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Passive solar heating cooling house

Ideally, everyone should have a passive solar heating/cooling house. Why? Well, a passive solar heating/cooling house is one of the most cost-effective ways of keeping a home at a good temperature – it requires no electricity or other on-going costs. For a passive solar home, you need only a little ingenuity. Also, passive solar is one of the most environmentally sustainable methods of heating and cooling a home.

So, how can you use passive solar heating and passive solar cooling at your own home (either a home you are building or one that already exists)? Many things that you can do can both cool your home in the summer and warm it in the winter. Here are some examples of both passive solar heating and passive solar cooling methods:

High thermal mass materials – You need materials that do more than just insulate your walls and floors – you want materials that also store heat. For example, the mud bricks of Adobe homes store heat during the day and slowly release that heat during a cold night. During the summer, the reverse is true.
South-facing windows – These allow the sun to shine into the home during the winter, heating the interior surfaces. During the summer, though, it is best to have overhangs on south-facing windows. It is possible to have overhangs that block the high sun of summer, but allow the low sun of winter in.
Trees – A house shaded by trees is a much cooler house during the summer. Also, keep in mind that during the winter, the leaves are gone off the deciduous trees, so the winter sun can still shine into the home.
Natural ventilation – Natural ventilation requires pressure differences to move fresh air through a building. Both wind and buoyancy can create natural ventilation in a home. Buoyancy s either temperature-induced or humidity-induced.
When considering passive solar options (like creating a passive solar heating/cooling house), realize that there are also options for naturally lighting homes, too.

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