Solar Power

Another Sunny Day 2.4.07
On a crazy cold day like today I so often wonder why I live in the Upper Midwest. Every year we have the same discussions about how nice it would be to spend winters in the south and summers in the north, applying the common sense of your average migratory waterfowl. Yet the reality is, unless I hit the lotto or until I hit retirement I am here for the duration of my working life. With that being said on a day like today when it is -7º below zero outside for the high and my furnace seems to run continuously I think about all the free energy falling to the earth in the form of sunshine.

Like many people, I always thought solar power was an idea that had run it's course during the fuel crunch of the 1970's and early 80's or something for hardcore "save the planet" sorts. What I have recently come to learn is that solar power can be something almost anyone who is building a new home can enjoy. The traditional solar energy systems that most of us think of rely largely on unsightly panels positioned on the roof or southern walls of ones home. However our new home will have non of these (quite expensive) energy harnessing panels yet will reap the rewards of solar energy and it's something almost every new home in America could have. It's called passive solar and takes little more than some forethought, planning and understanding of the lot where the home will reside.

So if you're like me, you want to know how this all works and why more homes aren't built with this relatively free feature in them. The answer to both questions is planning. Passive solar energy requires the architect, homeowner or builder to plan for the design, construction materials and positioning of the structure both in relationship to the sun but as well as the elements of the land and general geography. Passive solar does not harness the suns energy to convert it to electricity. Rather it works to take advantage of it's ability to naturally heat the house while utilizing the design of the building (in particular where windows are located) and the positioning of exterior elements like trees to help cool the house in the summer. For example our house is positioned so that the majority of windows face the south and in particular the southwest to gather the hottest sun of the day during the winter. While those same windows are shielded from the summer heat by trees on the southwest side of the property. As well, materials like concrete floors, large over hangs and limited windows on the north side of the building help to maximize the suns energy in the winter months.

SO why don't more people implement this type of money saving solar heating? Largely the answer is awareness. Without homeowners driving the demand, builders and developers have no motivation to offer custom planning to ensure that each home optimizes it's passive solar potential.