Passive Solar Roof

The share of the home s heating load that the passive solar design can meet is called the passive solar fraction and depends on the area of glazing and the amount of thermal mass.

Passive solar roof.

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. Light colored homes reflect the sun s light reducing the amount of heat retained in the walls and therefore lowering summer cooling loads. Let s start with passive solar roof design. A roof pond passive solar system sometimes called a solar roof uses water stored on the roof to temper hot and cold internal temperatures usually in desert environments.

In passive solar homes effective weatherproofing and insulation and thus near airtightness is a necessity if primary reliance upon sunlight for climate control is to be possible. Therefore you want to allow the sun s light to shine on windows or even exterior walls only when it is cold outside and you want to block the sun s rays when it is hot outside. In simple terms a passive solar home collects heat as the sun shines through south facing windows and retains it in materials that store heat known as thermal mass. This concept is based on the principle that the sun s light streaming into your home s windows generates heat.

When sunlight strikes a building the building materials can reflect transmit or absorb the solar radiation.