Passive Solar Power Can Spare You Luxury Time

Have you ever been doing some work in your yard and left the garden hose hooked up but turned off when you took a break for a cold lemonade? Water was present in the hose while you stopped for a snack. When you returned to your watering plants or wash cleaning and opened the hose nozzle, you find that the water left in the hose had been warmed by the sun. This phenomenon occurs due to the effects of passive solar power.

Harnessing passive solar power has proven to be a challenge for many years and there are a few instances of success, but many of these require the use of other types of power as well. Using passive solar power for heating water in a swimming pool, for example, has been available and used for several years. Commonly, water is removed from the pool, heated in a rubber bladder or plastic pipe and then returned to the pool. However, moving the water usually requires the aid of a pump.

Manually operating the pump is not a convenient choice, but using active solar power to charge batteries, and the battery power used to operate an electric pump to move the water from the pool to the bladder or through the pipes, can be an efficient means of using passive solar power, coupled with solar energy to save on your electric bill.

Simple Illustration of Passive Systems

If you want to experiment with passive solar power, take two equal-size tubs of water and place them under direct sunlight. Cover one tub with bubble wrap (usually used to protect items during shipping) and allow the other tub to remain uncovered. Wait about two hours and then test the temperature of the water. You will see the tub covered with bubble wrap is considerably warmer than the one left open.

Pool heating covers work similar to the bubble wrap in concentrating the sun’s electrical generating capabilities into the tub. Water left open, on the other hand, will lose heat almost as fast as it absorbs it. Using passive solar power to heat the water works much the same way as heating and circulating air.

It is a well-known fact that hot air rises and has a lesser density than cold air. When passive solar power is used to heat air in an enclosed space, the warmer air will rise, causing the cooler air to flow to the bottom of the area. This will cause the air within the closed area to circulate allowing the space to heat from the assistance of passive solar power and sparing you a time to pamper yourself.

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