Solar Home Heat

Placing the garage on the non-solar side and main living quarters on the "exposure" side also helps heat a solar home. Once heat has entered the solar home through large, glazed windows, insulation will help hold it there as the air cools. Passive solar heat for homes also requires thick insulation.

These building materials should be used for walls and floors where the sunlight will hit them. A passive solar home should feature masses of brick, concrete, stone, or adobe (mud bricks) that absorb and hold heat during the day, releasing it gradually as the air cools. The side of the solar home that gets summer sunlight should have fewer, and smaller, windows. As the sun goes down, shades and curtains should be drawn to retain the heat.

These windows should be glazed, and uncovered during the day to allow warmth to enter. A solar home should have many vertical windows on its winter sun exposure side to collect solar warmth. Passive solar heat for homes is also available through building materials and architectural design. In the northern hemisphere, a solar home will be positioned to give its main area northern exposure. Passive solar heat for homes begins by positioning the solar home in such a way that it takes full advantage of winter sunlight to warm interior rooms and walls.

Passive solar heating collects and distributes heat from the sun without external, mechanical pumping systems. Passive Solar Heat for Homes Passive solar is one of the simplest methods of acquiring solar heat for homes.

Tampa Home Design

All areas require (metal) connectors from roof trusses to exterior wall and from exterior wall to the foundation. Hip roofs are considered less of a risk and more structurally stable than gable end roofs in high winds. Impact resistant (resistant to flying debris) windows and doors are, as expected, quite expensive as compared to the non- impact variety. Building departments in the higher risk areas require, for example, that windows and doors be ’impact resistant’. Coastal areas are, in general, more subject to wind and storm surge damage than interior areas.

Whether tract or custom, Tampa home architects should attend to climate concerns. A larger budget for design and construction usually translates into a custom design/ custom home. Stucco is a very versatile, climate appropriate enclosure material for both tract and custom homes in or near Tampa. Foam surrounds highlight window areas and, as with some custom designs, stucco is the covering of choice. The entry ‘look’ very often is dominated by a raised, sometimes arched entry element and by garage doors.

Floor plans are often more ‘basic’ in tract homes. The ‘Florida style’ is arguably a result of more tract homes. Building completion is usually quicker than in the custom home for many of the same reasons. Since the subcontractor’s job from site to site is repetitive, he/ she can purchase materials in bulk, further saving on budget.