SOLAR ENERGY

H E AT
LIGHT

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Pumps
Fans or electrical controls
Photovoltaic cells

ACTIVE
SOLAR PASSIVE ARCHITECTURE

Windows
Walls
floors
Orientation
Elevation
room layout
Materials
surrounding outdoor landscaping all contribute to its passive
solar design.

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

Passive solar design requires the environment in which the building is to be situated
to be considered throughout the design process.

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

PA S S I V E D E S I G N
FOR

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 PA S S I V E D E S I G N

BY

To p o g r a p h y
Ground surface Water bodies
MICRO MACRO
Landscape Altitude
C L I M AT E C L I M AT E
Built form Vegetation
Urbanization

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

PASSIVE SOLAR PRINCIPLES
Direct vs Indirect Gain Systems
Location & Orientation
Glazing
Shading
Over Shading
Thermal mass
Ventilation
Building lay out

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 USING SUN TO OUR ADVANTAGE

Passive solar systems are used to “collect, store and distribute thermal energy by natural radiation, conduction and
convection through sophisticated design and wise selection of building materials” - J.K. Paul
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
 C L I M AT E

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

SUN IS A RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 HOW DOES IT WORK ?

Heat moves from warmer materials to cooler ones until there is

no longer a temperature difference between the two

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

L AW O F T H E R M O D Y N A M I C S
ENERGY NEITHER CREATED NOR DESTROYED

HEAT TRANSFER CAN TAKE PLACE IN ONE DIRECTION FROM HOT TO COLD

HOT COLD

HOT COLD
EXTERNAL ENRGY
(MECHANICAL SYSTEMS)

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Passive uses natural processes like
Radiation
Conduction
convection
to
distribute thermal heat provided by the sun
blocking the sun’s rays during the summer

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 CONDUCTION
HEAT FLOWS THROUGH DIRECT

HEAT F LOW CONTACT

heat transfer from the hotter part to
the colder one
mode of transfer
CONVECTION
HEAT FLOWS THROUGH A FLUID MEDIUM
heat transfer by up and down motion of
the air in a building

R A D I AT I O N
HEAT CAN BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH BY
AREA OF CONTACT
THERMAL RADIATION
DIFFERENCE IN TEMPERTATURE
(When the rays hit the object they transfer heat)

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

T RANS F ER
HEAT

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

H E AT I N B U I L D I N G S

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 BUILDING DESIGN
FORM: compactness and zoning
Orientation
Building components

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 FORM: COMPACTNESS AND ZONING
Compact building gains less heat during day and losses less heat during night
Compactness = S/V ratio

?
S/V LOW
Hot and dry – for less heat gain
Cold and dry – less heat loss
Warm and humid- cant possible as airy conditions required. So, minimize
heat storage by using proper material selection
A square floor plan is thermally efficient than a rectangular plan
Street width to height ratio (aspect ratio)
determines the altitude up to which solar radiation can be cut off. Similarly
street orientation determines the azimuth at which solar radiation can be
cut off.
Hot and dry – low aspect ratio particularly in streets running NS direction
This provides mutual shading from horizontal morning and evening suns
EW streets should be avoided
Low perimeter to area ratio – indicate radiative gain / loss and efficient
ventilation. Low P/A are suited for hot and dry climates. Plan form with
enhancing ventilation not advisable as breeze is warm here.
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
ORIENTATION
The solar radiation vary as the
exposure / view vary with sun
orientation

SUN
WIND

At building level orientation is

considered as per surrounding build
form. Orientation effects daylight
factor, increased RC and
overshadow and diverted winds

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

BUILDING COMPONENTS
OPAQUE SURFACES
TRANSPARENT SURFACES

The main effect of heat storage within a building structure is to

moderate fluctuation in indoor temperature

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Property of a material to conduct heat
M AT E R I A L S (rate at which heat transfers through a substance)
Properties that define their energy performance Unit- W/(m. K)
Low thermal conductivity- thermal insulation
High thermal conductivity- conductors
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
INSULATING MATERIALS ARE POROUS
THERMAL CONDUCTANCE U=Coefficient of heat transfer. A lower U-value
and higher R value indicates better insulating
U FACTOR properties. Both U-value and R-value are a
measure of resistance to heat flow
THERMAL RESISTANCE(R) Resistance depends on degree of exposure and
on surface qualities
THERMAL RESISTIVITY
Material insulation R-value = 1/U-value

THERMAL MASS
Thermal mass is the ability of a material to
Density (kg/m3 ) absorb and store heat energy.
Specific heat (J/kg K)
Thermal capacity ( J/K)
Thermal lag

Conductivity is property of a material and conductance is for a wall

Conductance = conductivity / thickness H E AT C A PA C I T Y
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
As density increases conductivity increases ?
It appears that more molecules will increase
more collisions and thus conductivity

Its more of a factor

Molecular arrangement plays an important role
Copper less dense than lead but has higher
conductivity than lead

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Where should the insulation be placed ?

Insulation for heating a building should be placed inside

For cooling a building should be outside.

A building which is well insulated but no storage mass is not effective as the building outdoor and indoor temperatures
are equal because the minimum ventilation required to bring in the air would be same as outdoor temperature.
Insulation should always consider condensation. The
dampproof materials used should always be on the warm side
of the insulation.
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
 DIURINAL TEMPERATURE VARIATION

THERMAL
MASS

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

Thermal Bridge:
Heat bridge is the heat flow position in the envelope of the building. At these positions the heat flow resistance is less
than the corresponding resistance of the plane regions.

