And even if the overhang/trees prevent *direct* sunlight from entering the glass, the fact that there is simply 95 degree air on the other side of the door would be enough to make the room more difficult to cool, right?From reading this article and your responses to some questions here, I get the impression that as long as the overhang prevents *direct* sunlight from entering a room via windows, it won’t heat it up.

A house designed to benefit from passive solar energy will by definition be rectangular rather than boxy to maximize southern exposure. In addition to offering greater solar warmth in winter, these rooms will be more consistently lit by sunlight, which can reduce lighting costs.Face the long, front side of the home within 20 degrees either side of true south. Helpful Support » Energy Education Library » Choices to Save Resources » Passive Solar Orientation . Too much An optimised buildi… Depending on where you’re located in Wisconsin, the overhang of the roof will also impact how much winter solar gain can be achieved, I think, more so than the angle of the windows. Our home has a beautiful garden on the southern side of the house. In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. Passive solar design requires stretching a building’s shape from east to west while prioritizing southern windows. His articles have appeared in major print outlets such as "Popular Mechanics" and "Invention & Technology." Typically windows are seen as the opposite of insulation, which is why heat is transferred through windows more easily. The living room has no windows, but if it did it would look out onto that garden. For example, the angle of the summer and winter sun will be different.If, however, you are located in the Southern Hemisphere, in order to build a passive or active solar home, the building will need to be oriented to the north.Most glass that is used in building is vertical. Ninety percent of south-facing windows should be shaded by trees or architectural features like overhangs to deflect high-angle exposure to midday summer sun. It requires more creative design, than the usual, but it can be done.Does sunlight hitting roof and side of apartment still raise temp inside if there’s no window?Yes, absolutely. The sun that enters the house and strikes various surfaces (floor and walls) will impact how much solar heat/gain the house has through the winter. (See the building at Zion National Park.) Then, we’d feel like we live in an open space and not in a house. This positions south-facing windows to act as solar collectors that bring heat into the house in winter. Because the southern side of the building is the side that will potentially receive sunlight throughout the day, most passive solar buildings will feature glass dominating the southern side. I’m wondering: to what extent is *direct* sunlight responsible for over-heating south oriented homes in the summer, vs. simply the fact that there is hot air outside?We live in Texas. Lesser utilized parts of the home such as laundry rooms and garages should be at the short ends of the house to provide a thermal buffer zone against infiltration by cold east/west winds. So even if it is 95-100 degrees outside, as long as no light enters directly through windows, that hot air won’t make the room hotter?Is there a passive solar design where the north, non-sun side has mountain views to take advantage of which are located on the exact opposite sunny south side? A passive solar build that incorporated this is this transition from a Why would someone want a north facing home in terms of energy efficiency living in the northern hemisphere?I’ve chosen a passive solar house design with clerestory windows facing south to be built southern Ontario, Canada. 1. Ancient Greek and Roman houses were oriented and constructed with seasonal solar exposure in mind. Only when we open many doors/windows to let the air flow for a long while, we will then cool the house a bit. Orienting a building to accept the sun’s warmth in winter while avoiding excessive solar heat in summer is nothing new. Given those basic facts, much can be done to position a home so the daily and seasonal movements of the sun work to your advantage to increase indoor comfort while reducing heating and cooling expenses.Build the home on a long east/west axis within 15 degrees of due east/west. Proper orientation of a new home allows the homeowner to take advantage of a powerful source of lower utility costs: passive solar energy. In the summer, the concrete/adobe/stone floor stays cool if direct sunlight does not hit it. Here are some important details of passive solar design, in order of importance (after assuring that the house has a tight, well insulated building envelope). The farther the orientation deviates from 20 degrees of true south, however, the more heating and cooling shortfalls may occur. Build the home on a long east/west axis within 15 degrees of due east/west. If it flies, drives or just sits on your desk and blinks, he's probably fixed it.