Passive Solar Roof Design

Passive solar design takes advantage of a building s site climate and materials to minimize energy use.

Passive solar roof design.

Passive solar systems use carefully crafted reflective coatings and overhangs on exterior walls windows and roofs to provide warmth during the cooling season. In passive solar home design exterior roof overhangs provide a practical method for shading building elements such as windows doors and walls. In passive solar building design windows walls and floors are made to collect store reflect and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. There is a common notion that installing a solar system means your roof has to be loaded with photovoltaic modules a converter and connective circuitry.

Light colored homes reflect the sun s light reducing the amount of heat retained in the walls and therefore lowering summer cooling loads. In addition the heat produced by the sun causes air movement that can be predictable in designed spaces. These homes require much less fossil fuel energy to heat. Passive solar design begins with the simple idea that you can build a house that uses natural heating cooling ventilation and daylighting.

Natural convection and ventilation. Passive solar homes can be any color just like normal homes but they lose a major advantage if they aren t painted to suit the climate. Passive solar design takes advantage of this by designing a home s roof pitch and overhang to allow solar heat gain during the winter months and block it during the summer. May 27 2020 explore russell crosby s board passive solar house design on pinterest.

Passive solar houses are aptly named because there are no wires panels or batteries and nothing to break down. Active solar refers to any system of solar panels whether it be. See more ideas about solar house passive solar house design. When sunlight strikes a building the building materials can reflect transmit or absorb the solar radiation.

Humans around the globe have been incorporating passive solar design features into their homes for thousands of years. A well designed passive solar home first reduces heating and cooling loads through energy efficiency strategies and then meets those reduced loads in whole or part with solar energy. It s just about design and it isn t a new concept. How roof overhangs or other window overhangs work to control heat and solar gain overhangs are most effective for south facing elements in the northern hemisphere and at midday.