Passive solar heating is probably the simplest technique that can be employed to increase a home’s efficiency and reduce the amount of energy required for heating and cooling throughout the year. Passive solar heating is more about the way a home is sited and built to maximize exposure to the sun than anything else, but there are many things to consider when incorporating passive solar heating into a home.
The most important thing to consider when incorporating passive solar heating into a home is its relation to the sun. Due to the fact that the sun passes in the southern sky in winter months, one would optimally have a greater proportion of windows facing south, so as to let the sun’s rays heat a home through the windows. The same positioning will help keep the home cooler in the summer, when the sun will pass overhead and not transmit heat through the windows.
Other important factors to incorporate into passive solar design are: low E windows, to allow more solar energy to be transmitted through the windows; the planting of deciduous trees around the house to shade it in the warm summer months and allow sun to shine through in the cool winter months; more extensive insulation, to reduce the amount of energy lost through the walls and ceiling.