Silver State Renewables, Inc. "passive solar design priciples" web page

sunset When you live in the high desert of northeast Nevada the winters are long and cold and the summers are hot. But when you can heat your home, for the entire year (1999), for $278 and not need any air conditioning, you know you're doing something right. You too can enjoy this kind of energy efficiency if you employ "pre-passive" solar energy design principles.

All buildings can benefit from the warming rays of the sun. Using well-known passive solar design principles, new buildings can be designed to largely heat and cool themselves. Older buildings can be remodeled to more effectively take in solar radiation in the winter and reject it in the summer. The trick is to balance the five major design characteristics of the building for the climate; total window area, south facing window area, the degree of building insulation, window shading and the thermal mass of the building.

On a personal note: I've always been interested in the use of solar energy to help heat the building I was living in but as most people I was reticent in making any changes because I didn't know what kind of effect it would have. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money and then find out that what I did helped during the heating season but hurt me during the cooling season. So I did nothing.

Now that's all changed. With the development of the personal computer and over 30 years of research and computer program development (TRNSYS was initially funded by the Department of Energy), much is known. The rest can be modeled.

In our view there are three levels of passive solar buildings; pre-passive, passive, and post-passive. These levels differ by the amount of south facing window area that fall on the adjacent floor area. Consequently the typical contribution of solar energy to help heat the building can be as high as 55%, 75%, or 95% respectively. Click here to view a table comparing these levels showing the benefits and constraints of each.

Silver State Renewables, Inc. can offer you and array of resources to build or remodel your house or business:

When you order the paper entitled "Pre-passive Solar Buildings - Design and Operating Concepts" for $15.95 (plus $4.00 shipping and handling) you will learn the important principles that make passive solar energy so useful. The 6-page brochure includes:

Defines the difference between a "passive solar building" and a "pre-passive solar building".

Suggests where windows should be placed and what kind of windows are appropriate.

Discusses the usefulness of thermal shutters and the best design for such.

Discusses the use and misuse of thermal mass.

Discusses the need for window shading, internal verses external and what works best.

Discusses good insulating products and those that don't make the grade.

Discusses the aspect of good air quality within the building.

Discusses the need for a backup heating and cooling system.

"Classes" can also be given, in your area, to discuss these principles in more detail. Cold climates have a different set of rules than do hot climates. Call or email us with your questions or for a quote.

If you feel more comfortable with a professional analysis of your building and its energy uses, you can contact us to conduct an "Energy Audit". You will be asked to provide some information related to the size, construction and configuration of your building. You will also be asked to provide information about the equipment (furnace, hot water heater, air conditioning unit, etc.) in this building and what your utility bills have been over the last several years. Our aim is to answer the following questions:

What should your expenses be, based upon a heating, cooling and hot water load calculation?

What are your actual costs?

Why the difference?

What can be done to improve the energy performance of your building?

With the rising cost of all energy forms, what makes sense in the future?

If you decide that more rigorous information is desired, Silver State Renewables, Inc. can provide a "Performance Model" of your building, with all of its equipment, lighting and occupant gains, and give you feedback on the energy flow into and out of the structure using hourly weather data for your area. In specific we can model any combination of the following:

exterior cladding (any material, in any combination of layers).

insulation (any type, in any thickness, buried or exposed).

glazing material (any type, in any size, in any number of multiple layers, at any angle to the suns position in the sky, at any time of the year).

thermal storage technique ( any type, in any quantity).

infiltration rate (any rate of outside air exchange).

humidity ratio (any moisture level).

occupancy (any number of human or animal residents).

any type of heating, cooling or water heating equipment.

any type of lighting equipment.

any type of electrical equipment (motors, computers, appliances, etc.).

This is especially beneficial if you are considering remodeling an older building or for that matter building a new structure and want to know what you might expect to pay in utility bills before the work begins. Call or email us, with your questions, or for a quote.

Click this button to return to the passive solar web page.
Click this button to return to the home page.

The design and content of this site are copyrighted © 2004-2010 Silver State Renewables, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced or redistributed without prior written permission. Thanks!