May 22, 2009
By: Admin
Category: Solar Home
Solar House Plans – The New Wave Of Our Future
Executive Summary about Solar House by Ernest Jarquio
Environmentalists rejoice! What is this new technology that will help save the earth? Why, solar house plans of course.
What Are Solar House Plans?
Well, the new phase in home planning is the plan for a sun-powered home.
Environmentally-Friendly Materials
The designer begins by drawing out the floor plan, planing to use recycled materials, eco-friendly building supplies and Energy-Star electrical outlets. For instance, the concrete slab flooring stores solar heat during the sunny days, then releases it at night, keeping the house warm.
Insulation
The designer uses only eco-friendly items for these tasks, such as recycled wood and green material for the insulation. After all this is planned, they continue onward to Energy-Star appliances and other electronic devices.
Solar Panels
The other panels installed are the thermal water heaters, which provide hot water constantly for the entire home. This hot water is often more reliable than a traditional hot water heater, supplying plenty of heat for the laundry, kitchen and bath.
How to Plan Your House for the Sun
Executive Summary about Solar House by Naomi Kendell
Every house will gain heat throughout the day as the sun shines through its windows.
And during the night as the temperature drops, this same house will lose heat to the outside through its walls, windows and roof.
1. Orientation.
By facing your house to the south (in the northern hemisphere) you will gain the rays of the winter sun. Afternoon sun comes from the west, so rooms like the dining room and living room can be placed on this orientation. The southwest corner of the house will be the sunniest – winter and afternoon sun.
On the northern side of your house, place service rooms.
2. Window Sizing
Out of all the materials your house is made of, windows lose the most heat. There is a balance here, because windows allow sunlight into your house. However even triple glazed glass allows more heat to escape than a well insulated wall.
The first is where your windows face. If you have most of your windows on the northern side, these windows will not get much sun during winter. They will be losing heat, but not gaining solar energy.
There is an optimal ratio of windows:wall for every climate. For instance in temperate climates, a window to wall ration could be: 30% window area to 70% wall area. The other ratio is in windows and orientation.
3. Materials
For instance, highly insulated walls will keep the heat inside your house. When analyzing your heat loss through your windows, you can gain some leeway through insulation. This air forms and insulating layer, slowing down heat loss.
Another way to use materials in your solar house plan is to take advantage of heat storage. It is radiating heat. The floor is insulated underneath to prevent heat loss. A well designed thermal heat sink will stay warm all night long.
4. Shading
Shading is an important part of the solar house plan. This is important not only for heat gains, but for preventing heat gains. In temperate climates as well, shading can be used to keep summer sun out and let winter sun in.
Using our orientation principle: your house is facing south. During the winter the sun angles low and reaches far into the house. This same shading will allow winter sun into your house.
Your latitude effects the angle of the winter sun. In conclusion – solar house plans are a great way to design houses that are warm and comfortable to live in, and save you money off your heating and air conditioning bill.
Using Orientation, Window Placement, Materials and Shading, you can design a house that responds to its environment and creates its own micro-climate of comfort.
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May 20, 2009
By: Admin
Category: Solar Heater
Solar Hot Water
Executive Summary about Solar Hot Water by Anna Williams
Solar hot water heating systems are a great way to effectively conserve energy and reduce your energy bill.
Important Facts about Solar Hot Water Systems
- Solar water heaters can be used in any climate.
- The fuel used to run a solar heater is sunshine.
- A solar water heater can reduce your water heating bill by fifty to eighty percent.
- Aside from reducing your energy bill right now, a solar heating system will protect you from future energy price increases.
- When building a new home, or when refinancing, the economic aspect of this becomes even more interesting.
- Using solar power to heat your water will significantly reduce your carbon footprint.
- Solar heaters can be installed in combination with backup systems.
Types of Solar Hot Water Systems
There are two types of systems, “active solar water heating systems” and “passive solar water heating systems.” With a passive system, the water storage tank must therefore always be positioned above the solar water heater collector.
Active Solar Hot Water Systems
There is also the direct circulation system, where water is simply passed through solar heat collector and then routed to the water storage tank for use.
Passive Solar Hot Water Systems
Passive solar water heating systems are usually cheaper than “active solar water heating systems,” as they do not need controls or pumps to circulate the water.
If you live in a warm climate, a passive water heating system might be all you need. Essentially, solar water heating systems consist of a water storage tank and its solar collectors. The solar collectors are used to collect solar energy (which heats water), and the tanks store the heated water. 75% of the energy consumption of the average home is for hot water and heating. The most economical and effective way of using solar power is through the use of solar heating, and solar hot water heaters.
Homemade Solar Hot Water Heater – One of the Easiest Home Renewable Energy Systems You Could Make?
Executive Summary about Solar Hot Water by Denzil De Vries
Installing a solar hot water system is one of the easier projects to undertake if you are keen to create your own home made renewable energy systems.
The key to the solar hot water system is the solar collector. It is just a tank that has been modified to absorb thermal energy from the Sun. So it may be painted black on the external surfaces and have insulation on the internal surfaces to prevent heat loss.
The flat plate solar collector design uses the same principles but is designed to squeeze even more juice out of the Sun. The plate is painted black to again absorb solar radiation and heat. Along the plate is tubing that will hold water. The tubing exposes far more water to the heat than the ordinary old solar collector. This means more water is heated or made hotter.
Where you place your collector is vitally important but is dictated by two factors. It needs to get as much Sun as it can, so a south facing location in the home is best. But it also needs to move water to the boiler system in the home. So the nearer it is to the boiler the better. If the boiler is well located you could position the solar water collector above the boiler and let gravity move the water from boiler and back to collector based on the heat of the water.
A solar hot water system can be a simple as a solar water collector that has no moving parts or electricity to worry about and a connection to your boiler system.
Most people look into a solar hot water heater because they want to save money on their heating bills. With this in mind a solar hot water heater will help to reduce your bills by pre-heating water that goes into your traditional boiler.
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