Passive heating and cooling means being able to heat & cool a home using no moving parts.
Moving parts require electricity, which costs money and burdens the environment.
Here are some tips & tricks to increase the passive heating and cooling of your home to save money and be more energy efficient.
photo courtesy of Brent Eckley flickr.com/photos/96831183@N08/30292553966/Insulation
Insulation keeps the cool air inside your home in the summer and the warm air inside your home in the winter, passively saving you money.
Check your insulation every few years to make sure it is still at appropriate levels since it will deteriorate and flatten over time making it less effective.
Don't forget to add insulation around your water heater #ad, garage door #ad, and your attic stairs #ad.
Attic Ventilation
Your attic needs proper ventilation to keep your attic cool in the summer and save you money.
Windows
If you can afford it, replace your single paned windows with dual paned windows that are more insulated.
Dual paned windows will passively keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter saving you money.
Make sure to check the caulk around your windows every year and expect to have to recaulk your windows #ad every 5-10 years.
Draperies, Awnings, and Trees
Use heavy draperies in the winter to cover your windows at night to reduce the amount of heat lost through your windows.
During the summer, keep your draperies closed to keep the heat out, use a retractable awning over your windows, and/or plant deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves in the winter) near windows to block the sun's heat.
If your climate is extremely hot or cold during certain months, you can line your windows with reflective insulation #ad during those months. The insulation is not pretty, but very effective.
These concepts will passively keep your home's temperature more consistant and save you money.
Thermal Mass
Thermal mass stores the temperature inside your home to help maintain the current temperature for longer periods of time, so you will not have to heat and cool it as often.
Tile, stone, concrete, brick, water, and adobe have thermal mass.
You can have a stone floor, brick fireplace, and use discarded concrete or pottery inside your walls to increase your home's thermal mass.
Wood, glass, and metal do not have much thermal mass.
Since the south side of your home usually gets the most heat from the sun, make sure to have thermal mass in that location to passively save you money.
Operable Skylights
Use skylights that open to remove heat from your home in the summer.
When cooling your home, make sure to open windows across from each other in your home to cross ventilate and get the most cool air. This will passively save you money by not running your air conditioner or fans.
Vestibule
Create a vestibule in your home between exterior doors and your living space to passively reduce temperature swings.
You can add an enclosed porch that you enter before entering your home to help keep the interior temperature more stable and save you money.
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