Archive for the ‘Passive Solar Homes’ Category

Solar power is the new old technology to save energy

Solar power is the new old technology that people are using to help them save money. With the economy down and prices up, people are looking for new ways to save or even make money, which solar is a good option. With this, you can buy a pre build system that you piece together or [...]

Solar Heating and Cooling

Using passive solar design techniques to heat and cool your home can be both environmentally friendly and cost effective. Passive solar heating techniques include placing larger, insulated windows on south-facing walls and locating thermal mass, such as a concrete slab floor or a heat-absorbing wall, close to the windows. In many cases, your heating costs [...]

The Economics of a Solar Water Heater

Solar water heating systems usually cost more to purchase and install than conventional water heating systems. However, a solar water heater can usually save you money in the long run.
How much money you save depends on the following:
* The amount of hot water you use
* Your system’s performance
* Your geographic location and solar resource
* Available [...]

Energy Performance Testing, Certification and Labeling

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) operates a voluntary program that tests, certifies, and labels windows, doors, and skylights based on their energy performance ratings. The NFRC label provides a reliable way to determine a window’s energy properties and to compare products.
The NFRC label can be found on all ENERGY STAR® qualified window, door, and [...]

A window’s, door’s, or skylight’s ability to transmit sunlight into a home can be measured

A window’s, door’s, or skylight’s ability to transmit sunlight into a home can be measured and rated according to the following energy performance characteristics:
* Visible transmittance (VT)
A fraction of the visible spectrum of sunlight (380 to 720 nanometers), weighted by the sensitivity of the human [...]

Energy Performance Ratings for Windows, Doors, and Skylights

You can use the energy performance ratings of windows, doors, and skylights to tell you their potential for gaining and losing heat, as well as transmitting sunlight into your home.
Heat Gain and Loss
Windows, doors, skylights can gain and lose heat in the following ways:
* Direct conduction through the glass or glazing, [...]

Heat-Absorbing, Tinted Window Glazing or Glass

Heat-absorbing window glazing contains special tints that change the color of the glass. Tinted glass absorbs a large fraction of the incoming solar radiation through a window. This reduces the solar heat gain coefficient, visible transmittance, and glare.
Some heat, however, continues to pass through tinted windows by conduction and re-radiation. Therefore, the tint doesn’t lower [...]

Insulated Window Glazing or Glass

Insulated window glazing refers to windows with two or more panes of glass. They are also called double-glazed, triple-glazed, and—sometimes more generally—storm windows.
To insulate the window, the glass panes are spaced apart and hermetically sealed to form a single-glazed unit with an air space between each pane of glass. The glass layers and the air [...]

Low-Emissivity Window Glazing or Glass

Low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings on glazing or glass control heat transfer through windows with insulated glazing. Windows manufactured with Low-E coatings typically cost about 10%–15% more than regular windows, but they reduce energy loss by as much as 30%–50%.
A Low-E coating is a microscopically thin, virtually invisible, metal or metallic oxide layer deposited directly on the [...]

Passive Solar Window Design in Cooling-Dominated Climates

In cooling climates, particularly effective strategies include preferential use of north-facing windows and generously shaded south-facing windows. Windows with low SHGCs are more effective at reducing cooling loads. The following types of glazing help reduce solar heat gain, lowering a window’s SHGC:
* Low-E
* Tinted
[...]

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