Passive Solar Info

If information on using passive solar energy in your home is what you want, you've come to the right place.

The Passive use of solar power when building or making alterations to your home can result in significant savings while reducing your negative impact on the environment at very low cost to you.

Sound Good? You'll be amazed at the number of small things you can do that add up to a big difference.

Combine our passive solar info with basic energy saving tips and watch your savings account grow.

Passive solar use is simply the manipulation of the sun's heat and light rays to your best advantage. Using the sun's power wisely can reduce your electricity and heating bills by half. That's no small potatoes in our environment of skyrocketing energy costs. Our passive solar info can help you get started.

Most households want to keep the heat of the sun out of some areas while encouraging it to come in to others depending on the time of year and the outdoor climate.

The liberal use of insulation in floors, walls, ceilings and around doors, windows and electrical outlets is the best way to keep energy costs down and the best start to utilizing passive solar energy.


It's all about keeping your home's interior comfortable and providing the basics without the excessive use of fossil fuels. Here are some passive solar info tips to give you a big head start in the energy savings race.

Passive Solar Info for Home Use

• When Purchasing a Lot ~

  Choose a sunny lot that has good exposure to the sun and lots of deciduous trees and plantings.




• Let the Sun Shine in ~

  In cold climates with warm summers situate most of the windows toward the south. Keep the windows to a minimum on the North, West and East sides. Remember that although windows allow the sun to enter and heat the interior of your home during the day they do the complete opposite during the night. Insulated drapes, shutters and awnings allow you to control the entrance and exit of heat. Ideally south windows should occupy no more area than 12% of your home's square footage.




• Covered Verandas ~

  In hot climates you'll want to keep heat out rather than in your home's interior. Most of your windows and doorways should be facing north. Covered verandas prevent the intrusion of heat on the sunny sides of the dwelling. Situate patios on the north side of the house and hang insulating window coverings or shutters over south, east and west windows. Opposite in the southern hemisphere.




• Close in Your Entry Area ~

  A great deal of temperature exchange occurs when opening and closing doors. A separate mudroom or entry keeps your living space more comfortable by preventing outside air from entering.




• Stick to Veritcal Glass ~

  Sloped windows and skylights should only be used after careful planning. Although they can be sloped windows and skylights allow a lot of light in and work wonders in the right areas, you have little control over when, how much and where the light is directed. Too much light in the wrong areas can make it difficult to work or to view television and computer screens and damages furnishings and floor coverings. Also, although light and heat is allowed in during the day skylights provide a route for heat to escape at night.




• Ventilation ~

  The use of ventilation creates a more energy efficient home while preventing moisture buildup and mold growth inside the walls.




• Low Ceilings in Cool Climates, High in Hot ~

  Our passive solar info regarding ceilings is to stick to lower ceilings in cool climates. Because heat rises high ceilings make it more difficult to keep the interior temperature of your home comfortable. All that precious heat rests way up there where the occupants of the house can't benefit from it. Fans require maintenance and electricity, are sometimes noisy and don't work very well way up there.
  Alternately, in hot climates high ceilings are fine and allow the hottest air to rise and keep the cooler air in the living space.




• Window Overhangs ~

  Awnings and window overhangs keep the high summer sun from entering through the windows but when the sun is low in the winter sky it's rays are allowed to warm the home.




• Leafy Deciduous Plantings ~

  Plant trees and leafy vegetation whose greenery falls off in winter near doorways and windows. The heavy growth in summer prevents the sun from gaining entry through openings and the naked branches in winter allow the sun to warm the home. Even a small area of shade on a solar panel can dramatically reduce it's output. Ensure that trees and plantings do not shade any solar panels.




• Make a Fabulous Garden Solar Shower ~

  Place a dark tank of water in a sunny garden area high enough that you can stand under it (the roof of a garden shed or garage works well) and attach a shower nozzle to it. Provide privacy with plantings or fashion a privacy curtain. This reduces your hot water costs and provides a place where the family can rinse off after a day in the sun.




• Follow our Energy Conservation Tips and Techniques ~

  to reduce the energy costs and the impact your household has on the environment.

Reducing your overall energy consumption using our passive solar info can substantially reduce the cost of getting set up with alternative power sources such as solar.

We hope our passive solar info has provided you with some fun and useful ideas.