Elements of passive solar design

Every passive solar building includes five distinct design elements (see diagram 1):

1. An aperture or collector — the large glass area through which sunlight enters the building.

2. An absorber — the dark surface of the storage element that absorbs the solar heat.

3.

Diagram 1: Elements of passive solar design, shown in a direct gain application.

A thermal mass — the material that stores the absorbed heat. This can be masonry materials such as concrete, stone, and brick; or a water tank.

4. A distribution method — the natural tendency of heat to move from warmer materials to cooler ones (through conduction, convection, and radiation) until there is no longer a temperature difference between the two.

5. A control mechanism — to regulate the amount of sunlight entering the aperture. This can be as simple as roof overhang designed to allow more sunlight to enter in the winter, less in the summer.