Archive: Around Town

Rising energy costs have many families second guessing their home’s construction, and in a globally conscious world, energy efficiency has become a top priority for many home builders. Many people shy away from solar energy just because they don’t fully understand how easy it can be. They picture big solar panels that can be expensive and unattractive. But the type of energy they are thinking of is called active solar energy. The beauty of passive solar is that it requires no panels or equipment to capture the sun’s energy. It utilizes the relative passage of the sun as a heat source that is readily available and absolutely free.

By positioning your home to face 'solar south,' you can collect the sun’s heat through your windows. The sun’s energy enters through the windows and is captured in the mass of any object or material inside. Since heat has a tendency to equalize itself within a given environment, the heat will re-radiate from one object to the next, until the entire environment is at a certain temperature. Another benefit of southern windows in your living area is that they allow for tons of natural light. Solar south is different from magnetic south. When the needle on a compass points south, it is being affected by the magnetism of the earth’s core. This is called magnetic declination, and it prevents you from getting an accurate reading of where the sun will be.

To find the solar south that will help you position your home, try this: Pick up a local paper for the area you’ll be building your home. Find the sunrise and sunset times for your area. Calculate the time exactly between sunrise and sunset. This time is called solar noon. Go to the site you’d like to place your home and place a large object on the ground at solar noon. The shadow cast by the sun over the object will be north/south.


The more perpendicular the sun’s rays are to the window, the higher the insolation (the amount of solar radiation reaching a given area). When the angle of the sun is higher, more heat will be reflected off the glass and not absorbed inside. The sun will be at its lowest point in the sky on the winter solstice. This is why it becomes helpful to find out the angle of the sun during that time, so that obstacles to insolation can be determined. You don’t need to wait around for the winter solstice to arrive in order to calculate the angle. You can simply follow these steps: 1. Find your latitude and add 23.5 degrees. 2. Subtract that answer from 90.

The term 'insolation' refers to the measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a given time. In order to maximize the insolation of your windows, they should be glazed with a low-e (low-emittence) coating. Low-e glazes allow more solar energy to enter the window, while reducing heat loss. To prevent overheating, it’s good to add this type of glaze to southern windows, but not to east or west ones. In the summer, insulated drapes and shutters can reduce insolation during the day if needed.

Of course, there is always the potential for overheating. This could be a problem in your home during the summer months and could cause convection loops, where hot air will rise to the top of your home, and cool air will drop. For that reason, the goal is to maximize solar heat on the south of your home, and minimize it on the east and west.

When designing your home, strategically place windows and porches for maximum energy collection and comfort. The side of your home facing the south should contain large windows to soak up as much sunlight as possible. Meanwhile, the side of your home facing the north should be tucked away from direct sunlight so that your home doesn’t overheat. The eastern side of your home should have few windows for morning sunlight, while the western side should have a bare minimum of windows to prevent the blazing sun from overheating your home.

As you can see in the elevation and construction drawings, the east and west sides of the timber frame home contain virtually no windows. The northern side of the home is protected by large porches; meanwhile, the southern side of the home contains large windows allowing for natural light and solar energy to enter the home.

With rising energy costs, modern timber frame construction is one way to ensure a more energy efficient home for your family. With a combination of passive solar energy and SIP (structural insulated panel) construction, timber frame homes provide stunning aesthetics and superior insulation. “From the initial architectural drawings right up to finishing touches, we want to make sure that energy efficiency is of the utmost importance. It’s just one more benefit of owning a timber frame,” says Greg Burnshaw of Woodhouse, The Timber Frame Company.

Your home can be as warm as it is welcoming.

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