Passive Solar, phantom loads

You will see many types of Solar energy on this site. Some that don't get a lot of attention are passive solar. That is when you use (or block) the energy of the Sun but don't need any active equipment. It also means shade.

A few examples of passive solar are the eves and overhang on a house. Just a little overhang can give shade in the Summer when the Sun is high and intense yet allow the Sun to come in during Winter when the Sun is lower in the sky. What a simple effective idea.

Another example is when you first plan and build a home to have the proper orientation. Studies have found that you save 10-20% just by placing the long axis of the roof line in a East West direction. This of course works best with the fist item on this list, overhangs of the correct amount.

New Solar tube lights and even Solar screens and more efficient windows are all passive designs that save energy. The lowest cost items like the solar screens is the best place to start. You get the biggest savings per dollar spent. New windows are the most expensive but also payback for years. My solar screens only cost $15 per window at a local hardware.

Phantom solar is one of my favorites. It refers to the many small and hiden loads of power that also adds heat. These include phone and power pack chargers for small items. Even an answwring machine with a small power supply pulls power day and night and is warm to the touch adding heat to your home. Bigger problems are TV sets and CRT computer screens. Some TV sets with instant on can such almost as much off as when they are on. One way to see and check these is with a killowat meter. I got one for about $30 and use it all the times to chek power use and loads.

A dollar spent on passive Solar, like these examples can save 2 to 4 times what it cost you to make the power or buy it. It an investment in the Earth that pays for years.

PS also see topics on this website like clothes lines, shade tress , solar PV and Solar hot water.