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re: "passive" solar design
5 may 1998
newt ellison wrote:
>one of the worst things that ever happened... was when we
>permitted the definitional split between "active" and "passive."
that does seem simplistic, outmoded and black and white. and who's this "we,"
world control, inc? is the passive/active split the worst thing that ever
happened to solar energy? statements like these don't help:
>...to be as comfortable indoors as i like to be in that sort of climate,
>you must have a refrigerated airconditioning system, one that cools and
>dehumidifies. what is called "passive cooling," except in the highest
>altitudes of thailand, would not work at all.
what may matter more these days is reliability, cost, performance and
comfort, whether it's a passive system using airflow geometry or passive
plastic film dampers for control, with an infinite cop, or a system with
large motorized dampers and thermostats for better room temp control, with
a cop of 10,000, or one with large slow fans and a solar closet and a cop
of 1,000, or one with smaller fans and a cop of 100, or a system with
blowers and underfloor rock beds with a cop of 50, or a heat pump with
a cop of 3 (which consumes 1 kwh while moving 3 kwh of heat.)
>...architects screamed "no" at the contraptions engineers wanted to
>put on roofs...
some engineers scream "no" at rooftop solar panels.
>..."passive" solar doesn't work, except to allow a token use
>of the word "solar." n.e.)
mother nature is very old and reliable, in her fashion: the sun shines,
hot air rises, water stores heat, and heat flows through insulation
no matter what we write. whether passive solar "works" depends on
what we want it to do and the system design.
>because architects are better spoken ( as a rule ) wear arty clothes,
cologne and practice mind control, few engineers will argue with them...
and some engineers figure they're on to something practical
when the architect starts screaming at them...
>...few "active" systems get built.
there you go again newt, perpetuating the dichotomy. why not build something?
throw away your keyboard and start tinkering...
>life is too short, and there are better areas of engineering that pay more
>than hooking up with serious solar people...
yes, many hvac pros are off designing shopping centers and skyscrapers,
and consider the sun a nuisance that adds to the air conditioning load.
nick
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