Passive Solar Home Power Solar Energy
Generation Guide
Passive Solar Home Helps To Reduce Power Bills
By Genevieve Thomson
Passive solar home is a home where all your power needs
are met with a solar thermal system. Solar thermal materials
are placed around the home, these materials absorb and
radiate heat from the sun and this heat is used to generate
solar power, to heat your water and power the appliances
in your home. Using a solar thermal system, means you
are not using solar photoelectric cells to generate
solar power.
A solar thermal system assists to meet your power needs
and reduce the cost of electricity in your home, as
there are no ongoing solar thermal power generation
fees. Once there is a solar thermal system installed
in your home, there should not be any further costs,
apart from minimal maintenance costs over a period of
time.
Living in a passive solar home, where all your power
needs are met with a solar thermal system, means you
are getting free electricity from a renewable energy
source, without emissions to harm the environment.
Passive Solar Heating In Your Home
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.
Materials Absorbing And Radiating Heat
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.
Colors In Thermal Materials
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.
Solar Power Without Photoelectric Cells
Using the power of the sun is a viable alternative
to using coal, gas, oil or nuclear power, as there are
no emissions during the production of solar power, unlike
the wastes produced with nuclear power and the burning
of fossil fuels. Another advantage of solar energy,
is the source is infinite and is renewable. Unlike fossil
fuels, which will one day be depleted, solar energy
can be harnessed again and again.
A solar thermal mass system means you are not using
photoelectric cells to generate the electricity to heat
your hot water or generate electricity for your home
or business. You are using materials that will absorb
and radiate solar heat, by trapping sun energy.
Using this system of solar thermal materials and a
solar power generation system, helps to ensure you are
using lower cost power system, as there are no ongoing
costs for solar power generation systems and no emissions
to harm the environment.
About the Author:
Genevieve Thomson has written a number of articles on
solar power and renewable energy including
Solar Power System,
Solar Thermal Systems.
Look out for new articles as they become available on
this site.
Little Known Solar Facts.....
Who first used solar power?
It is believed that the ancient Greeks utilized
the sun when constructing their buildings. They realized that houses
and buildings facing the sun would receive more warmth and light.
Native Americans followed the same practice. The first
industrial use of solar power was brought about thanks
to Auguste Mouchoute in 1861 with his steam engine that
was powered by the sun. His invention may not have been
very popular with the coal industry but it was a start
in the right direction for the use of solar power.
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