An important aspect of home planning includes knowing how the window positions and exposures will affect the amount of passive solar energy coming into the home. We recently worked with a client to explore multiple options and determine the best size of overhang for the window and the best site orientation of the home.
The first video compares 4', 6', 8' and 10' overhang distances at the great room roof system. It directly compares the four options against each other, with a due South orientation of 180 degrees and a full calendar year at noon.
We determined that the 8' and 10' overhang substantially reduce the passive solar energy gain of the space. the 4' allows sun penetration during the hottest summer months. The 6' appears to shade affectively from June 1- August 15, and then allows for passive solar gain to increase at the beginning of fall and maintain until late into spring.
We determined that the 8' and 10' overhang substantially reduce the passive solar energy gain of the space. the 4' allows sun penetration during the hottest summer months. The 6' appears to shade affectively from June 1- August 15, and then allows for passive solar gain to increase at the beginning of fall and maintain until late into spring.
The second video then takes the 6' overhang and places the home at four different orientations of 167 degrees solar south, 180 degrees due south, 200 degrees due south and 220 degrees due south. We again analyzed for a full year at noon.
Here we found that the building orientation at 220 degrees with a 6’ overhang substantially reduced potential solar gain. It appeared that an orientation less than 200 degrees would be favorable and also allow for some flexibility in siting the building at down canyon views.
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