A passive solar house is typically designed from scratch factoring in several considerations to boost the structure’s ability to naturally keep the interior living spaces a comfortable air temperature ...

Switch to solar with a system built for you. Since ancient times, people have found ways to use the sun’s heat to stay warm or keep cool. They built homes from clay and other materials that hold heat ...

Over the past two weeks, I’ve written about two relatively obscure passive solar heating strategies: Isolated gain using sunspaces, and; indirect gain using a Trombe walls. This week I’ll cover a far ...

The passive-house building standard relies on lots of insulation and intentional design to use as little energy as possible for heating and cooling. "Things like 'passive house' have become more ...

Now that the winter solstice, the shortest daylight day of the year, is behind us I’m reminded of how important it is to let the sunshine into our lives. There are many benefits to having large ...

Passive House design is the best option architects have today for a net-zero future, and it is up to us and our clients to make this future a reality. The building industry accounts for nearly 40 ...

Question: I want to build a conventional-looking house that uses solar heating and cooling without the big solar roof collectors. I would like a spacious, open floor plan. What solar features are best ...

Heating houses is a major energy suck. Behind passenger cars and trucking, it’s the largest energy draw in the United States. But it turns out homeowners looking to stay warm don’t need to rely just ...

Watching from their kitchen as their dog plays in the yard, Tim and Amy Eian point out how the south-facing orientation and floor-to-ceiling windows provide much of their northeast Minneapolis home's ...

Passive House is a voluntary construction standard that focuses on energy efficiency to reduce a building’s carbon footprint. Referred to as “Passivhaus” in German, the standard was born in 1988 when ...