Have you ever wished there was an alternative to the expensive electricity supplied to you by your local utility company? Well … there is! By investing in a passive solar power heating system for your home, you can lessen your reliance on local electric company monopolies and lower your energy bills at home.

What Is a Passive Solar Power Heating System?

Passive solar design usually involves no mechanical or electrical devices in its operation. Instead, passive solar design utilizes your home’s windows, walls, and floors to collect, store, and use solar energy in the form of heat in the cold winter months and to reject that same solar heat in the hot summer months.

There are many ways to utilize a passive solar system. Homes with windows with a southern exposure give easier access to the sun’s rays, which provides a fraction of the overall heating load. There are even some passive solar homes with systems that are almost entirely heated through the help of the sun.

While applying passive solar design techniques in the design of a new home is ideal, existing homes can also be adapted to utilize passive solar heating systems. In order to design a passive solar heating system for your home, you must use the five elements of passive solar design.

Five Elements of Passive Solar Design

Aperture: Or “the collector” as it is more commonly called, collects the sun’s rays during the heating season. The collector is typically a large glass window or area that faces within 30 degrees of true south. It should not be shaded by any buildings or trees, especially from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. during the winter months.

Absorber: Sits in the direct path of the sunlight, which is absorbed into the surface as heat. This can be a masonry wall, floor, partition, or even a water container.

Thermal Mass: The material below or behind the absorber. The thermal mass stores the heat produced by the sunlight.

Distribution: Ideally, a passive solar design uses what is called the three natural heat transfer modes — conduction, convection, and radiation — to circulate the from the collection point (or storage point in some cases) to different areas of the house. Some homes with passive solar heating systems also use fans, ducts, and blowers to help in the distribution of heat around the home.

Control: Through the use of blinds, awnings, or other devices, underheating and overheating are controlled. Sometimes vents, dampers, and fans controlled by differential thermostats are used.

Savings Generated by a Passive Solar Heating System

All five elements of a passive solar design work in conjunction to create a successful passive solar heating system. Reviews for these systems include “low-energy costs,” “reduced maintenance,” and “superior comfort.”

Passive solar heating systems have a lower initial cost when compared to active solar heating systems, and they cost less to maintain. Estimates for recouping the cost of passive solar heating systems generally range from six months to one year. Because these systems cost little or nothing to operate, energy savings are significant over the long term.