Month: April 2010

  • Passive solar: insulated exterior shell

    The better the insulation in the walls, roof, foundation, floors, doors, and windows, (the shell of the house), the slower the leakage rate of heat or cold from the inside of the house to the outside, and vice versa.  To be more specific, heat always flows from the higher temperature to the lower temperature — […]

  • Passive solar energy use

    Passive solar technology is simply a set of techniques for using sunlight for useful energy without the use of any active mechanical systems.  These methods convert sunlight into usable heat (passive solar heating — hot water, warm air, and heat stored in thermal mass), cause air-movement for ventilation, and store heat for future use.  Passive […]

  • History of Solar Energy Usage

    We often think that modern societies were the first to use solar energy. Not true! Early cave dwellers preferred caves that had openings facing southeasterly that allowed the morning sun to warm them up without overheating in the warm months.  Native Americans in the Southwest oriented their pueblo dwellings.  So the low winter sun would […]

  • What is solar energy

    Solar energy is a term that refers to the direct use of sunlight to produce heat or electric power.  The sun’s energy is plentiful, but it is thinly distributed over a large area. It must be collected and concentrated in order to produce usable power. The amount of solar radiation per unit of flat area […]