Shading

illustration courtesy of Turtle Island Design

Special thanks to the gang at Turtle Island Design for allowing us to use this cross-section of a private pottery studio in New York. The key points are the orientation, sun declination, and use of materials to provide maximum energy efficiency and solar heat gain/shading during the appropriate seasons.

Having lots of trees won't help if the trees are coniferous (evergreens) and are close to the house, as they will shade the winter sun. It is best to have deciduous trees (maples, ash, oak) that will lose their leaves in the winter and will allow the sun to pass through to your house to help heat the house in the winter.

Having trees too far away also doesn't help - try to keep them close to the house - to aid the shading process. If you don't have trees and can't wait for trees to mature, then it is often best to design your house with overhangs that will shade the summer sun. This link provides a great way to see if your overhangs will be adequate. Please note that this site requires Shockwave from Macromedia and the site will ask you to download this application - worth while for the serious designer.

Window and Glazing: Not all windows/glazing are created equal. If you are building a passive solar house - not all glazing is equal - you must look for glazing that will allow the solar heat into the house, not reflect this passive solar heat away. Much of the glazing sold today by conventional window manufacturers is designed to reduce heat loading in the summer - hence the glazing is designed to reflect a great majority of the heat. In colder climates - during the winter - this is often a negative and can severely increase your heating bills.

Sustainable design | environmentally friendly | energy efficient | green building