http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/old/taxonomy/term/10698/0 en http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/passive-power-within-reach/21084 <div class="field field-type-text field-field-subhead"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Passive solar is a low-tech means of warming and cooling buildings and it&#039;s slowly growing on us </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <img src="http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/sites/mediacoop.ca/files2/mc/imagecache/page450/bloomfield_greenhouse_asktouse.jpg" alt="" title="The Bloomfield Greenhouse in Halifax is portable and manages its own water, electric and heating needs entirely off the grid. Its parabolic shape points south and brings sunlight through insulated glass and onto a thermal mass of waist-high soil lined with bricks and an earth-plastered wall. An airlock double door to the north acts as further insulation. In midwinter when temperatures can reach -20C the greenhouse can sustain salad greens at a comfortable +5C through the sun alone. Photo EAC" width="450" height="300" class="imagecache imagecache-page450 imagecache-default imagecache-page450_default"/> </div> <div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/sites/mediacoop.ca/files2/mc/imagecache/page450/photo0332.jpg" alt="" title="The Deanery Project showcases another piece of passive technology: a portable solar wood kiln. Normally, when lumber is milled from a round log to a flat piece of 2 by 4, it must be dried and baked for weeks in a burner that usually uses propane or else the wood will curve and split. The Deanery&#039;s piece of appropriate tech can be rented out to woodlot owners with a truck, and they hope their example will spawn more low-impact kilns. Photo Jenn Stotland" width="450" height="600" class="imagecache imagecache-page450 imagecache-default imagecache-page450_default"/> </div> <div class="field-item odd"> <img src="http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/sites/mediacoop.ca/files2/mc/imagecache/page450/subdivision1.jpg" alt="" title="Subdivision houses turned to face south in a feasibility study. Music to my eyes. Photo WSP Group" width="450" height="543" class="imagecache imagecache-page450 imagecache-default imagecache-page450_default"/> </div> <div class="field-item even"> <img src="http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/sites/mediacoop.ca/files2/mc/imagecache/page450/genivar_4.jpg" alt="" title="Windows face the south side to maximise solar gain. Photo WSP Group" width="247" height="155" class="imagecache imagecache-page450 imagecache-default imagecache-page450_default"/> </div> <div class="field-item odd"> <img src="http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/sites/mediacoop.ca/files2/mc/imagecache/page450/genivar_1.jpg" alt="" title="Eaves prevent summer sun from heating up the home. Photo WSP Group" width="234" height="187" class="imagecache imagecache-page450 imagecache-default imagecache-page450_default"/> </div> </div> </div> <p>To see the potential of passive solar is like an entry to a whole other world. A kafka-esque world in which most of our houses and streets are facing the wrong way and trees are planted in a haphazard manner that most often hinders our right-to-light.</p> <p><a href="http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/passive-power-within-reach/21084" target="_blank">read more</a></p> http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/passive-power-within-reach/21084#comments Jenn Stotland Environment Housing housing Nova Scotia passive solar shelter Solar solar city The Maritimes Agriculture Environment Rural Vitality Tue, 28 Jan 2014 22:59:04 +0000 jenstotland 21084 at http://halifax.mediacoop.ca