The Passive Solar House, Revised and Expanded Edition

Preface

All houses are solar. The sun shines on almost every home, many days throughout the year. The question is, to what extent are you utilizing the sunlight? This book has been written to help you to take advantage of this free resource.

The first part of the book will acquaint you with the basic concepts involved in solar design. Notice that we have included ten easy-to-follow "Solar Principles," each one illustrating a key consideration in building solar homes. As you progress through the chapters, the discussion will get more specific and more technical, incorporating many formulas and equations needed to actually factor the solar principles into effective solar home designs. Do not be discouraged if you do not instantly grasp the mathematics. What is important is that you understand the concepts so that, with the help of a professional designer, you will be able to include solar features in the plan for your home.

The knowledge imparted in this book has been accumulated from over 30 years of data gathered from several hundred solar homes located in the northern tier of the United States, from North Carolina to and including Canada and west to the mountain states. These are locations that are primarily focused on heating. Authors of other solar books have raised concerns about the possible buildup of mold or other airborne problems in ventilated slabs. If the design described in this book is used in low-lying and high-moisture locations, the concerns raised may very well be valid. See chapter 7 for a more detailed discussion of this topic.

Great care has been taken to provide accurate and factual information based on over twenty-five years of solar home-design experience. I wish that I could make competent solar designers and builders out of every reader, yet the disciplines needed to design and construct homes take years of education and apprenticeship to learn. If you do not possess these skills, please consult with or hire professionals. While this book's technical data and equations will be widely applicable for the technically trained, hopefully the book will also spark an enthusiasm among non-technical readers for the limitless potential of solar energy.

Wouldn't it be nice if your house, too, could spend next winter heating itself, naturally, with free heat from the sun?