In an age where we're hearing about disasters in coal mines and with deep sea oil exploration, causing damage in the range of millions, if not billions, of dollars, death and destruction of the environment and precious natural habitats and resources, it's no wonder more people are looking to solar energy as the savior of our planet both now and in the future.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to join the burgeoning ranks of The Solar Revolution is through the use of passive solar heating, which makes use of the sun's heat, supplied freely and in abundance every day, and here's how.
What Does Passive Solar Mean?
If you're going to take advantage of the amazing technology that is passive solar, a good starting point what be a definition of just what exactly is meant by passive solar. Solar refers to the sun, which supplies us with incredible amounts of light and heat each and every day. Passive means that there are no mechanical or moving parts involved in the technology in question, in this case passive solar heating. You may think of this as doing things naturally, rather than mechanically.
Let The Sun Shine In
Implementing a simple passive solar heating system is as easy as opening your drapes first thing in the morning on any south facing (in the Northern Hemisphere; the opposite applies in the Southern Hemisphere) window and you'll feel the warming rays of the sun almost immediately, especially on warm, sunny days.
A south facing window is best for allowing in sunlight and heat since the path of the sun is to the south of us up here in the Northern Hemisphere, although windows slightly east or west of due south will allow an adequate amount of sunlight in.
When the sunlight comes in through the window, the heat from the sun is stored in the floors and walls and masonry of the room so that the room's temperature is maintained at a comfortable level during the day, and then released at night through natural convection as the temperature in the room cools. This is a basic form of a concept known as thermal mass.
The Power Of Thermal Mass
In a properly designed passive solar heating system, you'll need a means of retaining the heat admitted through south facing windows for use later in the day when the temperature cools. This means of retaining heat is through what's known as thermal mass.
Thermal mass is a type of material that can retain heat well for late release. The materials used for thermal mass can be concrete, rocks, stone and even water. If you have uncarpeted concrete floors that are exposed to the sun, these will work really well as thermal mass, as will any interior walls, since they will absorb and retain the sun's heat.
If you don't have any thermal mass available in a living space in which you'd like to take advantage of passive solar heating, you can install some thermal mass in the form of water in canisters or empty milk jugs or glass bottles or even 55 gallon drums. But, the smaller the container, the more heat will be absorbed on cloudy days. You can also place 3-4 inch sized rocks in a tub placed in direct sunlight to act as thermal mass, but the rocks should be all about the same size as this facilitates the movement of air while retaining plenty of heat.
Hopefully, this gives you a good idea of how simple and easy to implement passive solar heating can be and how you can take advantage of it. It's free or relatively inexpensive to set up and can save you a lot of money on home heating bills, while helping the environment out through less fossil fuels used for heating, so get started with passive solar heating today!
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to join the burgeoning ranks of The Solar Revolution is through the use of passive solar heating, which makes use of the sun's heat, supplied freely and in abundance every day, and here's how.
What Does Passive Solar Mean?
If you're going to take advantage of the amazing technology that is passive solar, a good starting point what be a definition of just what exactly is meant by passive solar. Solar refers to the sun, which supplies us with incredible amounts of light and heat each and every day. Passive means that there are no mechanical or moving parts involved in the technology in question, in this case passive solar heating. You may think of this as doing things naturally, rather than mechanically.
Let The Sun Shine In
Implementing a simple passive solar heating system is as easy as opening your drapes first thing in the morning on any south facing (in the Northern Hemisphere; the opposite applies in the Southern Hemisphere) window and you'll feel the warming rays of the sun almost immediately, especially on warm, sunny days.
A south facing window is best for allowing in sunlight and heat since the path of the sun is to the south of us up here in the Northern Hemisphere, although windows slightly east or west of due south will allow an adequate amount of sunlight in.
When the sunlight comes in through the window, the heat from the sun is stored in the floors and walls and masonry of the room so that the room's temperature is maintained at a comfortable level during the day, and then released at night through natural convection as the temperature in the room cools. This is a basic form of a concept known as thermal mass.
The Power Of Thermal Mass
In a properly designed passive solar heating system, you'll need a means of retaining the heat admitted through south facing windows for use later in the day when the temperature cools. This means of retaining heat is through what's known as thermal mass.
Thermal mass is a type of material that can retain heat well for late release. The materials used for thermal mass can be concrete, rocks, stone and even water. If you have uncarpeted concrete floors that are exposed to the sun, these will work really well as thermal mass, as will any interior walls, since they will absorb and retain the sun's heat.
If you don't have any thermal mass available in a living space in which you'd like to take advantage of passive solar heating, you can install some thermal mass in the form of water in canisters or empty milk jugs or glass bottles or even 55 gallon drums. But, the smaller the container, the more heat will be absorbed on cloudy days. You can also place 3-4 inch sized rocks in a tub placed in direct sunlight to act as thermal mass, but the rocks should be all about the same size as this facilitates the movement of air while retaining plenty of heat.
Hopefully, this gives you a good idea of how simple and easy to implement passive solar heating can be and how you can take advantage of it. It's free or relatively inexpensive to set up and can save you a lot of money on home heating bills, while helping the environment out through less fossil fuels used for heating, so get started with passive solar heating today!
To find out more about such concepts as passive solar heating and to grab a copy of our exciting FREE report, click on the only solar power resource you'll need. Ray Boreham suggests you'll find a wealth of information and tips on solar and renewable energy at http://www.all-you-need-is-solar.com/
Nice post!!!Thanks for share.
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