Passive solar buildings sounds like a phrase from the 1970’s. Building your home with a southern exposure, an idea that goes back thousands of years. Let the sunlight work with you in the summer and winter. If your building a new home on a lot that faces south is easier said then done. If you have the flexibility to rotate your house to a southern exposure try looking in to it.
But if you have an existing home what can you do. Think on what you can do to save energy in lighting, heating and even cooling. A option is to look at your floors on the southern side, by increasing your floors density you will be able to absorb more solar heat in the winter time.
Roof overhangs will save on solar gains in the summer heat. During the summer the angle of the sun is much greater than the winter. A few southern exposure window awnings is a affordable trick to cut back on solar pains. With reducing solar gains you will save you energy by reducing your air conditioning load. In the winter season the sunlight comes in at a lower angle so the awnings will hot be a shading factor. The more sunlight in the winter the better, solar gains will save you money by reducing how long your heater runs.
Tinted screens is another quick money saver. They keep the sunlight out in the summer and In the winter you pull your screens out and let the sun shine it. Windows with a higher R-factor is another option to save energy. Even if you can reduce your indoor light usage with proper widow placement.
The sun isn’t going to change so try adapating your solar gains to your advantage. Going green is much tricker on existing home, but keep your options open to a green remodeling life style.
