Energy impact in solar passive building: A Strategic energy conservation

The current development patterns prevalent in the world are having a negative impact on our environment. It is imperative to conserve what resources remain by utilizing them in as judicious a way as possible. The current problem, climate change, which has been increasingly threatening has reached a point that could have disastrous consequences in future. Passive solar heating and cooling represents an important strategy for displacing traditional energy sources in buildings. Passive solar techniques make use of the steady supply of solar energy by means of building designs that carefully balance their energy requirements with the building's site and window orientation. The term passive indicates that no additional mechanical equipment is used, other than the normal building elements. In this approach, the building itself or some element of it takes advantage of natural energy characteristics in materials and air created by exposure to the sun. Passive systems are simple, have few moving parts, and require minimal maintenance and require no mechanical systems. All solar gains are brought in through windows. All passive techniques use building elements such as walls, windows, floors and roofs, in addition to exterior building elements and landscaping, to control heat generated by solar radiation. Solar heating designs collect and store thermal energy from direct sunlight. Passive cooling minimizes the effects of solar radiation through shading or generating airflows with convection ventilation. The benefits of using passive solar techniques include simplicity, price and the design elegance of fulfilling one's needs with materials at hand.