SOLAR HOT WATER pre-heat systems fall into two basic categories active and passive types with numerous subcategories. A passive solar DHW pre-heater is also known as a breadbox heater or batch heater.

As I discussed in last week’s column ("Resilience: Dramatically Better Building Envelopes," Jan. 4), a resilient home is extremely well-insulated, so that it can be kept warm with very little ...

Heating houses is a major energy suck. Behind passenger cars and trucking, it’s the largest energy draw in the United States. But it turns out homeowners looking to stay warm don’t need to rely just ...

Passive solar heating and cooling was omitted from the interesting article on "Building Green" (C&EN, July 16, page 11). This technique can save 50% of the heating and cooling costs of a home in the ...

Over the past two weeks, I’ve written about two relatively obscure passive solar heating strategies: Isolated gain using sunspaces, and; indirect gain using a Trombe walls. This week I’ll cover a far ...

The pre-Columbian ancestors of today's Indians used it. So did the ancient Romans, the medieval Arabs and many other preindustrial peoples around the world. It's still widely used in less-developed ...

Now that the winter solstice, the shortest daylight day of the year, is behind us I’m reminded of how important it is to let the sunshine into our lives. There are many benefits to having large ...

Solar water heaters work by absorbing sunlight in solar collectors and saving the heated water in a storage tank. Both active and passive solar water heaters are available. Active systems are ...

A passive solar house is typically designed from scratch factoring in several considerations to boost the structure’s ability to naturally keep the interior living spaces a comfortable air temperature ...

Passive solar architecture is a design strategy that optimizes a building’s energy efficiency and long-term sustainability. By relying on a building site’s solar orientation and climate, sustainable ...

As a former realtor, general contractor and greenhouse operator, Kristi has touched nearly all aspects of homeownership, from the foundation up. Today, Kristi is a full-time investing and real estate ...