The Basics of Passive Solar Home Design

The sun is a natural and reliable source of energy. Solar Energy can be used to create electricity, heat buildings, heat water, distill water, cook food, dry food, dry clothes, and power electric vehicles. This course will focus on how the sun can heat homes by incorporating basic Passive Solar design strategies to provide from 20-90% of a home’s heating needs with little cooling penalties. Passive Solar energy can lower heating bills and allow PV (photovoltaic) systems to be downsized. Learn how the movement of the sun, siting, building shape, window placement, overhangs, porches, building mass, and insulation work together to warm and brighten homes
The course assumes that the attendee will have a grasp of basic building science such as the homes envelope, R-values, insulation, HVAC basics, and air tightness. If you do not, please complete the pt 1 - 3 of the Basics of Residential Green Building in Energy here • Basics of Residential ...
Learning Objectives:
1. Be able to describe how the seasonal movement of the sun affects various building surfaces throughout the year to bring in natural heat and light to improve the physical and mental health of occupants
2. Be able to use one web-based tools to quantify of Passive Solar energy for winter heat through south-facing windows to increase the well-being of occupants with a safer, more resilient home during extreme cold periods and how that ties into LEED BD+C V4 and v4.1 Residential Annual Energy Use
3. Be able to explain how siting, building shape, window placement, overhangs, porches, building mass, and insulation aids in cooling by minimizing summer solar gain while keeping the home safe during power outages and how that ties into LEED BD+C V4 and v4.1 Residential Annual Energy Use
4. Understand how the amount of insulation affects the percentage of a home’s heating load that can be provided from free, Passive Solar energy from the sun and how that ties into LEED BD+C V4 and v4.1 Residential Annual Energy Use
Continuing Education Units (CEUS) 2 hours in
• Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
• Building Performance Institute (BPI) NonWholeHouse
• American Institute of Architects - AIA (HSW) (PENDING)
• Certified Green Professional (NARI & CGP)
• Certified GreenHome Professional (CGHP)
• AIBD
• State Architect / Builder License may be applicable
Need CEUS?
Take the Quiz here:
greenhomeinstitute.thinkific....
Speakers:
Debbie Coleman, Architect, AIA: Debbie founded Sun Plans which provides passive solar home design throughout the U.S. She authored The Sun-Inspired House and has designed hundreds of homes incorporating passing heating and cooling strategies. Her work has been published in Fine Homebuilding, Mother Earth News, and Home Power. As a licensed architect for over 25 years, Debbie has designed hundreds of Passive Solar homes across the United States and Canada in many climate zones. She obtained a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona, published a book on Passive Solar design - The Sun-Inspired House: home designs warmed and brightened by the sun. The book and her design philosophies incorporate Passive Solar Design Strategies; Guidelines for Home Building developed by NREL, and are continuously evolving to adapt to low-energy construction methods, climate changes, and housing technologies. Her work has been published in Fine Homebuilding, Home Energy, Mother Earth News, Solar Today and Home Power. Debbie serves on the board of directors for ASES (American Solar Energy Society), the ASES Solar Buildings Technical Division, and the steering committees for both the National Solar Tour and the National Solar Conference. She is a LEED GA and member of AIA. She loves the outdoors with the ever-changing skies and enjoys the challenges of bringing natural light into right-sized, practical, sun-inspired low-energy homes
Orlo Stitt, Passive Solar Builder: Orlo founded The Stitt Group, a design/build company. He has built hundreds of passive solar homes and developed South Sun Estates on the Lake, an energy-planned passive solar subdivision. He is a Certified Green Professional, former HERS Rater, and author of the recent publication Holistically Green Homes.

[@debbie7116]

Invaluable information for designing our house! Thank you!

[@aicram62]

Does the overhang have to be built in?Can you install an awning instead?

[@sunplans]

Excellent question Marcia. Awnings of many types can also be used for window shading if a fixed overhang is not appropriate which could be in cases such as a tall south wall with lower windows, a gable end facing south, an addition, etc.

[@johnware7890]

I missed the live show. Is there an AIA presentation number to get CEU credit?

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

Please take the quiz here to get CES greenhomeinstitute.thinkific.com/courses/the-basics-of-passive-solar-home-design

[@linmal2242]

I had a Rheem ?? heat pump. Had to get rid of it and put in an off-peak! My plumber cous in C'berra said they had to rip them all out in Canberra as they just did not work well enough !

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

What is an off peak?

[@madbuckets08]

I am looking to have passive solar incorporated into by new build and I currently have designs which are drafted. I am wondering if there are any opportunities to collaborate with any of the presenters to ensure that we incorporate the passive design.

[@sunplans]

Glad you are interested in passive solar. Where are you located? Ideally, there would be a GreenHome Institute member near you with Passive Solar experience who could consult with you.

[@madbuckets08]

@@sunplans Located in Nova Scotia, Canada

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

@@madbuckets08 - Here is @Sunplans response which was not working " I do not see any GHI members in Nova Scotia, but Solterre Design does appear to specialize in passive solar so maybe they review designs by others. Alternatively, the webinar was intended to provide house designers with basic passive solar concepts and tools to evaluate designs so perhaps have your draftsman watch it. In addition, Sun Plans sunplans.com/ can review designs by others. Look at our Services page then use the Contact Us link to provide more info. "

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

ivan2fast4u If I have 10% on 40sqm floor is 2x2 window... on south wall?!?! Are you kidding me? Assuming you mean a window that is 2 meters x 2 meters for your 40 square meter building, that is correct. To clarify, the maximum recommend south glass in latitudes of approx. 30-50 degrees North is 10% of the floor area. South glass above 7% requires additional thermal mass per the webinar.

