Today many buildings around the world are using a very popular and cost effective method of providing heat to these buildings. This method is almost free and does not consume any electricity. This method is known as Passive Solar Heating.
The concept behind passive solar heating is that the actual amount of heat or solar energy which falls on the roof of the specific house is greater than the total energy consumed by that particular house. I know it’s a long description, but all it means is a house or building receives more solar energy from the sun than it uses.
Here’s the good news, passive solar applications when incorporated during initial design of the building, has a very minimal effect on the cost of the building. Now this method is mechanically simpler, more reliable and is certainly a viable asset to a home.
When it comes about the mechanism, it involves heating and cooling equipment which is known as system. The building considered could be a home or apartment or any house and a heating or cooling system using forced air equipment (ventilation fans) with air ducts and radiant floors using hot water which is necessarily designed for its purpose.
How Passive Solar Heating Works
Now this system is actually incorporated into the building elements and materials like the walls, floors, and roof which are used for heat collecting, storing, releasing and distributing system.
Passive solar design is actually not the elimination of standard mechanical systems, but more recently high efficiency machines have been designed which not only reduces the size of the traditional heating systems and also minimizes the amount of non-renewable fuels which were earlier used for maintenance of temperature during very colder climatic conditions.
The above explanations describe that obviously there must be two components present in all passive solar heating design. One must be a transparent material like glass or plastic which will be facing southwards to allow the heat to come in and other one is the material which absorbs and stores this energy for later use. The second component is a system of fans and ducts to distribute the heat around the house.
DIY Passive Solar Heating System
Can you make your own home passive solar heating system? With the right material, tools and instruction, yes it can be done.
The simplest passive solar heating unit is a window solar air heater. It is a simple design that uses aluminum cans to capture the solar energy from the sun and use it to heat up the surrounding air in a room.
If you are keen to learn more about the DIY solar air heater, check out the step by step instructional guide. For more information, click on the link below.