Passive Solar Design
Active Solar Design
Natural air circulation
and ventilation for
heating and cooling
Thermosyphon hot
water systems
Pump assisted
hot water
Forced circulation and
ventilation for heating
and cooling
Active sunspaces,
solariums and sunrooms
Passive gain and storage
Heat energy can be gained and removed passively through the
simplest of techniques. The most common is the ordinary
window. Location and orientation, along with reflection, will
determine how much energy you can gain or reject. Storage
will depend upon the medium and the capacity onto which the
gained energy is directed.
Sunspaces are designed to heat a small volume of air quickly.
This heated air is then transfered into living spaces by means of
natural or forced convection techniques.
Solariums are usually considerable larger than sunspaces and
may also be used as living space. Solariums are usually
constructed using a concrete mass as a base to absorb and
store heat.  Most solariums also contain plants to contribute to
the  amount of humidity and greenhouse gases to collect and
hold in heat.
Properly located windows and working vents and ducts will
allow for natural convection currents to carry heat into, around
or out of a  house depending on the season.
Thermosyphon techniques can be used to produce domestic
hot water and to circulate home heating fluids without the use
of inefficient pumps.
Fans and temperature controls are added to the sunspace
design to enhance temperature gain, distribution and flow of
the heated air.
For those systems that cannot take advantage of a thermosyphon
system due to system size and/or constructrion and location
Fans and/or automated vents are added to assist in the
distribution and removal of hot air.
Daylighting schemes
Non-solar back up systems
Sun rooms
What are Passive and Active Solar Design?
Passive solar home designs include methods in which
the natural flow of fluids, whether it be air or water, and
energy are harnessed without any other type of external
energy input.  
Sun rooms, or three season rooms as they are sometimes
called, are usually larger than solariums and are typically used
more as living spaces than for heat gain. Though, if properly
designed, they can double as both.
Proper location of windows and use of methods to channel
natural light will reduce the need for electric lighting.
Wood stoves
Gas log fireplaces
Conventional hot water
heaters,  furnaces and
Active solar home designs include the same methods
as passive solar design but usually include mechanical
devices such as pumps, fans, vent dampers and electical
controls to regulate flow. These devices are usually
dependent on outside sources of energy but may be
utilized with power gained from
PV panels.
Solar electric panels can be added to operate mechanical
devices associated with active systems, therefore giving the
active system a sense of passive operation.
Can be used for auxilary heating and hot water heating
Can be operated using LP gas and used as an auxilary heat
and lighting source as well as ambiance.
When used in conjunction with a solar system, smaller,
more efficient models can be incorporated to assist in home
and hot water heating.
LP appliances
Small propane space or wall heaters can assist in heating.
LP can also serve as cooking gas.
Solar Innovations Home
water heating systems
water heating
Installing solar