What is Passive Solar Design

Passive solar design is a design technique that maximizes solar heat gained through the southern windows and retains the radiation with thermal mass.  

Thermal mass is a material’s ability to absorb and store heat. BUILD.SOW.GROW’s design incorporates a clay/straw north wall as the greenhouses’ main source of thermal mass.  Passive solar design is essential to create a greenhouse that does not require a supplemental heat source other than the sun. This is achieved by choosing a specific orientation, eve length, and angles for the roof and southern glazing.