Definition and Importance of Passive Solar Heating
Passive solar heating is the use of solar energy to heat a building without mechanical or electrical energy. The architecture and construction capture, store, and distribute the sun’s energy. Every building with windows exposed to the sun is passively heated, but heat losses may exceed the solar gains. Accordingly, if the passive heat gain is to reduce heating costs, the system heat losses must be minimized. Ideally, the concept includes mass to store daytime solar heat for nights, increasing the usability of the gains. Finally, the heating system must shut off when solar heating achieves the desired room temperature. Two constraints on passive solar use are glare control and shading during non-heating months.
Maximizing usable passive solar gains is an important design aspect, but often designers focus only on minimizing heat losses. Taking the finance world as an analogy, no one will accumulate wealth through savings alone, income...
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Abbreviations
- Solar architecture:
-
The deliberate use of solar energy by means of the building architecture, thereby reducing purchased energy dependence while enhancing the quality of enclosed space.
- Passive:
-
Not requiring actions to achieve a desired goal. In the case of passive solar energy use, solar energy is captured and distributed in a building without machinery by using the physics of conduction, free convection, and radiation.
- Direct gain:
-
The direct gain of heat within a building by sunlight entering through glazed openings in the enclosure, which then traps and stores the heat.
- Indirect gain:
-
Solar energy absorbed in some fashion on or in walls or roofs and converted to heat. This heat either remains entrapped in the building envelope to reduce building heat losses, or it is transferred into the building by conduction or convection. There may be a delay between the time when sunlight is absorbed and when heat penetrates into the enclosed volume.
- Isolated gain:
-
Solar energy absorbed outside the insulated building envelope and then transported by free convection to the enclosed volume.
- Solar air system:
-
Type of isolated gain system where heat from the collector transported to the point of use or storage by air (verses water in active thermal systems).
- Hybrid solar system:
-
A passive system assisted by a small fan to increase system efficiency, possibly PV-powered. The energy ratio of heat output to electrical input can easily exceed 20:1.
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Acknowledgments
The author thanks in particular three institutions in his career, whose support made possible the personal experiences to write this section.
The Swiss Federal Office of Energy, Buildings Program (in particular, Gerhard Schriber).
The International Energy Agency, Solar Heating and Cooling Program and, in particular, all the researchers and architects who, with such dedication, worked together in research tasks over the decades and the founder of the Program, Fred Morse.
The Donau University-Krems, Department of Buildings and Environment (in particular: Peter Holzer, who convinced me to become a professor so people would believe my stories).
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Hastings, R. (2013). Passive Solar Heating in Built Environment . In: Loftness, V., Haase, D. (eds) Sustainable Built Environments. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5828-9_372
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