Solar heating and Cooling

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Solar technologies can be used for ventilation so that the use of conventional power sources for cooling and heating buildings and homes can be reduced significantly. Solar heating works in two ways. Active heating uses pumps to transport air and liquid from the solar thermal collector into a room. Passive solar heating is not mechanically engineered but is integrated in the design of the building itself to allow collection, storage, and distribution of heat.

How homes can be heated using solar energy

Buildings for residential use may use thermal mass or solar chimneys for heating purposes. Thermal mass is the ability to store heat, and homes may be built with materials capable of doing this. Common examples of these materials are cement and stone. Solar chimneys are vertical shafts which connect the inside and the outside of a building. Heat from the sun is captured by solar chimneys which then cause warm draft to flow into the rooms. Solar panels may also be installed in homes so that the energy collected by these can then be transferred to a radiator or tank with the help of heat transfer fluids. From the storage system, heat may then be distributed within the building.

How homes can be cooled using solar energy

Cooling buildings with the use of solar energy is possible through passive solar, solar thermal energy conversion, and photovoltaic conversion technologies. Materials with thermal mass may also be used to cool buildings, since these absorb much of the solar heat during the day. This is part of passive solar building design. Solar power also cools buildings and homes with the use of air conditioning systems connected to photovoltaic panels.