ENERGY EFFICIENT ARCHITECTURE

UNIT- 02

PASSIVE HEATING
•Direct gain-Thermal storage of walls and roof
•Roof Radiation Trap
•Solarium
•Isolated gain
PASSIVE :
Accepting or allowing what happens or what others
do, without active response or resistance.
The thermal performance of a building refers to the
process of modeling the energy transfer between a
building and its surroundings.
The lack of proper quantification is one of the reasons
why passive solar architecture is not popular.
Thus, knowledge of the methods of estimating the
performance of buildings is essential to the design of
passive solar buildings.

Heat exchange
processes between a
building and the
external environment
The thermal performance of a building depends on a large
number of factors. They can be summarized as
•Design variables (geometrical dimensions of building
elements such as walls, roof and windows, orientation,
shading devices, etc.)
•Material properties (density,
specific heat, thermal
conductivity, transmissivity, etc)
•Weather data (solar radiation,
ambient temperature,
wind speed , humidity, etc.)
•A building’s usage data
(internal gains due to occupants,
lighting and equipment,
air exchanges, etc.). Heat transfer processes
occurring in a wall
Advantages of passive solar strategy in Design
•Passive solar design is highly energy efficient, reducing a
building's energy demands for lighting, winter heating,
and summer cooling.
•Passive solar design also helps conserve valuable fossil fuel
resources so that they can be directed toward other uses.
And it saves money.
•Passive solar design also reduces greenhouse gases that
contribute to global warming because it relies on solar
energy, a renewable, non-polluting resource.
•Attractive living environment: large windows and views,
sunny interiors, open floor plans.
•Comfort: quiet (no operating noise), solid construction,
warmer in winter, cooler in summer (even during a power
failure)
•A passive solar heating system is a way for the building
materials to collect, store, and distribute solar energy by
natural convection, conduction, and radiation.
•The building itself acts as thermal mass to store the heat it
collects during the day which is then released during the
night.
•A passive heating system depends on the combination of
architecture and building materials.
•Passive solar heating happens when sunlight strikes an object
and that object absorbs the heat.
•Passive heating will Effectively works when the windows
are oriented correctly, Perfect orientation is south.
•By installing high performance windows with insulated
frames, multiple glazing, low-e- coatings, may reduce the
Elemaents of Passive Solar Heating System
There are five elements of passive solar heating system. Each
does a separate, but necessary job for the system to function
properly.
•Aperture
•Absorber
•Thermal Mass
•Distribution
•Control
•Aperture is the collector through which solar energy enters
the building. This is glass or plastic.
•Absorber The hard, dark, surface which absorbs the solar
energy after it passes through the aperture. The absorber is
usually a masonry wall, floor, or drums of water placed in
the sunlight.
•Thermal Mass Materials which retain the heat until it is
released during the night. The difference between the
absorber and the thermal mass is that the thermal mass is
not exposed to sunlight.
•Distribution How the heat is transferred from the thermal
mass to the interior space.
•Control Roof overhangs or eves shade the aperture from
the sun. This prevents the building from unnecessary
Categories of Passive Heating

•Direct Gain
•Indirect Gain
•Isolated Gain
Direct gain method is the simplest method where the
space of the building is directly heated by sunlight.
The building itself acts as a storage device for the heat.
Heat always travels from warmer materials to cooler
materials.
This process is reversed during
the night to provide heat to the
building. The heat is re-radiated
out from the building’s
core (inner walls/floors) and heats the interior space
(outer walls and air) during the night. This continues as
long as the core building is warmer than the interior
In Indirect gain method A dark colored heat
collector is placed in front of a window directly in the
sunlight.
For indirect gain, sunlight is often received by a south
facing wall, and as air moves internal space the heat
moves through the living room.
The heat collector in turn heats the air flowing inside it
which creates the natural warm air
convection loop. Drums of
water can also be placed in
the sunlight to absorb heat
during the day and release it
during the night
Indirect gain can be achieved throuh thermal
storage of walls

Thermal storage was designed preliminary for space

heating purposes.
In this approach, a wall is placed between the living
space and the glazing such that it receives maximum
solar radiation.
This prevents the solar radiation from directly entering
the living space instead the collection, absorption,
storage and controls of solar energy occurs outside the
living space, which reduces the heat loss.
Isolated gain systems collect solar energy in a location
separate from the space desired to be heated. Though
there are multiple types of isolated gain systems,
sunspaces are the most common.
SUNSPACE or SOLARIUM
A sunspace is a room designed to capture
heat. Vertical windows capture the heat
just like the direct and indirect gain
system. Distribution is achieved through
ceiling and floor vents, windows/doors,
and/or fans.
The sunspace is often separated by the rest of the building
using windows or doors. This protects the home against
the sun’s fluctuating temperatures.
SOLARIUM