Solar Heating and Architecture

Eco-architecture talks about 3 kinds of passive Solar Heating – the direct, indirect and isolated Solar Heating gain. The Direct Solar Heating gain is the simplest where the sunlight enters from the southern windows and is absorbed by a thermal mass like stone or cement – aka Solar Lighting. It gets reflected in the room and a comfortable temperature achieved. Hence Direct gain depends on the design, location, its orientation and materials used. For Indirect Solar Heating gain the material is placed between the sun and the space that needs heating – the sun does not heat the room directly, but the thermal mass distributes the heat through stone or water. Isolated Solar Heating gains involve flow of water or air in convection currents – the thermal mass is cycled from the collector to the storage and back again. It is best to include Passive Solar Heating in newly constructed building to derive maximum benefits.