Passive Solar Heating Is Environmentally Friendly
The people fortunate enough to live in a consistently warm and sunny place like Southern California don't need to worry about their heating costs in the winter. But the rest of us are looking for ways to save energy, thereby saving money. Today, being environmentally conscious is trendy anyway, and you'll save money to boot. When thinking about alternative home heating, consider the option of passive solar heating.
The sun's power to heat is high, even on the very cold winter days. If the days were longer during this time the sun would melt the snow. Wouldn't it be great to use the sun's power to heat your home without having to redo your home completely?
There is an answer to some of the heating costs. It's called the Trombe wall. It is made of material that is used for thermal mass, usually stone or concrete. It is insulated with glass and an airspace to help keep the heat in at night. There is also a shade that lets direct low winter sun enter, but keeps the glass from being heated too much from the high summer sun to help keep your cooling costs down.
True, short of major renovations, such an addition isn't going to be easy to retrofit to your house, and custom designed homes are expensive. But retrofitting a house for other energy efficient heating techniques, like radiant heating, is also expensive and, unlike the other alternatives, passive solar heating, once implemented, costs nothing to continue using.
Even though it became popular in homes built in the 1960's, the idea behind the Trombe wall actually originated in the 19th century. In shopping for that new, energy efficient home, you should keep in mind that you can still go green by using past, proven design techniques.
Now that the awareness of green issues is commonplace, people are becoming aware of the costs involved in heating our homes, both financial and environmental. Ideas from our ancestors, both ancient and not so ancient, solutions such as passive solar heating, are being looked at as viable because not only do they have a benefit environmentally, but they save us money as well.
Our winter heating costs can be astronomical. Who doesn't want to save energy and money? You get the cachet of energy efficiency in these green-conscious times and you save a little extra money to use however you want. One thing people seldom consider when it comes to alternative home heating is the effect of passive solar heating. Enter the Trombe wall. It's a wall of material used for thermal mass (concrete or stone, for example) to store the heat of the day and release it slowly through the day and night.
Published April 7th, 2008