[at-l] New Hydrogen Process (OT)

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C)]

One needs to be careful even with passive solar. A lot of popular books on the subject reveal a total lack of serious understanding. Most cover the entire south wall of a house with glass on the theory that if some passive solar is good, more is better.

It aint so. Too many south facing windows overheats a house when the sun is out, and wastes heat at night. People then try to get around the overheating by building in expensive heat sinks to save the daytime solar energy, and installing expensive and time consuming night time shutters.

For coastal New England the proper balance is for the equivalent of seven percent of the floor area to be south-facing glazing. That keeps temperatures within reason during the day and minimizes the loss through windows at night. Best of all it's truly free. Just concentrate the normal complement of windows on the south facing side of the house.

It's all explained in a book I wrote 25 years ago. I picked up a few extra copies at library sales last summer. If anyone needs a copy send me a snail mail address. I'll send them out until they are gone again. Library sales tend to generate a new supply each summer. I gave away 8,000 copies door to door when I once was foolish enough to want to be a politician. I now buy them back for 50 cents each when they show up at the sales.

Weary