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Dennis R. Holloway, ArchitectQ " A Simple Design Methodology for Passive Solar Architecture"
(An Architect in Northern New Mexico).
Author's Note: The following information is a precipitation of knowledge acquired through my practice and research in the 1970's regarding the use of solar energy to 'passively' heat and cool buildings. I believe that continuing dissemination of this information through the Internet is very important in a time when earth's bio-environment is so endangered by the continued combustion of fossil fuel into the atmosphere. Please copy this page and distribute it freely.
The ancient discovery that the shadow of a "gnomon"--an arrow stuck vertically into the ground--mirrored the perfectly symmetrical path of the sun across the sky is as important to the development of civilization as the discovery of the wheel. By studying the movements of this shadow people first conceived of the 90o (right) angle--the foundation of geometry, and ultimately of architecture. A result of this "shadow science" origin is that most architecture and city street grids are related to the north-south east-west axes. The ancients also gained great insights into the potential of architecture to modify the sun's shadow and radiant heat.
Indeed, using the sun as a heat source is nothing new. In XENOPHON'S MEMORABILIA, written 2400 years ago, Socrates observed:
"Now in houses with a south aspect, the sun's rays penetrate into the porticos in winter, but in the summer, the path of the sun is right over our heads and above the roof, so that there is shade. If then this is the best arrangement, we should build the south side loftier to get the winter sun and the north side lower to keep out the winter winds. To put it shortly, the house in which the owner can find a pleasant retreat at all seasons and can store his belongings safely is presumably at once the pleasantest and the most beautiful." ...
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