Passive solar heating uses the sun's radiant energy to heat a building by converting the radiant energy to thermal energy when the building absorbs the radiant energy.  Typically, some of the incoming solar energy is used to heat the living space and some is absorbed and stored in components of the building.

This course provides background and descriptive information about passive solar heating systems, along with information about sources for site specific monthly heating requirements and monthly solar radiation rate.  Also, a method for determining the required size (south-facing window area) for a passive heating system at a given location and for estimating the performance of a passive solar heating system of specified size is discussed.

Upon completion of this course, the learner will:

• Be able to name the six components that typically make up a passive solar heating system
• Be able to describe the basic characteristics of the five basic types of passive solar heating systems
• Be able to describe the differences between daytime and nighttime operation of a direct gain passive solar heating system
• Be able to describe the differences between daytime and nighttime operation of an indirect gain passive solar heating system
• Be able to obtain and interpret data for solar radiation rate on vertical and horizontal surfaces of buildings at any of the 239 locations in the NREL database
• Be able to obtain and interpret data for heating degree days at any of the 239 locations in the NREL database
• Be able to estimate the rate of heat loss (Btu/oF-day/ft2) from a building is one year's monthly power bills for the building are available.
• Be able to estimate the monthly percentage of a building's heating requirements would be provided by a given size passive solar heating system at a given location in the U.S., with specified rate of heat loss from the building (Btu/oF-day/ft2)
• Be able to estimate the quantity of thermal storage needed for a passive solar heating system with specified area of glazing
• Be able to use the NASA/Langley website discussed in the course to obtain monthly average radiation data for any location in the world based on the latitude and longitude of the site.