Hybrid Solar House

Thermal inertia: the ability of a material to store heat (during the day and release it at night). This idea is put to use by Enertia Houses, a company that constructs heat-efficient homes.

The natural cooling and heating of the home comes from a narrow air path or “envelope” that surrounds the perimeter of the building. This allows the air to circulate around the house to cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In the warmer months, hot air comes into the house, goes underground where the ground temperature is around 50 degrees, circulate around the house, then exits through the roof. In the winter, warm air is produced from the heat of the sun and then moved around the house. The houses are all built from wood which has an incredible ability to store heat and release it during the night or when there is little sun. Therefore, this construction will maintain a warm household during a cloudy day.

This method of building an air path around the house has shown to drastically decrease energy costs. The “envelope” also serves as an ideal spot for an indoor greenhouse or morning cup of coffee.

Find more information at Enertia Houses.

~ by iloveOrange on February 18, 2008.