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Direct Solar Gain

	Glass-azimuth modification to reform direct solar heat gain [An article from: Building and Environment] List Price: $8.95 Sale Price: $8.95
	This digital document is a journal article from Building and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase...

Is there any advantage to pre-cooling the water in a swamp cooler?

I live in Salt Lake City, where I cool my house with evaporative cooling (AKA "swamp cooling"). Given the amount of solar energy available here in the summer, I'm wondering if I could get additional cooling by connecting a solar-powered peltier-effect cooler to chill the reservoir water below "ambient".

If the water is cooler there would obviously be some slight increase in cooling, but it would be small, the main cooling is caused by the heat absorbed by the change from liquid to gas.
Also, Peltier effect cooling is not very efficient, the cost of the solar cells would far outweigh any benefit you might achieve.

Shielding the unit from the sun would relativity cheap, and might be worth while. But the solar gain on the cooler is probably a tiny fraction of the solar gain on the house, so there may be little if any real change

Gather Your Own Abmient Solar Power

It is a well known fact that the sun is the strongest from the south. People who want to conserve solar power uses this theory in order to get the most sun into their houses with minimal expense. If you are building a home that you want to be solar power, it is best to put the most windows facing the south side. Although it is not always true, depending on where you live, it is a general rule to go by. Passive technology turns sunlight into heat that can be used for several things, including ventilation and cooling. You can heat homes and businesses with passive solar. Passive solar systems depend on gravity fed and natural resources in order to make passive solar work. If it uses a pump or fan to force the liquid through, than it is an active solar.

Passive solar technology offers direct and indirect gain for heating spaces, water heating systems, use of thermal mass and also phase change materials which helps to regulate the temperature indoors. There is also the solar cooking equipment, the solar chimney which allows for ventilation and earth sheltering. Passive solar can also be found in a solar furnace and solar forge, although these are a little more complicated. Sun rooms are another example of passive solar power as it lets the sun come into the room without allowing it to escape. There is no mechanism or no engine to power just the clear panes of glass attracting the sun and trapping it within.

Solar gain is referring to the increase in temperature in an area, an object or a structure that is a result of solar radiation. The stronger the sun the more solar gain you have. A solar furnace is any huge object that is created in order to channel the heat directly to one place. The heat can be unbearable but it does produce a lot of electricity from it. Temperatures can reach up to 3,000 degrees. When you compare the expenses associated with passive solar you realize that the cost of passive solar is minimal when you compare it to active wear.

Because there is no mechanism to power it makes it more affordable. With active solar you must have a device that can power the heat that you take in and used it. Passive solar is the most popular with those who are experimenting with the conception of solar power and may find that they like it enough to stick to it. When you are ready for an upgrade it is easy to move up to active power. Adding a mechanism that will easily and conveniently pump the water on through the source is an effective way of combining today's technology with conservation and preservation that we have access to.

Passive solar power is something that we will be seeing a lot of in the future as the need for solar power becomes more in demand. There will come a time when even those who depend on active solar may have to switch to passive solar.

About the Author

Thomas Kerin is and expert on
solar panel installation
at OVR Solar.

	Glass-azimuth modification to reform direct solar heat gain [An article from: Building and Environment] List Price: $8.95 Sale Price: $8.95
	This digital document is a journal article from Building and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase...

Passive Solar Simplified 2; Direct gain systems