[@animacuso100]

31:57 "Trying to convince people not to build basements"? maybe a video about basements? I was thinking that basements are god because of better insulation underground, but I also feel like the best house is one that will last for a a long time, this way resources aren't used up over and over, and a basement needs to be as durable as the rest of the house, but I did not find much information about that and I am left with a general feeling that basements start failing in some way before the rest of the house.

[@jeannettewhite3682]

I'm looking into passive solar cod homes with basements or underground.

[@jeannettewhite3682]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYPXkJt_oLSYesk

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

Good idea! We should do slab on grade vs basements.

[@sunplans]

@@GreenHomeInstitute absolutely if the land is flat or slopes less than a few feet! The inherent thermal mass of the concrete slabs helps manage temperature swings and comfort for both winter and summer.

[@DanielDuedu]

I want more information for those living in the equator (West Africa). I want to build a passive house, concentrating on cooling (the temperature year round is ~ 28°C +- 3°C).

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

"Modern Thermal Passive Solar is just starting to gain traction in most countries of Africa as the traditional architecture of buildings have passive heating and cooling features. Houses were built with thick mud walls for temperature insulation and depending on the region, the thatch roofing materials can range from corn stalks and straws to raffia palm leaves. Small or no windows were common in the old buildings to prevent direct solar radiation. Now modern buildings built with high thermal mass materials like concrete, need cooling and are retrofitted with air conditioners which are not energy efficient. Solar PV seems to be the adopted fix but costly to install. I think passive building materials and design can play a more efficient role for thermal comfort. The choice of building material and design depend on the region's local environment. I know much of Central Africa is hot and humid in the tropics, hot and dry in other parts so the location is really important. In the tropics, light thermal mass building materials like wood will help with passive cooling at night, and in the dry regions, concrete may still work. I did read a literature review on Passive Solar Systems for African countries that might have more information on the different passive design strategies that have been tried out in the last 10 years in different regions in Africa, I think it can also be helpful." Best, Remi Remi Akinwonmi American Solar Energy Society

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

www.mdpi.com/1984254

[@bepitan]

my advice would be generous shading ..insulated walls and roof (aac blocks)..solar panels and some kind of stack effect.

[@KJSvitko]

A more comfortable home that saves energy and saves money.

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

Tell us one new thing you learned here, Kenz

[@KJSvitko]

@@GreenHomeInstitute Heat pumps are now going mainstream

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

@@KJSvitko Very true but did you learn anything new about the topic? Passive Solar?

[@KJSvitko]

@@GreenHomeInstitute Passive solar is under appreciated by most builders.

[@erinhansen5792]

What is Michigan Basement Syndrome mentioned in the video?

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

Moisture issues in basements.

[@bradbrown2168]

Interested in incorporating GABLOK with passive solar home.

[@sunplans]

Passive solar homes can be built with almost any construction system such as ICFs, SIPS, or conventional stick framing. The inherent thermal mass of ICF can be a plus, and there are many ICF manufacturers to choose from based on your location. Slab-on-grade construction also has inherent thermal mass.

[@brewatthebeach9882]

Is there any way to get a PDF of the presentation?

[@sunplans]

Hi there. Sorry, I did not get a notice of this request. What is your email address?

[@14sasst]

I see more discussion about mini splits than heat pumps now. Why ?

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

Those are the same thing. 😃

[@MrNiceGuyMEGA08]

@@GreenHomeInstitute A square is a rectangle, but not all rectangles are squares. A mini-split is a heat pump, but not all heat pumps are a mini-splits; so they are NOT "the same thing." I find that many times the person answering the questions on behalf of The Greenhome Institute answer in short dismissive answers. Your answer does not meet your mission to "...empower professionals and homeowners to make healthier and more sustainable choices..." I would recommend that you reevaluate how you (as the institute) reply to folks, and maybe start by giving a better answer to this question.

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

@@MrNiceGuyMEGA08 Thank you for your feedback. We just increased our staff here so we may engage better. This session is not about heatpumps so the question was not specifically relevant but you are right. It is very true they are not the same, a mini split is a heatpump but some heatumps are ducted or ground source. We see more talking about ducted than ductless which is the opposite of what this person said. Thank you.

[@bepitan]

of course this assumes we all live in the same place ..

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

You mean the global north. Reverse it in the south.

[@bepitan]

@@GreenHomeInstitute well i was more interested in architecture on the equator where the sun spends most of the day directly above your head with very low attack angles in the morning and evening, like almost horizontal...so its horizontal to vertical back to horizontal...

[@canonicaltom]

20:30 Make sure to use Earth sheltering for efficiency, it's great 30:20 Be sure to never use Earth sheltering, it's the worst

[@GreenHomeInstitute]

Elaborate.

[@joeaaronsen]

Energy efficient house design is of limited value when they are built in car-dependent green-field suburbs.

[@sunplans]

Thanks for bringing up the importance of looking at a family's entire lifestyle energy footprint and not just the home! Personally, I moved from a very low-energy home in the country, but with long commutes, to a less efficient home (but still way better than average after our renovations) but with shorter commutes. And now I (and many of our clients) work from home more often to even further reduce the carbon footprints. So, while I don't think I'd say that an energy-efficient house design is of limited value, I'd agree to keep the big picture in mind when making housing and life-style choices.