There are a million and one thoughtful ways to reduce energy consumption in your home by means of solar energy. Although installing a solar water heater is one of the most effective and efficient, you can also cut costs and reduce emissions by utilizing passive solar design.
And to match the million and one great ideas, there's a million and two great web sites out there to get you started. Here's just one that's pretty helpful in establishing the basics of passive solar energy, from DoItYourself.com:
Using the sun to heat your home through passive solar design can be both environmentally friendly and cost effective. In many cases, you can cut your heating costs by more than 50% compared to the cost of heating the same house that does not include passive solar design.
Passive solar design techniques include placing larger, insulated windows on south-facing walls and locating thermal mass, such as a concrete slab floor or a heat-absorbing wall, close to the windows. However, a passive solar house requires careful design, best done by an architect for new construction or major remodeling.
Solar Tips
■Keep all south-facing glass clean.
■Make sure that objects do not block the sunlight shining on concrete slab floors or heat-absorbing walls.
■Consider using insulating curtains to reduce excessive heat loss from large windows at night.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment