The sun is extremely powerful. Obviously, it is the basis of all life on our planet. Many people do not realize just how much energy is contained in sunlight. For example, how many times have you left a vehicle in a parking lot only to come back and find it scorching hot inside? This is passive solar at its finest. The sunlight penetrates through the windows and heats up the interior of the vehicle. Now you understand passive solar and, ironically, one of the possible issues with it.
When it comes to passive solar heating in a home, it can work too well. Regardless of whether you are deliberately or inadvertently pursuing passive solar, you understand how hot a home can get. During the summer, it can be downright severe. T Heating Repair Phoenix are, however, simple steps you can take to alleviate this trouble.
The first issue pertains to intrusion. Put simply, too much sun is penetrating into your home. You already know the answer from a common sense point of view, shading. In this case, you should pull the shades over windows on the south facing side of your home. In the northern hemisphere, the south side of your home will always get the most sun. If you do not want to put shades up, close the door to the room in question to cut off the heat flow. You can open it later on in the evening when things begin getting cooler, and you could use a bit of heat.
If you are deliberately designing for passive solar, there is a landscaping trick you can do to maximize passive solar production in winter, however, restrict it in summer. In this case, we are talking about trees. Specifically, you should plant trees that grow a heavy leaf canopy in the summer, but lose all their leaves in the winter. Put in front of large windows, these trees will work as a natural temperature regulator for your passive solar system.