Given energy concerns these days, most homes are now designed to take advantage of passive solar heating concepts. Solar thermal is a big part of this process.
Getting a little free heating can go a long way on your utility bill, particularly over the life of a structure. Passive solar heating is the methodology used to achieve this goal. It is a process wherein a home is built or upgraded in such a way as to catch and contain as much of the sunlight in the form of heat as possible. To effectively use solar for heating, thermal mass is a subject you need to understand.
Thermal mass simply refers to any material that absorbs and stores heat. In this case, we are obviously talking about material that stores the heat inherent in sunlight and disperses it at a later time once the sunlight is no longer hitting it.
You may not realize it, but your home already has thermal mass producing heat. Any material exposed to the sun, furniture, floors and such, acts as thermal mass. Unfortunately, it is usually on a pretty small scale.
Often called intentional thermal mass, a passive solar home will have strategically placed materials that are very efficient at absorbing and radiating heat. While this may sound complex, it really is not. The materials include items such as bricks, tile and masonry. Adobe and clay materials also function well in certain situations.
In a passive solar home, you need the thermal mass in the interior of the home. Strategically placing tile and brick in areas below windows that receive significant sun during the day will often do the trick.
Depending on your heating needs, the amount of thermal mass you use will vary. In colder climates, it should be used in bulk while homes in Arizona need only nominal amounts.
One common misunderstanding regarding thermal materials refers to their color. Logically, it would seem to make sense that the materials need to be dark since dark colors absorb more heat. This is not particularly true in passive solar. It is the material, not the color, that makes the difference. Bricks can be just about any light color, but not white. This may sound insignificant, but it can be a major benefit if you want to avoid a dark, gloomy interior in your home.
If you are trying to harness the power of the sun for heating purposes, you need to get a good grasp of the thermal products you will use. This should give you a head start
Given energy concerns these days, most homes are now designed to take advantage of passive solar heating concepts. Solar thermal is a big part of this process.
Getting a little free heating can go a long way on your utility bill, particularly over the life of a structure. Passive solar heating is the methodology used to achieve this goal. It is a process wherein a home is built or upgraded in such a way as to catch and contain as much of the sunlight in the form of heat as possible. To effectively use solar for heating, thermal mass is a subject you need to understand.
Thermal mass simply refers to any material that absorbs and stores heat. In this case, we are obviously talking about material that stores the heat inherent in sunlight and disperses it at a later time once the sunlight is no longer hitting it. You may not realize it, but your home already has thermal mass producing heat. Any material exposed to the sun, furniture, floors and such, acts as thermal mass. Unfortunately, it is usually on a pretty small scale.
Often called intentional thermal mass, a passive solar home will have strategically placed materials that are very efficient at absorbing and radiating heat. While this may sound complex, it really is not. The materials include items such as bricks, tile and masonry. Adobe and clay materials also function well in certain situations.
In a passive solar home, you need the thermal mass in the interior of the home. Strategically placing tile and brick in areas below windows that receive significant sun during the day will often do the trick.
Depending on your heating needs, the amount of thermal mass you use will vary. In colder climates, it should be used in bulk while homes in Arizona need only nominal amounts.
One common misunderstanding regarding thermal materials refers to their color. Logically, it would seem to make sense that the materials need to be dark since dark colors absorb more heat. This is not particularly true in passive solar. It is the material, not the color, that makes the difference. Bricks can be just about any light color, but not white. This may sound insignificant, but it can be a major benefit if you want to avoid a dark, gloomy interior in your home.
If you are trying to harness the power of the sun for heating purposes, you need to get a good grasp of the thermal products you will use. This should give you a head start. atj
Powering With Solar Energy
Hi-tech ways to capture enough sunlight per day every day to power everything in a home or business hasn't been discovered yet. The current cost of solar panels can run into thousands of pounds, which would require the panels to produce electricity for years without maintenance in order to see a return on investment.
Many people use solar panels, which can be placed on a side of a roof to attract sunlight during the day to heat a small number of rooms and water. Solar panels can be purchased at a number of locations throughout the UK, as well as online. Panels do a great job of helping families and businesses to conserve energy. Hopefully, solar panels will become a part of daily life, in order to prevent the disappearance of natural resources and to maintain energy conservation.
In the recent 2006 Budget announcement by Gorden Brown, millions of pounds have been allocated to helping homes and businesses take advantage of renewable energy and the benefits that it brings. This is a welcoming strategy by the government. More and more homes are also attaching mini-wind turbines to their homes to boost the electricity generated by solar panels, British Gas (Centrica) have recently been looking for volunteers to pilot this with.
Developing countries with sunny climates such as Africa and Asia are the perfect place to take advantage of this renewable energy especially in rural areas that are not connected to the national grid for electricity. There needs to be a commitment from the G8 and other government around the world in providing funds to achieve this. atj
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