Passive Solar Construction Handbook

Passive solar design refers to design strategies that minimize or eliminate the need to heat or cool a building mechanically. This sourcebook of details, drawings and case studies of passive solar buildings throughout the U.S. provides is a complete guide to passive solar design and construction.

Explains how direct gain, thermal storage roofs and walls, attached sunspaces, and convective loops can be used as part of a passive solar heating system

New buildings can be designed to be solar oriented, naturally heated and cooled, naturally lit and ventilated, and made with renewable, sustainable materials—no matter the location or climate. In this comprehensive overview of passive solar design, two of America’s solar pioneers give homeowners, architects, designers, and builders the keys to successfully harnessing the sun and maximizing climate resources for heating, cooling, ventilation, and daylighting. Bainbridge and Haggard draw upon examples from their own experiences, as well as those of others, of more than three decades to offer both overarching principles as well as the details and formulas needed to successfully design a more comfortable, healthy, and secure place in which to live, laugh, dance, and be comfortable. Even if the power goes off. Passive Solar Architecture also discusses “greener” and more-sustainable building materials and how to use them, and explores the historical roots of green design that have made possible buildings that produce more energy and other resources than they use.