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Location Cause Prevention
Thermal bridge All joints of roof, Gaps in insulation, Maintain continuity
wall and floors the bridging for of insulation
which is done by Avoid use of dense
using dense materials in cavities
material
Around doors and As above Add insulation
windows around door
/window
Position the frame
with in depth of
the opening

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

Thermal storage or thermal capacity:

thermal storage can be defined in terms of thermal time constant, as the ratio of total heat stored to heat transmittance.
The unit for thermal time constant is hours. This accounts for layers which cannot be defined in the case of U value.

Solar heat gain factor:

Rate of heat flow through the construction due to radiation expressed as percentage of incident solar radiation known
as solar heat gain factor.

SHF = transmitted solar energy/ incident solar energy X 100

In warm humid climate – should not exceed 4%
In hot and dry climates should not exceed 3%

Roof is the major heat gain source in hot tropical climates. Sol – air temperature of roof can go as high
as 60 degrees. In such cases high reflective finish and light colors should be used for roofs.

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

TRANSPARENT SURFACES:
Conductive across the material
Convective and radiative on the surface of the material

Conduction and convective gains:

• Exposure to wind
• Number of glazing layers – reduce solar transmittance
• Glazing material – there are new glazing materials which are coming up the. Like the air cavity glass, aerogel glass
as a replacement for air.
• Emissivity – glass has high emissivity. Low E glass(with metallic coatings) is preferable for heat reductions.
• Frame materials – timber and vinyl frames have better thermal resistance than double glazing .
• Night insulation – to prevent heat loss during the night. (curtain fabric, insulated blinds, shutters can provide
substantial reduction.
• Glazing area – important in heat gain or heat loss by envelope. The current practice is to specify glazing area with
respect to floor area. It is preferable to express glazing area with respect to wall area.
Solar gains:
The factors affecting the amount of solar gain through glazing
• Latitude and radiation
• Orientation and slope
• External reflectors solar transmission of glazing (shading factor, low e materials, glazing and others)
• Internal obstructions
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
• Shading devices (external and internal )
PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING STRATEGIES:
Insulation improved
Infiltration improved

Criteria for design :

Reduce heat loss by insulation and infiltration
Use passive solar elements for heat gain and storage

Heating strategies :
Depend on
• Collection aperture
• Interaction of incoming solar radiation
• Heat storage

Methods are
• Direct heat gain
• Indirect heat gain
• Insolated gain

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Direct heat gain

Large expanse of south facing glazing

Thermal mass to store heat during day
Direct gain is a largely depends on low U value at night which can be achieved through movable shutters or curtains that
prevent heat loss

Advantages:
Cost involved is only that of insulation
Simple system and easy to build
Disadvantages:
Large area of glass can result in glare
It should be well designed in terms of heat storage to prevent
high temperatures during the day

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Indirect heat gain

These include systems like tromba wall, mass wall, water wall
and roof pond. They combine collection, storage and
distribution functions.
Trombe wall:
The wall on south
Glazed to reduce heat loss to outside
Top and bottom openings to allow air circulation

Mass wall depends on the size of storage wall with

proper time lag to achieve space heating .In trombe
wall the heating can be achieved anytime by convective
ventilation

Adv: swings in temperature lower than direct gain

system.
Dis adv: system is expensive, visual link to outside is cut

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

Water wall:

Water has greater capacity to store heat than concrete

or brick. The form of container is an important factor in
the operational efficiency of the system.

Adv: distribution of heat is immediate.

Temperature variations are lower than in direct in direct
gain or convective loop system.

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

ISOLATED GAIN
In this case the solar collection is
thermally isolated from the living
spaces of the buildings. The energy
transfer process from collector to the
space takes place through a
thermosphonic loop.

Air heated in collector, it raises

drawing cooler air from below: the
warm air transfers its energy to a
remote storage unit or to a room. As
a result the room becomes cooler and
air sinks to the bottom of the
collector from where the cycle
continues so long as the collector is
sufficiently warm.

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

TRANSMITTANCE

ABSORPTANCE
REFLECTANCE

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

glazing type
the number of panels
glass coatings

Visible transmittance of glazing ranges from above 90% for uncoated water-white
clear glass to less than 10% for highly reflective coatings on tinted glass.

VISUAL LIGHT TRANSMITTANCE Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
Shading devices

The SHGC is the fraction of incident solar radiation admitted through

a window, both directly transmitted and absorbed and subsequently
released inward. SHGC is expressed as a number between 0 and 1

SOLAR HEAT GAIN COEEFICIENT Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
 Light-to-Solar-Gain Ratio
The LSG ratio is defined as a ratio between visible
transmittance (VT) and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC)

Clear glass

High performance glass

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

ELEMENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN

Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi

 Orientation

Shading timing
ELEMENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN

Opening area

Configuration
WINDOWS
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
 Floor

Roof
ELEMENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN

Wall

Partition
A B S O R B E R EXPOSED SURFACE
T H E R M A L M A S S MASS BEHIND IT
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
ELEMENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN

ACTIVE SYSTEM

PA S S I V E SYS T E M

H E AT
DISTRIBUTION Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
ELEMENTS OF PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN

ACTIVE SYSTEM
Thermostats
PA S S I V E SYS T E M
Shading systems
CONTROL
SYSTEMS Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi
Energy Effecient Green Architecture - Ar. Brinda Deevi