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Passive Solar or Energy Efficient Homes?

Written by: Libe Chacos

Article Overview: Generally speaking, a solar passive house is designed so that it does not require mechanical heating or cooling. Heating and cooling is managed through taking advantage of natural energy available on the site. This includes warm sunshine, allowing cooling breezes or eliminating cold winds. The advantages of solar passive design include improving the level of comfort in your home, reducing power bills as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions from heating, cooling and lighting.

Passive Solar or Energy Efficient Homes?

Our diverse country has a broad range of climates, and the concepts of solar passive design can be used in all of our climates.
Passive solar heating is about keeping the summer sun out and letting the winter sun in. The key components behind the success of solar passive heating include:
• Northerly orientation of windows to your main living areas to draw in that winter sun.
• Minimise shading of glass in cool seasons, to maximise winter sun
• Making available thermal mass for storing heat, such as a concrete slab, internal brickwork or even a fish tank!
• Minimising heat loss with insulation, draught sealing and appropriate glazing, including double glazing

Passive cooling is suitable for nearly all climates (yes even Tassie!). With passive cooling you can use the cooler evening and night breezes to cool your home. Key components include:
• Facing your home to take advantage of the cooling breezes.
• Increase natural ventilation in your home minimising barriers to air paths throughout the home.
• Using fans to provide ventilation and air movement in the absence of breezes.
• Designing window locations to allow effective cross flow ventilation
• Effective shading including planting, eaves and pergolas
• Use of light coloured roofs and walls to reflect more solar radiation and reduce heat gain

One thing that people often get wrong with passive solar designs in relation to heating is that you don’t have to have all windows on your north elevation. Especially if there isn’t a lot of thermal mass to store the heat that comes into your home.
If you want to draw the heat in through large glazed areas, then those glazed areas need to be protected at night or when there is no sun, or there is the risk that the heat will head straight outside again.

This can be managed through the use of pelmets, and curtains being drawn in the evening – or simply using smaller windows (picture windows can capture a view as well)

But what if my site doesn’t face the right way – or I have exquisite views and want large panoramic windows?
Of course the ideal situation requires a well positioned and oriented block of land. But if you don’t have that at your place (and not all home do), then the answer is energy efficient designs, that don’t necessarily meet all the requirements of a passive solar house. An energy efficient house will use materials perhaps more than the design itself to achieve a high level of energy efficiency in your home.

The key components of energy efficient designs that need minimal heating include some of the same principles as solar passive design above however it also includes:
• Minimising your window areas and maximising your insulation
• Energy efficient windows or glazing – such as double glazing, timber or PVC or aluminium frames with a thermal break
• An energy efficient house will include pelmets above your windows
• Might be built from reverse brick veneer (where the bricks are on the inside and the timber frame is on the outside) or have good thermal mass to maintain a steady temperature inside your home
• Use heat from appliances like your fridge and hot water system to help keep the temperatures up

Energy efficient means of cooling your home without running costly air conditioning work on the basis of keeping the heat out of your home so you minimise the amount you need to cool it down. Methods include:
• Awnings to windows to keep direct sunlight off them
• Appropriate insulation such as reflective insulation to reflect the heat away from your home
• Smooth, ‘cool’ surfaces to walk on such as tiles or timber
• Build your home from lighter coloured materials for the roof and outside walls to reflect heat
• Use ceiling fans and ventilate your roof space with ‘whirly birds’

You can also include energy efficient appliances, hot water units, light bulbs and none of these are really covered under 'solar passive'

So if your house isn’t facing ‘the right way’, rest assured you can still have an energy efficient home.

And of course then there are 2 other areas of energy efficiency we haven’t covered here:
1. Which materials can you use to build your home that are energy efficient?
2. Water usage – how to save this precious resource

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Article Tags: brickwork, climates, cross flow, fish tank, heat gain, heat loss, home key, natural ventilation, night breezes, north elevation, passive cooling, passive solar designs, passive solar heating, pelmets, picture windows, solar passive design, solar radiation, summer sun, thermal mass, winter sun



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