Switch to solar with a system built for you. Since ancient times, people have found ways to use the sun’s heat to stay warm or keep cool. They built homes from clay and other materials that hold heat ...

Even diehard Instagrammers admit it: Sometimes the best design is in what you don’t see. Such is the case with passive solar design, an approach to building that—in a nutshell—uses a house’s site, ...

Switch to solar with a system built for you. There isn’t a strict definition for what makes a home "solar" — it just has to use energy from the sun in some capacity. If you’re building a new home, it ...

Orient the long axis of the house in an east-west direction. Locate habitable rooms on the south side of the house for greater comfort while putting utility rooms, bathrooms, closets, and hallways on ...

Fig. 4-7: This mass wall in the attached sunspace I designed for my previous home heats up during the day and radiates heat into the adjoining room at night. Fig. 4-8: Solar cookers like this one can ...

There are some basic building principles that, when applied correctly, can greatly reduce the energy required to keep a home (or any building) warm in winter and cool in summer. Once applied, these ...

Passive solar architecture is a design strategy that optimizes a building’s energy efficiency and long-term sustainability. By relying on a building site’s solar orientation and climate, sustainable ...

A new study demonstrates a way to adapt the so-called Trombe wall -- a passive solar building design from the 19th century -- to not only heat but also cool buildings, while drastically reduce ...

This second floor room takes advantage of the passive solar heat of the morning sun. ANA VENEGAS Fresno Custom Publications Photo When Chris Senior was in college in the ’70s, he was convinced energy ...

SOLAR HOT WATER pre-heat systems fall into two basic categories active and passive types with numerous subcategories. A passive solar DHW pre-heater is also known as a breadbox heater or batch heater.

The need for sustainable and healthy living has never been more urgent than it is today. With the rising threat of climate change and the growing concern for public health, we need to consider how we ...

It won't be long before winter hits us again, and I promised myself last year that we'd do what we could to our home to make it more comfortable this year. It stayed cold indoors all last winter, and ...