Passive Heating Techniques

PASSIVE HEATING

• Passive solar design uses sunshine to heat and light for homes and other
buildings without mechanical or electrical devices.

• Heating the building through the use of solar energy involves the
absorption and storage of incoming solar radiation, which is then used to
meet the heating requirements of the space.

• There are three approaches to passive systems

- Direct Gain
- Indirect Gain
- Isolated gain
• The goal of all passive solar heating systems is to capture the sun's heat
within the building's elements and release that heat during periods when
the sun is not shining.
PASSIVE HEATING

- Direct Gain
- Indirect Gain
- Isolated gain
Five Elements of Passive Solar Design

Aperture (Collector): the large glass

(window) area through which sunlight
enters the building.
Absorber: the hard, darkened
surface of the storage element.

Thermal mass: the materials that

retain or store the heat produced by
sunlight.

Distribution: the method by which

solar heat circulates from the
collection and storage points to
different areas of the house.

Control: roof overhangs can be used

to shade the aperture area during
summer months.
Five Elements of Passive Solar Design
DIRECT GAIN

• The most common passive solar system is called direct gain. Direct gain
refers to the sunlight that enters a building through windows, warming
the interior space as seen in the Figure .

• A direct gain system includes south-facing windows and a large mass

placed within the space to receive the most direct sunlight in cold
weather and the least direct sunlight in hot weather.

• Direct gain systems are probably the least costly passive system
THERMAL MASS
To store heat for night time use

• Thermal mass is a material's resistance to change in temperature.

• thermal storage mass is provided in the form of bare massive walls or
floors to store heat and transmit the heat to the indoor environment.
• Thermal mass, or materials used to store heat, is an integral part of
most passive solar design. They are the materials with a high capacity
for absorbing and storing heat (e.g., brick, concrete masonry, concrete
slab, tile, adobe, water).
Aperture for heating–
To transmit and trap the incoming solar radiation

• Windows and other apertures bring in heat from sunshine, but can
also lose heat by radiant cooling and by conducting heat better than
most wall or roof constructions.
• Apertures and shading must be intelligently placed to take
advantage of the sun's heat in cold locations and seasons, while not
overheating
Small Overhang for heating–

• Exterior roof overhangs are an important part of building a passive

solar home. The purpose of overhangs is to shade the windows in
different seasons and thereby prevent our home from overheating.
• Small overhangs helped to increase the amount of sunshine entering
the building, while ensuring that no summer overheating took place.
• The primary purpose of the shades was rain protection.
• A 23cm overhang can adequately protect a 1.2m high south facing
window in peak summer while providing adequate rain protection.
GLAZING –
To transmit and trap the incoming solar radiation

• Glazing windows up to 25% of floor area

• Double glazing to avoid heat losses during winter.
• Ideally, the glazing on the house should be exposed to
sunlight with no obstructions south
Site Planning for Solar Access
• To allow the south side as much unshaded exposure as possible
during the winter months.
• Massing and orientation are important design factors to consider.
• Buildings, trees, or other obstructions should not be located so as to
shade the south wall of solar buildings.
• At this latitude, no structures should be allowed within 3.30 m of the
south wall of a solar building; fences should be located beyond 3.30
m; one story buildings should be located beyond 5.60 m; and two
story buildings should be located beyond 13.20 m.
 INSULATION
to avoid heat loss
• When a home has no insulation it is the same as leaving windows and
doors open year round. In the winter you lose heat and in the
summer you lose cooling.
• In passive solar design insulation is a key ingredient to successfully
managing efficient heating and cooling.
• Insulation materials do not conduct heat well. Instead of passing
heat, they create barriers between inside and outside spaces.
• Since insulation is as equally effective in both hot and cold conditions,
less energy is required to cool homes in hot weather or heat homes in
cool weather.
• There are many insulation choices. There are loose fills, batts or rolls
on insulation, rigid boards and foam products that can be sprayed into
place. Some materials insulate better than other insulation materials.
• Smart energy-builders prefer insulating a home about 30% above
general recommended levels.
INDIRECT GAIN

In an indirect gain system, 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.

Using a Trombe wall is the most common

indirect-gain approach. There are two
types of indirect gain systems:

◦ Thermal storage wall systems (Trombe

Walls, Water walls)
◦ Roof pond systems .
THROMBE WALL
 A trombe wall is a technique used to capture solar heat that was
developed by French engineer Felix Trombe.
A trombe wall consists of a sun-facing high thermal mass wall with
vents at the top and bottom, placed behind insulated glazing with an
air gap in between; together they act as a large solar thermal
collector.
• The wall consists of an 20 to 40 cm-thick masonry wall on the south
side of a house. A single or double layer of glass is mounted about 2.5
cm or less in front of the wall's surface. Solar heat is absorbed by the
wall's dark-colored outside surface and stored in the wall's mass,
where it radiates into the living space.

.
 WATER WALL
• Water walls used in this way need
not be vented at top and bottom and
can be constructed in many ways -
even 55-gallon drums filled with
water, or specially constructed
plastic or sealed concrete
containers.

• Again, as the water is heated, the

convection process quickly
distributes the heat throughout the
mass and the interior space is
warmed by heat radiated from the
wall.
ROOF POND
• Roof pond is a passive cooling technique based upon the increased
heat capacity of cheap and widely available water. In general, the
pond is covered during day to prevent heating, and open at night to
be cooled.
• The uncovered roof draws heat in during Day time to collect solar
heat in the water bags.
• The covered roof then radiates the heat from the water bag to
interior of the house during Night time.
SOLAR CHIMNEY
A solar chimney consists of a tall glass
chamber. This is generally positioned on the
equator facing side of the building, so that it
will capture the most heat from the sun
during the warmest part of the day.

During cold weather the vents can be shut,

allowing the chimney to trap warm air. This
can be used to supplement space heating
provided the house’s insulation is good
enough.
 ISOLATED GAIN

Solar radiation collection and storage

are thermally isolated from living
spaces of the building
Greater flexibility in the design and
operation

Thermosiphoning heat flow.

The natural convective loop.

Radiation absorbed to heat air or water.
Warm sir or water passes through the storage, transferring
it’s heat.
The cool air falls onto the absorber to get heated up again.
ISOLATED GAIN

Collector – absorbs the solar radiation to heat the fluid

Storage mass – absorbs the heat from the fluid, store for distribution
Mechanism to distribute the heat stored in the storage mass.
 SUNSPACE (SOLARIUM)
Direct heat gain and thermal storage.
Solar radiation in sunspace heats up the air.
Passes to wall mass by convection and conduction
During day it provides a comfortable temperature
At night it acts as a buffer

A glazed south facing collector space

Thermal storage link between the
collector and living area for heat
transfer
 Passive Solar Building Strategies
1. Choose a good site.
2. Orient east-west and 10deg to TRUE south
3. Locate most windows on south side 7-12% of ft2.
4. Minimize windows on N,W,E sides
5. Provide overhangs or shading to regulate solar gain
6. Thermal storage mass
7. Insulate walls, ceilings, floors, foundations, & windows
8. Protect insulation from moisture
9. Seal house against air infiltration; provide air exchange
10. Provide direct solar heat to each room
11. Create sun free spaces
12. Synchronize design with living patterns