Passive Solar Design

Passive solar design refers to the use of the sun’s energy for the heating and cooling of
living spaces by exposure to the sun. When sunlight strikes a building, the building materials
can reflect, transmit, or absorb the solar radiation. In addition, the heat produced by the sun
causes air movement that can be predictable in designed spaces. These basic responses to
solar heat lead to design elements, material choices and placements that can provide
heating and cooling effects in a home.

Unlike active solar heating systems, passive systems are simple and do not involve
substantial use of mechanical and electrical devices, such as pumps, fans, or electrical
controls to move the solar energy.

Passive Solar Design Basics

Graphic courtesy of EERE

 Aperture / Collector: The large glass area through which sunlight enters the
building. The aperture(s) should face within 30 degrees of true south and should not be
shaded by other buildings or trees from 9a.m. to 3p.m. daily during the heating season.
 Absorber: The hard, darkened surface of the storage element. The surface, which
could be a masonry wall, floor, or water container, sits in the direct path of sunlight.
Sunlight hitting the surface is absorbed as heat.
 Thermal mass: Materials that retain or store the heat produced by sunlight. While
the absorber is an exposed surface, the thermal mass is the material below and behind
this surface.
 Distribution: Method by which solar heat circulates from the collection and storage
points to different areas of the house. A strictly passive design will use the three natural
heat transfer modes- conduction, convection and radiation- exclusively. In some
applications, fans, ducts and blowers may be used to distribute the heat through the
house.
 Control: Roof overhangs can be used to shade the aperture area during summer
months. Other elements that control under and/or overheating include electronic sensing
devices, such as a differential thermostat that signals a fan to turn on; operable vents and
dampers that allow or restrict heat flow; low-emissivity blinds; and awnings.
Passive Solar Heating
The goal of passive solar heating systems is to capture the sun’s heat within the building’s
elements and to release that heat during periods when the sun is absent, while also
maintaining a comfortable room temperature. The two primary elements of passive solar
heating are south facing glass and thermal mass to absorb, store, and distribute heat. There
are several different approaches to implementing those elements.

Direct Gain

The actual living space is a solar collector, heat absorber and distribution system. South
facing glass admits solar energy into the house where it strikes masonry floors and walls,
which absorb and store the solar heat, which is radiated back out into the room at night.
These thermal mass materials are typically dark in color in order to absorb as much heat as
possible. The thermal mass also tempers the intensity of the heat during the day by
absorbing energy. Water containers inside the living space can be used to store heat.
However, unlike masonry water requires carefully designed structural support, and thus it is
more difficult to integrate into the design of the house. The direct gain system utilizes 60-
75% of the sun’s energy striking the windows. For a direct gain system to work well, thermal
mass must be insulated from the outside temperature to prevent collected solar heat from
dissipating. Heat loss is especially likely when the thermal mass is in direct contact with the
ground or with outside air that is at a lower temperature than the desired temperature of the
mass.

Indirect Gain
Thermal mass is located between the sun and the living space. The thermal mass absorbs
the sunlight that strikes it and transfers it to the living space by conduction. The indirect gain
system will utilize 30-45% of the sun’s energy striking the glass adjoining the thermal mass.
Trombe Wall at Zion Visitor Center at Zion National Park in Utah. The trombe wall is the
lower two panes of the lowest level of glass. Image courtesy of NREL.

The most common indirect gain systems is a Trombe wall. The thermal mass, a 6-18 inch
thick masonry wall, is located immediately behind south facing glass of single or double
layer, which is mounted about 1 inch or less in front of the wall’s surface. Solar heat is
absorbed by the walls dark-colored outside surface and stored in the wall’s mass, where it
radiates into the living space. Solar heat migrates through the wall, reaching its rear surface
in the late afternoon or early evening. When the indoor temperature falls below that of the
wall’s surface, heat is radiated into the room.

Operable vents at the top and bottom of a thermal storage wall permit heat to convect
between the wall and the glass into the living space. When the vents are closed at night,
radiant heat from the wall heats the living space.

Passive Solar Cooling

Shading
 Overhang design for shading. Diagram courtesy of the
Arizona Solar Center. The steeper arrow shows the angle of the sun's rays during the
summer, while the shallower arrow indicates the angle during the winter.
To reduce unwanted heat gain in the summer, all windows should be shaded by an
overhang or other devices such as awnings, shutters and trellises. If an awning on a south
facing window protrudes to half of a window’s height, the sun’s rays will be blocked during
the summer, yet will still penetrate into the house during the winter.  The sun is low on the
horizon during sunrise and sunset, so overhangs on east and west facing windows are not
as effective. Try to minimize the number of east and west facing windows if cooling is a
major concern. Vegetation can be used to shade such windows. Landscaping in general can
be used to reduce unwanted heat gain during the summer.

Thermal Mass
Thermal mass is used in a passive cooling design to absorb heat and moderate internal
temperature increases on hot days. During the night, thermal mass can be cooled using
ventilation, allowing it to be ready the next day to absorb heat again. It is possible to use the
same thermal mass for cooling during the hot season and heating during the cold season.

Ventilation
Natural ventilation maintains an indoor temperature that is close to the outdoor temperature,
so it’s only an effective cooling technique when the indoor temperature is equal to or higher
than the outdoor one. The climate determines the best natural ventilation strategy.

In areas where there are daytime breezes and a desire for ventilation during the day, open
windows on the side of the building facing the breeze and the opposite one to create cross
ventilation. When designing, place windows in the walls facing the prevailing breeze and
opposite walls. Wing walls can also be used to create ventilation through windows in walls
perpendicular to prevailing breezes. A solid vertical panel is placed perpendicular to the wall,
between two windows. It accelerates natural wind speed due to pressure differences created
by the wing wall.

In a climate like New England where night time temperatures are generally lower than
daytime ones, focus on bringing in cool nighttime air and then closing the house to hot
outside air during the day. Mechanical ventilation is one way of bringing in cool air at night,
but convective cooling is another option.

Convective Cooling
The oldest and simplest form of convective cooling is designed to bring in cool night air from
the outside and push out hot interior air. If there are prevailing night time breezes, then high
vent or open on the leeward side (the side away from the wind) will let the hot air near the
ceiling escape. Low vents on the opposite side (the side towards the wind) will let cool night
air sweep in to replace the hot air.

At sites where there aren’t prevailing breezes, it’s still possible to use convective cooling by
creating thermal chimneys. Thermal chimneys are designed around the fact that warm air
rises; they create a warm or hot zone of air (often through solar gain) and have a high
exterior exhaust outlet. The hot air exits the building at the high vent, and cooler air is drawn
in through a low vent.

There are many different approaches to creating the thermal chimney effect. One is an
attached south facing sunroom that is vented at the top. Air is drawn from the living space
through connecting lower vents to be exhausted through the sunroom upper vents (the
upper vents from the sunroom to the living space and any operable windows must be closed
and the thermal mass wall of the sunroom must be shaded).