Sustainable Building

Application of solar energy systems in building design saves money and conserves energy, in addition to attractive architectural designs and improving environmental conditions surrounding the building. Passive solar technologies and PV systems can be effectively used in a building in several ways. Passive Solar Design Passive solar technologies directly take advantage of the sun’s light and heat without using any mechanical or electrical devices. Also termed as ‘daylight’, this method is used for floors, window and walls to capture sunlight from high heat zone and relay it to low heat zone For example, we can capture sun’s heat from outside and transfer it to a room during winter and vice versa during summer. Use of building structure to capture sunlight and store heat alone can save upto 50% of the energy used at home. Window placement, use of thermal mass and appropriate solar orientation of building are key aspects of solar passive design. Some major design considerations are