TUCSON HOME SOLAR SHADING Roof and all walls could be completely shaded, for example with some

spaced latticework. Such however becomes a nuisance to clean between the shade & the structural wall, and covers windows. They could also be covered with collector panels to use or reject the heat as desired, however the potential winter gain varies significantly depending on the orientation of the surface & solar exposure during any given period. Tucson North Wall Per the solar chart at U of Oregon, on the longest summer day, when the sun is around 10 degrees above the horizon it is about 22.5 degrees north of an east/west line, starting around 5:45 AM. At 30 degrees up it is around 10 degrees north, at around 7:30 AM.. At 10 degrees above the horizon, there may be available up to 50% of the total solar power. At around 30 degrees above the horizon the sunlight path thru the air is short enough that essentially full power is impacting the north wall. The north wall ceases to be illuminated just before 9:00 AM, and resumes just after 3:00 PM. The wall could be shielded with curtains or other complete shade. It could also be shielded with fins. Stack 8 x 16 concrete block, 8 side against the wall, sticking out north 16, with a 16 overhang between fins at the top. If the east/west gap between these fins is no more than three feet (Actually 38.04 inches) the north wall should be in shade from shortly after dawn until shortly before sunset. (36.8 or less spacing is a complete shade.) If you are building new, and for example just want to completely avoid the north wall getting afternoon sun, you could align the house such that the north wall points 23.5 degrees south of east. After the fall equinox and until the spring equinox, the north wall receives no sun. Tucson South Wall The above fin arrangement will not work to protect a south wall. At noon the sun is 82 degrees above the southern horizon. At roughly 9:00 AM the sun has just started to illuminate the south wall & is around 50 degrees elevation. At around 10:30 the sun is more than 23 degrees south of east, which means 16 fins 36 apart would cease east/west protection. Also at 10:30 the sun is at an elevation of roughly 66 degrees, meaning the overall gap between fins should be no more than 18.4 inches. Also 10:30 AM a top 16 overhand would only protect down 35.94 inches. At noon a 16 OVERHANG would shade for 113 inches (9.41 feet) down. Given this analysis, to shield the south wall in the summer would be fins protruding 16 south, with 16 opening between fins, and horizontal overhang 16 out spaced no more than 36 down from each other. Tucson East Wall (West Wall Calculations to be Mirrored) At sunrise 16 fins extending east would only shade for 6.96 inches, and no overhang would provide any shade benefit. The fin shade would disappear until no vertical fin could provide shade while the sun is due east just before 9:00 AM. As the sun moved south, at around 11:40 AM then 16 fins at 36 spacing & 16 overhang spaced 36 down from each other would provide coverage. Of course, the sun disappears from the east wall 20 minutes later. In general solar designers seem to recommend not shading the east side, accepting summer morning warming as a trade off for winter morning warming. Before opting for complete lattice covering, lets look at the winter. 21 DEC the sun rises around 7:00 AM, about 28 degrees south of due east. By noon it only reaches an elevation in the sky of 34 degrees. Envision 16 lattice fins connected to the east wall & pointing at the winter sunrise. Back to the summer. Angled at 28 degrees south of due east, a 16 fin provides sunrise shade for 34 inches, and is spaced only 7.51 inches along the wall provides 100% shade until 9:00 AM, when the sun is at 60 degrees elevation. The fin protection diminishes until it disappears at round 10:30 AM, at which time the sun is at around 68 degrees elevation. 16 overhang at 9:00 AM would need to be spaced vertically 24 inches. Tucson Rooftop (Assumed flat roof)

I would argue that best is an active system with collectors on the roof & blowers/pumps to circulate the heat into the home when desired, and provide 100% shade otherwise. For planning carrying medium in collectors/radiators, air is a good insulator, vs water which gains, carries, & releases heat much better. Water, if sealed in a variable vacuum, can be made to evaporate (boil) as low as its freezing temperature. Mid winter the sun reaches 10 degrees around 8:00 AM, climbs to a maximum of 34 degrees, and is back at 10 degrees above setting at 4:00 PM. Throwing a dart, call optimum heat collector angle a panel perpendicular to 22 degrees above the horizon (panel tilted up 68 degrees). If you made panels 4 wide by 2 high and space them north/south, to not shade each other they need to be spaced 48.78 inches. Unlike photovoltaic panels, tracking & minor shading is not critical. http://solardat.uoregon.edu/SunChartProgram.html http://www.csgnetwork.com/righttricalc.html