Passive Solar Heating for Homes

Reviewed and Revised on 11/19/2013

A passive solar heating system uses “building components to collect, store, and distribute solar heat gains to reduce the demand for space heating” (NIBS, 2012). It reduces the load on the home heating systems and could even possibly eliminate their need to be installed in the first place, by letting the home to get heated by the natural means.  

The amount of passive solar heating possible (sometimes called the passive solar savings fraction) depends on …

Passive Solar Design for Homes

 Reviewed and Revised on 11/15/2013

Passive solar design uses the sun’s energy to heat a home in the cold days of the winter, and wind (breezes) to cool a home in the warm days of the summer. You can benefit by incorporating both passive solar heating and cooling in a home design in order to save on energy bills and to reduce the impact of the home on the environment. Passive solar design often doesn’t require the use of mechanical