Solar Power Home

We have grown accustomed to having heat at the push of a button. This heat though too often is generated through inefficient methods. A much more energy efficient,not to mention cost effective, way to heat our homes,schools, and businesses is to use solar power.Capturing heat from the sun can be done in several ways,even in the dead of winter.In order to harness the sun’s heat what is called a solar source is needed.A solar source is something that will attract the sun’s rays and trap the heat generated by them. A sun room is a good way to illustrate this.

A sun room is attached to the house and usually constructed of glass panels from floor to ceiling. Generally sun rooms are built facing the morning sun so they get the full effect of the sun’s rays. The sun’s rays are intensified by the glass so everything in the room is heated. This is a natural method of heating that is also very efficient.

Some other forms of solar power heat are:

Thermal mass that absorbs and retains the heat of the sun while it is shining and then disperses it after the sun goes down.

A Trombe Wall is a natural solar heating and ventilation system. It uses airflow paths to trap heat between a glass object and a thermal mass facing the sun. The sunlight is absorbed and retained inside the wall. Then it is circulated through vents in the bottom and top of the wall,which then radiates the heat.

Another solar ventilation system is called a solar chimney.It is made of thermal mass that is hollow on the inside. The chimney warms the air inside of it causing heat to rise. This allows the air to circulate and vent properly. Solar Chimney is also a solar ventilation system. It is made of a thermal mass that is hollow inside. The chimney will warm the air inside the chimney and causing the heat to rise. The rise allows the air to circulate and vent properly.

A good way to ventilate a building is using solar cooling. This is done by absorbing solar heat and cooling it by making ice with a solar powered steam engine attached to the cooling device.

There is a variety of ways to provide heating and cooling to our businesses,homes, and schools. The methods listed above attempt to use natural means as much as possible. In the long run it will pay off to use the sun and not artificial sources of heat that use non renewable materials.