer areas -- a
sunspace, for example -- into the rest of
● Properly oriented windows. Typically, the house. Radiation is what you feel
windows or other devices that collect when you stand next to a wood stove or
solar energy should face within 30 a sunny window and feel its warmth on
degrees of true south and should not be your skin. Darker colors absorb more
shaded during the heating season by heat than lighter colors, and are a better
other buildings or trees from 9 a.m. to 3 choice for thermal mass in passive solar
p.m. each day. During the spring, fall, homes.
 ● Control strategies. Properly sized roof can be installed in an existing home if the
overhangs can provide shade to vertical structure can support the weight.
south windows during summer months.
Other control approaches include Direct Gain Techniques
electronic sensing devices, such as a
differential thermostat that signals a fan Cutting Losses -. A passive solar home should
to turn on; operable vents and dampers start out well sealed and well insulated. By
that allow or restrict heat flow; low- reducing heat loss and gain, remaining energy
emissivity blinds; operable insulating loads can be effectively met with passive solar
shutters; and awnings. techniques. Approaches that contribute to
minimizing heating and cooling loads include
REFINING THE DESIGN using advanced framing guidelines, properly
A successful passive solar home requires that a installing insulation, using recommended
number of details and variables come into insulation levels, reducing duct losses, and
balance. An experienced designer can use a tightening the building envelope.
computer model to simulate the details of a
passive solar home in different configurations Site Orientation. - The building’s southern
until the design fits the site as well as the exposure must be clear of large obstacles (e.g.,
owner’s budget, aesthetic preferences, and tall buildings, tall trees) that block the sunlight.
performance requirements. Although a true southern exposure is optimal to
maximize solar contribution, it is neither
Some of the elements the designer will mandatory nor always possible. Provided the
consider include: building faces within 30° of due south, south-
facing glazing will receive about 90 percent of
- Insulation and air sealing the optimal winter solar heat gain.
- Window location, glazing type, and window
shading Window Selection - Heating with solar energy
- Thermal mass location and type. is easy: just the sun shines in through the
- Auxiliary heating and cooling systems. windows. The natural properties of glass let
sunlight through but trap long-wave heat
The designer will apply these elements using radiation, keeping the house warm (the
passive solar design techniques that include greenhouse effect). The challenge often is to
direct gain, indirect gain, and isolated gain. properly size the south-facing glass to balance
heat gain and heat loss properties without
overheating.
Direct Gain
In a direct gain design, sunlight enters the house In heating climates, reduce the window area on
through south-facing windows and strikes north-, east-, and west-facing walls, while still
masonry floors and/or walls, which absorb and allowing for adequate daylight. Effective south-
store the solar heat. As the room cools during facing windows require a high Solar Heat Gain
the night, the thermal mass releases heat into Coefficient (SHGC)—usually 0.60 or higher—to
the house. maximize heat gain, a low U-factor (0.35 or less)
Some builders and homeowners use water-filled to reduce conductive heat transfer, and a high
containers located inside the living space to visible transmittance (VT) for good visible light
absorb and store solar heat. Although water transfer. SHGC refers to the portion of incident
stores twice as much heat as masonry materials sunlight admitted through a window, and U-
per cubic foot of volume, water thermal storage factor indicates the heat loss rate for the window
requires carefully designed structural support. assembly.
An advantage of water thermal storage is that it
In cooling climates, particularly effective Indirect Gain (Trombe Wall)
strategies include preferential use of north-
facing windows along with generously shaded
south-facing windows. Shading from
landscaping, overhangs, shutters, and solar
window screens helps lower heat gain on
windows that receive full sun.

Suntempering - In cold climates, a strategy

termed “suntempering” orients most of the
home’s glazing toward the south—a glazing
area of up to 7 percent of the building floor area.
Additional south-facing glazing may be included
if more thermal mass is built in. Such a shift in An indirect-gain passive solar home has its
window location is a great strategy for cold thermal storage between the south-facing
climates and costs nothing beyond good windows and the living spaces. The most
planning. common indirect-gain approach is a Trombe
wall.
Shading. The summer sun rises higher The wall consists of an 8-inch to 16-inch thick
overhead than the winter sun. Properly sized masonry wall on the south side of a house. A
window overhangs or awnings are an effective single or double layer of glass mounted about
option to optimize southerly solar heat gain and one inch or less in front of the dark-colored wall
shading. They shade windows from the summer absorbs solar heat, which is stored in the wall's
sun and, in the winter when the sun is lower in mass. The heat migrates through the wall and
the sky, permit sunlight to pass through the radiates into the living space. Heat travels
window to warm the interior. through a masonry wall at an average rate of
one inch per hour, so the heat absorbed on the
Heat Storage. Thermal mass, or materials used outside of an 8-inch thick concrete wall at noon
to store heat, is an integral part of most passive will enter the interior living space around 8 p.m.
solar design. Materials such as concrete,
masonry, wallboard, and even water absorb Isolated Gain (Sunspaces)
heat during sunlit days and slowly release it as
temperatures drop. This dampens the effects of
outside air temperature changes and moderates
indoor temperatures.

Natural Cooling. Apt use of outdoor air often

can cool a home without need for mechanical
cooling, especially when effective shading,
insulation, window selection, and other means
already reduce the cooling load.

Natural Lighting. Sometimes called daylighting,

natural lighting refers to reliance on sunlight for
daytime interior lighting.
The most common isolated-gain passive solar
home design is a sunspace that can be closed
off from the house with doors, windows, and
other operable openings. Also known as a
sunroom, solar room, or solarium, a sunspace
can be included in a new home design or added
to an existing home.

Sunspaces should not be confused with

greenhouses, which are designed to grow
plants. Sunspaces serve three main functions --
they provide auxiliary heat, a sunny space to
grow plants, and a pleasant living area. The
design considerations for these three functions
are very different, and accommodating all three
functions requires compromises.

Passive Solar Home Design for Summer

Comfort
Experienced passive solar home designers plan
for summer comfort as well as winter heating. A
passive solar house requires careful design and
siting, which vary by local climate conditions.
In most climates, an overhang or other devices,
such as awnings, shutters, and trellises will be
necessary to block summer solar heat gain.
Landscaping can also help keep your passive
solar home comfortable during the cooling
season. If you are considering passive solar
design for a new home or a major remodel,
consult an architect familiar with passive solar
techniques.

REFERENCES:
Passive Solar Planning -
[Link]
solar-home

Passive Solar Heating and Cooling -

[Link]
[Link]

Direct Gain Techniques -

[Link]