There are a lot of ways to heat a home today. Beyond electric or gas heat, many people look at alternate heat sources. Wood stoves, geothermal heating, and other heating elements might be something you’re considering. Have you considered solar passive designs to help you with your heating costs?  This could lower your costs regardless of what type of heating and cooling solutions you’re considering.

Passive solar design is smart. By carefully designisng your building, you can take advantage of natural elements. Are you looking at building a residential home or commercial building with solar passive design elements? If so, you can have house plans drawn up that reflect this innovative way of designing a greener building.  Why not maximise the potential of your local climate and save on both heating and air conditioning costs plus reduce your carbon footprint? It does take more careful planning and specific materials but can be very worthwhile today and in the future as it will increase the value of your building as well.

Active vs Passive Solar Homes

In active solar environments, there are mechanical aids, such as fans and pumps. In a passive solar home, thermal mass holds the heat for you and releases it.

You can take an existing building and retrofit it so that it contains more passive solar elements. If starting with a new building, you can plan passive solar elements from the start. Some architects now specialize in this type of design.

There are more designers out there than ever offering to help people design passive solar house plans.  But be careful about this process. If you work with a designer, find out who will own the rights to those house plans. Many designers will do them for you but with the stipulation that they own the copyright. The stipulation isn’t always discussed but if you check your contract with the designer, it should clearly state who will own the rights to any house plans.

If you hold the copyright, you can take your plans wherever you like.  Better Building Brokers can help you design a solar passive house plan that you’ll own the rights to and then can match you up with builders who specialise in this area.

The right products, the right design elements, and the right planning can help you build a passive solar home.  Home heating and cooling are major elements of a home’s annual maintenance costs.