Since humans have roamed the earth, the sun has been used to indicate the passage of time. On a simplistic level, as the seasons changed, people would look up at the sky to gauge how much daylight was left before the sun set. On a more complex level, sundials allowed for a more precise...
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… and general updates. There’s been a delay in posting, more so than usual, and there are a few reasons why. I recently moved to New Mexico for a new job. Originally, I didn’t think that moving would take much time, but in actuality, it takes a surprising amount of funds and lots of...
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Happy Solstice! Today is December 21st, the day of the winter solstice. It is the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight as the sun ‘travels’ its lowest and shortest arc through the sky*. In terms of passive solar architecture, it is a day when the sun will potentially reach the deepest...
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Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. On this day, the sun seemingly travels its longest and highest arc through the sky. I’m reminded of how passive solar building is dependent on the surrounding elements to work. While the sun appears to travel through the sky, alas, we are not...
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Passive solar site design must take the sun’s path into account and its interaction with the house throughout the seasons. In the planning stages for a passive solar retrofit project, I took pictures of the sun’s path on the summer and winter solstices to learn more about how the sun interacts with the house....
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Here are photos of the sun’s path in the sky on the winter (top) and summer (below) solstices. The pictures also show how the sun interacts with the house through the seasons. These observations will be used to plan the passive solar retrofit, not only the building design, but also the materials used. In...
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Passive solar design relies upon the movement of the sun’s path in the sky through the seasons. The Earth is rotating around the sun, however, as our planet spins and rotates around the sun, it appears to the inhabitants of Earth that the sun is moving across the sky. Thus, it is often referred...
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