Passive solar design can decrease energy use and improve comfort in your home no matter where you live. Obviously, the more sunshine, the more effective passive solar design is, but even cloudy regions can benefit from these very simple design principals.
Real Goods, a leading source for renewable energy products says, "The single most important factor that affects energy consumption in your house is design." We couldn't agree more!

passive solar design
Passive solar design works naturally with your local climate. Solar homes are oriented on an east/west axis and use the south facing windows to collect winter sun. In the winter the sun angle is low in the sky, allowing the sun to shine directly through south facing windows, to heat thermal mass (masonry such as in brick or tile floors or solid masonry walls) to create a comfortable interior environment. In the summer, the sun angle is high in the sky and correctly sized overhangs prevent unwanted solar heat while the thermal mass helps by absorbing unwanted heat from the inside air. This is called "passive" because there are no mechanical instruments to make this work. All that is necessary is good passive solar design using formulas that calculate the south window area to the thermal mass, with additional calculations for envelope insulation.

The addition of thermal mass, good insulation and high- performance windows adds to the initial building costs in a passive solar designed home, but these costs are recovered with the substantial energy savings over the life of your home. An additional benefit that doesn't carry a price tag is the increased comfort you'll enjoy from natural heating and cooling year round.

conventional space heating
It is widely known that good passive solar design can fulfill almost all of your home's heating needs; depending on your climate. We always install some form of conventional back-up heating both for convenience and for resale. If you plan to get a mortgage on your new home, you'll find that most banks will require a conventional heating system. Given that, what is the best approach to space heating?

radiant (hydronic) heat
We have found that an under floor radiant (hydronic) heating system is the most comfortable because you have warm feet and a cool head so you feel warm and alert with the thermostat set to lower temperatures than a the settings for forced air heat. Hydronic heat is invisible, silent and effective. Different areas of your home can be zoned and kept at different temperatures, which saves energy.
The only drawback to radiant heat, other than its higher cost, is the slower response time. Since it takes a while to feel the results of turning the thermostat up or down, we recommend using the programmable thermostat, finding your ideal temperature and sticking with it. Small, electric bathroom heaters can be added for instant heat while bathing.