Passive solar sunroom facing south, provides approximately 40% winter heating for home.

Picture window is in living room, while door is the edge of sun room area.  Sun room is approx 33ft long, 10ft wide.  Heat mass is the floor and side walls (room is totally insulated away from ground and outside).

To enlarge, click on pics . . . .

Key Passive Solar NOTES

#1:  Roof vents - each vent 100 sq feet of area.

#2:  Soffit around entire structure is 100% vented.

Every other rafter space is vented through insulation.  Original insulation depth approx. 18 inches, super insulated, R-66+.  Walls 2x6 construction with double foil faced insulation over walls before brick work, approx R-24.  Thermal doors and windows, windows new with argon gas.

Right, mostly south view of chimney, small amount of west exposure.  Glass in walls are 24in wide, 48in tall.  Turbine vents a 12-inch diameter opening in chimney.

Left, looking through south glass, seeing the west glass of the chimney.  Sun strikes on backside of framework, black Celotex, and painted black to resist sun fading.  Black interior causes sun to heat air in glass chimney, causing hot air to rise, the passive aspect of this solar air conditioning feature.

Right, close up view of metal (aluminum cladding) overlay of frame, and the 12-inch turbine.  Glass rests in recessed wood frame, sealed in clear silicone.

Left, southeast view, seeing the east glass of sun room.

Right, view looking directly up into chimney, turbine in center, sun striking east side of black wall through west glass. Heat is generated in the air space and on walls of the chimney by the sun passing through the glass.
Pictures without whole house fan placement and draft door were taken in 2008.

Left, chimney with lower window made of one (1) inch glass (tempered glass on one side, and safety glass on other side).  .  Safety glass will hold together if anything should slam into it, tempered glass to break into rubble if safety glass did not stop object from entering living area.  This winter glass is in the operational (up) position for passive A/C ventilation.

Right, view from hallway into chimney with winter glass at rest along side of chimney.

Left, ledge that supports winter window.  Turbine is removed in winter, replaced with 1/2 inch thick metal cap weighing approx 50 pounds.  It has a 3-inch lip all around to keep it on the turbine shroud.  Only a tornado would remove this cap, so it rests over 12-inch opening by cap weight alone.

Right - In 2009, we added a whole house fan to take advantage of night time temperatures to cool the attic, assisting to lower daytime room temperatures.
     This is fan is on the north solar chimney wall and has a louver that opens with fan turned "on".  First picture shows fan off, draft door open.   The middle picture shows fan on with door open for comparison photos.  Far right shows normal operation of whole house fan on and door closed for better air drafting into attic.  (click to enlarge any picture)

     
Weights are on pulley system to open & close draft door.

Left - Photos shows all sides of solar chimney after installation of whole house fan and draft door in 2009.
    Whole house fan placed in this solar chimney to keep ceiling insulation intact, no cold entry into home from winter temperature drops.  Solar chimney has 1" insulated glass window that is placed over opening to help seal winter room heat inside and cold temps outside!  (click pictures 2 enlarge)

Right, basement pipes and opening of air cabinet from outside.  Cabinet above piping serves as firewood dumb-waiter, where we raise and lower wood from garage.

   NOTE - hallways are 42-inches wide to facilitate easier air movement up stairs.

Left, wood dumb-waiter is close, air piping is open for cooling.

Right, close up view of piping and cabinet works.  Door over pipes (open in this view) has 2-inch rigid insulation inside door cavity, and weather stripping around door opening for air seal, when closed.

Left, what wood dumb-waiter and piping cabinet looks like when closed for the winter.

Yard over pipe (below and to right)

On left, deck over pipe below.

Pipe laid out side by side on right, extending 60 feet from inlet, forms a "U" and returns under deck.  Pipes are one on top of another about 3 foot below this point, entering under garage floor.

On left, inlet for air to passive A/C from outside, approximately each 4-inch thin-walled PVC is available for every 100 sq.feet living area.  Air is cooled by temperature of soil over piping before entering home.