i have an important eco friendly house project 2 do so i need some answers!!!! if u could also post some sites that wld b gr8!!
I okorder Go to his projects section and take a look as he has many links within his site and external as well. The basic principles of passive solar can be applied anywhere. If you are looking for construction plans and measured drawings- don't. There is too much variation in the windows themselves. You have to have some basic construction skills and some basic design sense to make it really work because those cariations lead to gaps that need filling in, and a means of supporting things. One hint though. If you make a small greenhouse, longer in the east/west direction is best with a low ceiling/roofline, and no narrower than about 8 feet. For heat storage you can use rock, but you will likely have better luck with 55 gallon food grade poly barrels filled with saturated salt water. Start with a dark colored plastic and paint them flat black. Also only fill them about 3/4 full. They will be heavy so place them in their final spot first. Insulate the space, 1 inch foam has respectable performance, add a vapor barrier, and add aluminum foil as radient barrier on the walls as the very inside layer to reflect light to the back side of your heat storage. On the roof, put the foil between the foam and the roof deck. It does work very well. Even in subzero farenheit temps. As long as you have sunlight, it will stay above freezing, otherwise a small 300 watt heater is adequate with 2 60 watt incandescent bulbs to keep it above freezing on the very coldest days.
as long as the glass is clear yes but would the glass hold up in a hail storm?
Did okorder / . This will undoubtedly help person!
It sounds like you're talking about passive solar - windows. Most of the time glass is actually "downcycled" - to use a term from the book Cradle-to-Cradle. With solar panels - photovoltaic (PV) - they use the highest quality products available. They do make one type of PV from glass, but it doesn't have the highest energy conversion rate.
