Passive heat gain / Guides

...heat out of the solarium. In short, heat accumulated during the day will be lost at night, and the overall energy balance will often amount to a net heat loss rather than the commonly advertised net heat gain. Durability is also a serious concern, as warm, humid air condenses on the cold interior surfaces and leaves ...

...passive heat gain and reduce energy demand during operation. Choosing higher quality windows on all sides of your home will mean reduced heat loss over a poorer quality window, and with the right windows on the south side you can gain more heat in the daytime than they will lose at night. For how to choose the best win...

...heater that offers you only a 1 to 1 ratio. The Voltex water heater from AO Smith is an air-to-water heat pump which extracts heat from the air to generate hot water, so in the winter that 3 to 1 heating ratio of the first heat pump is transferred to the water heater. And the more 'free' heat you have in winter (sola...

...heat, and if you plan your shading properly with overhangs and window layout, you can help keep it naturally cool in the summer. If you then add high performance triple glazed Passive House certified windows , then they will be optimized to gain and retain the sun's heat. In Optimized Passive Solar House Design, pr...

...passive solar heat gain and the heat normally generated though human occupancy. This will be the first winter for the Kenogami House, and its performance will be closely monitored. Should it be necessary to take measures to avoid overheating during mild periods, Alain is considering an air-to-water heat pump to extra...

...passively-heated home. See post 1 of the off-grid homes blog here . or post 3 in the off-grid homes blog here . This off-grid home design began with the basic principles of passive heating and cooling - invest in really good windows, face as many of them south as you can to gain heat, and install heavy duty insulatio...

...heat requirements (based on specific regional climate data) and the amount of heat energy that could be gained from the sun (SHGC - Solar Heat Gain Coefficient). With those two factors, Denis Boyer is able to determine exactly what would be required of a building envelope to keep a house warm in its specific climate,...

...heat comes in and how much goes out. Low E coatings on windows will reduce heat loss by reflecting infrared heat back into your home in winter while also reflecting heat back out in summer. On the down side, they can also reduce heat gain when you want it, during the heating season. So a little thought should go into c...

...passive solar heat, so they are particularly advantageous for east and west-facing windows which contribute very little to solar heat gain in winter due to a lack of sun exposure, but they can contribute unwanted heat in the long days of the summer. Some better performing homes can even experience overheating during ...

...heaters is that you only get heat when the sun is shining. Short winter days and unpredictable cloud coverage make it difficult to rely on solar air heaters as a primary heat source because you will gain all your heat during sunny hours but then have to go an easy 16 hours at times with no heat input. And shorter day...

...passive solar heat gain. Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC): The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient is a scale from 0 to 100 that indicates the amount of solar gain you will get through a pane of glass. The higher the number, the better the solar gain. Energy Rating (ER): After U-value, SHGC and the various designs an...