A Passive Solar House.

This page will focus on using passive solar energy in a cool climate. For specifics about using solar passively in warmer climates go here.

Using passive solar power in a cool environment involves inviting the heat and light rays into your home during the winter months while in a hot climate it's more about keeping the heat rays out. It's a little more complicated than that because seasonal temperatures fluctuate but that's the basic premise.

Combine passive techniques with some energy saving tips and you can reduce your energy bill by more than half...permanently.

A passive solar house in a cool climate revolves around manipulating the heat and light from the sun to radiate where you choose. Inviting the heat from the sun to warm your dwelling during the coldest times of the year while keeping the direct rays out during the warm seasons. Some of our solar power house ideas are easy and inexpensive to implement while others require major renovations.


Much of your monthly heating cost can be reduced with the thoughtful placement of insulation, awnings, verandas and plantings. Whether the techniques you adopt are simple or complex you can make a noticeable difference in your energy consumption.


It seems silly not to use the abundant and free solar power that falls daily to the earth. If you're making renovations to your house, passive solar techniques are easy to implement and cost little or no more than if you don't use them.

Creating a passive solar house can be as simple as placing pots of leafy plants in front of sunny windows or as complex as building a trombe wall. Choose the techniques that best fit your circumstances and budget.

In cool climates the focus is mainly on keeping the interior of your home warm during the winter and cool in summer. This is best achieved by allowing the sun to heat your home during winter days and keeping the heat inside for the evening with insulated window coverings. During summer months you'll want to keep the sun out of your home to keep the interior temperature cool.


Passive solar house tips for a hot climate can be found here. Here are some of our favorite ideas for creating a passive solar house when you live in a cool climate.

• Insulation ~

  Double up on your insulation in walls, ceiling,floors and around electrical outlets, dryer vents, windows and doors. Insulation is your most effective weapon against your precious and hard won heat migrating to the outdoors.




• Windows & Doors ~

  Your biggest windows and doors should face south then west then east (north, west, east in the southern hemisphere). Passive solar heating is achieved by allowing the thermal rays of the sun into your home. Plan window and door openings to be most abundant on the sunniest sides of the house. Remember that although windows are great inlets for the sun's heat during the day they are also big time outlets for your warm air when the sun is not shining.




• Plantings ~

  Deciduous trees and plantings (leaves fall off in the winter) in front of windows and doorways provide lots of shade during the hot summer months when the sun rises high overhead but in winter when the sun sweeps low across the horizon the leafless plantings allow the sun to shine directly into your dwelling providing warmth to your living area.




• Lofts & High Ceilings ~

  Avoid high ceilings and lofts. They are lovely and if you can't live without them you should do it anyway but keep this in mind. As you're aware, heat rises. In cold climates a significant amount of your power bill represents heating costs. High ceilings and lofts allow for poor distribution of heat. While the loft area is somewhere between toasty and uncomfortably hot the lower level ranges between luke warm and uncomfortably cold. Attempts to circulate the hot air into the main living space can be frustrating.




• Entryway ~

  Create a closed off entry area or mud porch to keep the heat from escaping your passive solar house when the door is opened. Once you have the heat where you want it, keep it there. A separate entry area allows you to move in and out and greet guests without allowing the weather to blow into your living space. An efficient heater can help to regulate the temperature of your entry area.




• Window Coverings ~

  Cover the windows at night to prevent your warm air from migrating to the outside. Remember that warm air is attracted to cold air and will always move toward the cold unless discouraged to do so. Insulated window coverings or shutters will trap the warm air inside, just where you want it to be.




• Trombe Wall ~

  Trombe walls are a mass of heat holding material (like stone or brick or even water tanks) that are situated in many a passive solar house. The wall is placed in front of a very sunny window where it collects warmth during the day and radiates it into the living area at night. wikipedia offers a more in depth explanation. Because a trombe wall is a major architectural feature many homeowners (particularly of existing homes) opt to use the less invasive methods of converting their home into a solar power house and still gain great benefits.




• Shady Side ~

  Very little window area should be located on the non sunny side of a passive solar house in a cool environment(North in the northern hemisphere and south in the southern hemisphere). Since there is no opportunity to collect solar energy on this side the windows serve only as escape routes for your home's heat. Insulated coverings can further prevent heat loss.




• Patios ~

  Patios add beautiful outdoor living space. Plan some patio area for the east side of your house to enjoy early morning sun while breakfasting. Patio and a cooking area on the shady side (north in the northern hemisphere and south in the southern hemisphere) of your house adds ambience and a cool summer living space. Cover west facing patios with a leafy pergola or arbor and place pots of shrubs or plant deciduous trees around the perimeter.




• Awnings ~

  To help keep your passive solar house warm in winter and cool in summer install awnings over doors and windows. Awnings provide shade directly over a window or doorway to help keep high overhead (summer) sun from entering and heating the home in summer while still allowing the warmth of the low hanging winter sun access to the interior.




• Floor Coverings ~

  Use area rugs to keep floors warm underfoot during the winter. You can easily remove them in summer if you want cool floors.

Check out our every day energy conservation tips to reduce your consumption of costly energy.

Make yours a passive solar house by incorporating as many of our suggestions as possible. A solar power water heater is a great addition to any solar design and it'll further reduce your power consumption which puts you in a much better position if you decide to add some solar panels. You'll get the best bang for each energy buck by using active and passive solar energy together.