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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (4824)	9/30/2006 2:06:40 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24213

Passive Solar Comeback Ahead Why the hot building technology of the future may be the mature and proven one. By J. Douglas Balcomb, Ph.D. La Vereda Compound is a condominium development in the historic district of Santa Fe, N.M. Designed by architects Mazria Odems Dzurec Inc., the buildings incorporate greenhouse spaces and passive heating and cooling strategies. Photo courtesy of Mazria Odems Dzurec. The last time passive solar design was the rage in energy-efficient architecture, in the early 1980s, the United States was experiencing an energy crisis, with record gas prices, worries of oil shortages, political tensions in the Middle East and a call for solutions in Congress. Sound familiar? Nearly a generation — 25 years — has passed since the 1976–1982 time frame when passive solar was widely researched and practiced. Interest in building design that relies on the sun’s energy, rather than mechanical equipment, to keep living spaces comfortable was buoyed by major government funding and executive and congressional support. Those were heady days for those of us at the forefront of the passive solar movement. During that time, I was invited to speak on passive solar in 32 countries and to address a special briefing for President Carter. Edward Mazria’s best seller, The Passive Solar Energy Book, sold 200,000 copies. Mainstream magazines featured homes that were beautiful and comfortable. They were affordable, virtually maintenance-free and typically consumed less than 20 percent of the heat required by their neighbors. We reckoned that more than 180,000 passive solar homes had been built by 1980, when the presidency changed hands, the energy crisis was declared over, and funding and interest cratered. When the market disappeared, with it went the body of knowledge that had been accumulated. A few stalwart architects continued designing upscale passive-solar homes, but as interest waned, most were forced to retool their skills. Research stagnated. Now, a generation later, most architects have only vague memories of passive solar. It is generally misunderstood, and only a few designers, many trained 25 years ago, can be found. Despite this loss, passive solar is a technology whose time has come back. I see two reasons for it to lead architectural design in coming years: It is a critical technology for the 21st century, and it works. To read the entire article, click here to download a PDF (1MB file). > > > About the Author: Dr. J. Douglas Balcomb retired from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as a research fellow. Among numerous major awards for his research on passive solar heating, Balcomb received the ASES Abbot and Passive Pioneer awards, as well as the Ericsson Award, the U.S. Department of Energy’s highest honor. He is the primary author of Energy-10, a computer design tool for energy-efficient buildings, both houses and nonresidential. He is the author of six books and more than 150 technical papers on passive solar design. solartoday.org