Passive solar heat gain / Guides

...heat ( called solar heat gain coefficient, SHGC ), whereas windows facing all other directions have a low SHGC. The difference between them is that the high-gain windows allow in approximately 50% of the sun's heat, whereas the low-SHGC windows let in only about 30%. This off grid home interior: Main fl...

...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 ...

...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...

...passive design of the house. “The primary heat source is the sun,” he said. “The majority of the heating requirement is met by the windows. Our primary heat source would be passive solar gain, by design .” The EcoHome Team even designed Edelweiss to make use of deciduous trees on the south facing side of the building...

...solar heat gain on the north facade, so go with the highest R-value you can find, period. On the east and west facades, a combination of a high R-value and low solar heat gain coefficient [SHGC] is best to prevent overheating in summer, unless the windows are well-shaded from direct sunlight, in which case treat them a...

...heat source: a unique combination of passive solar heat gain, photovoltaic solar panels, a condensing boiler, heat pump and thermal battery. The ultimate goal during the design of this Net Zero Energy home was to eliminate the need for a supplementary heating system. The primary heat source is solar, stored in the he...

...solar panels (liquid) or air solar thermal panels or even air solar heated floor slabs can be powered by a small photovoltaic panel . Heated concrete floors are a great way to store and distribute heat over extended periods of time making the most of thermal mass acting like a heat battery . Heat pumps powered by pho...

...Passive solar heating Bedrooms, bathrooms and the mechanical room will be concentrated along the north side of the home, with living areas on the open space to the south. This configuration allows the exposed thermal mass of the concrete floor to work effectively with the solar gains from the abundant windows on th...

...passive heating and cooling. It is exposed to the sun in winter and shaded in the summer. Image via nationalparks.org In reviving the ancient building technique of passive heating and cooling, the Saskatchewan Conservation House showed us what was possible in terms of solar heat collection and retention with mod...

...solar gains in the winter months and a very low sun angle, the solar gain that we get from November to March is very small and this is the time we need the heat for our homes. So can you store heat from the summer to heat the house in the winter? The solar storage would have to be very large and very well-insulated. ...

...passive heat gain . Energy efficiency, insulation and orientation: An efficient and resilient home is one that uses minimal energy to heat, light and run appliances. The biggest draw is *almost always heating , so reducing heat requirements is the best way to reduce operational costs. *We say almost always, but a...