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Solar houses for a cold climate
165
Book Reviews
South Wales, the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, the New South Wales Institute of Technology and the Division of Building Research, C.S.I.R.U., all of Australia. The topics covered include the procurement and use of climatic data, topics related to the design of buildings for energy conservation, and the use of computers in the design of the physical environment of buildings, The book opens with two chapters in which the extent and nature of the energy problems encountered in the design of buildings are discussed in general terms. The title of the volume is misleading, as most of the papers are concerned with fairly general aspects of the use of energy in building and not simply with solar energy.
programme for calculating the air temperature which can be expected to occur within a passively heated building, and a programme for calculating the cost benefit of passive solar heating systems. Details of the data base required for passive heating calculations and of how they are acquired are included in an appendix. The author's aim in writing the book was to provide a working handbook for building designers and for this reason certain simplifications are made, and the use of complicated analysis is avoided. This is also the reason why the computer programmes described are designed to run on pocket programmable calculators as this makes them potentially more useful to individual practitioners who might not have access to a large computer. Bearing these objectives in mind the book is a good and concise account of the passive approach to solar heating and should find a prominant place in the growing body of literature on the subject.
Passive Solar Heating Design RALPH M. LEBENS Applied Science Publishers, 0 85334 840 7, £16.00 (1980).
Design Graphs for Concrete Shell Roofs 234
pp.
ISBN
C. B. WILBY Applied Science Publishers, 0 85334 899 5, £15.00 (1980).
'IT IS ONLY in an era of cheap fuel that we have lost the skills of designing with the climate. Practised in all indiginous architecture it is an art we shall have to relearn.' So states the author of this book in an introductory chapter in which he argues persuasively for the passive approach to the use of solar heating. In passive solar heating design the energy budget of a building is reduced by close attention to the building's orientation, insulation, window placement and design, and to the sutleties of the energy transfer properties of building materials. It is a less spectacular method of using solar energy than the active approach in which collector panels, storage units and energy transfer and distribution systems are used, and possibly for this reason it has received less publicity than the active method. In this book the author describes both the theory and the practice of passive solar heating design. He begins with a classification and comparison of passive heating systems using examples of actual buildings to illustrate the various methods described. The greater part of the book is concerned with describing the techniques used in passive solar heating design. These include the procedures for surveying the climate and microclimate of a site, the selection of an orientation and suitable form for a building, the detailed design of the building for optimum thermal performance, and the design calculation procedures. A worked example, concerned with the adaptation of an existing building for passive solar heating, is given to illustrate these techniques. A series of appendices provides a detailed description of computer programmes suitable for use on pocket programmable calculators. These include a programme for simulating the thermal performance of a building, which is flexible enough to be capable of modelling several different passive systems, a
170 pp.,
ISBN
THE GRAPHS PRESENTED in this volume are designed to allow the internal forces and bending moments in a range of barrel vault roof shells of circular-arc cross-section to be calculated without the need for complicated analysis. Single shells having plan dimensions in the range 1 2 × 6 m - 2 4 × 1 2 . 5 m are covered, and the graphs are also suitable for multi-bay arrangements. They also allow for variation in the shell thickness from the crown to the springing. The analysis and equations on which the graphs are based are presented in a series of short introductory chapters, and examples which illustrate the use of the graphs are included.
Solar Houses for a Cold Climate DEAN CARRIERE P H O T O G R A P H E D BY FRASER DAY John Wiley, 279 pp. ISBN 0471 99809 5, £10.25 (1980).
THERE IS A deep concern throughout the World about the ability of governments to secure conventional fuels, about the environmental degradation that has resulted from the wasteful use of these and other material resources, and about the safety of certain alternatives such as nuclear power. A small but growing number of people are exploring and implementing life styles and technologies which are more sympathetic to the natural environment, and 'Solar Houses for a Cold Climate' is the story of some of these people and their solar heated dwellings.
166
B o o k Reviews
Twenty-six houses, representing a wide range of solar heating system designs, are examined in depth and illustrated with floor plans, schematic diagrams and photographs. The examples include active and passive solar heating systems as well as hybrid systems having both active and passive components. They include houses designed specifically for solar heating as well as houses built originally with conventional heating systems and subsequently modified for solar heating. All of the houses are situated either in Canada or the U.S.A., and their locations range through urban, rural and suburban sites. Although solar heating of houses in cold climates is the central theme of the book, the authors examine all aspects of the design of houses from the ecological
viewpoint. Areas covered include constructional techniques, technical support systems such as heating, water supply and waste disposal, and the building's relationship to the natural environment. The 26 case studies of actual buildings which form the greater part of the book are preceded by a short introductory chapter in which the principles of house design, so as to take account of ecological considerations, are outlined, and the book is concluded with a bibliography. It is well written and well illustrated, and constitutes a useful addition to the literature on the use of solar energy and other alternative technologies. A.J. MACDONALD
Book Reviews
South Wales, the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, the New South Wales Institute of Technology and the Division of Building Research, C.S.I.R.U., all of Australia. The topics covered include the procurement and use of climatic data, topics related to the design of buildings for energy conservation, and the use of computers in the design of the physical environment of buildings, The book opens with two chapters in which the extent and nature of the energy problems encountered in the design of buildings are discussed in general terms. The title of the volume is misleading, as most of the papers are concerned with fairly general aspects of the use of energy in building and not simply with solar energy.
programme for calculating the air temperature which can be expected to occur within a passively heated building, and a programme for calculating the cost benefit of passive solar heating systems. Details of the data base required for passive heating calculations and of how they are acquired are included in an appendix. The author's aim in writing the book was to provide a working handbook for building designers and for this reason certain simplifications are made, and the use of complicated analysis is avoided. This is also the reason why the computer programmes described are designed to run on pocket programmable calculators as this makes them potentially more useful to individual practitioners who might not have access to a large computer. Bearing these objectives in mind the book is a good and concise account of the passive approach to solar heating and should find a prominant place in the growing body of literature on the subject.
Passive Solar Heating Design RALPH M. LEBENS Applied Science Publishers, 0 85334 840 7, £16.00 (1980).
Design Graphs for Concrete Shell Roofs 234
pp.
ISBN
C. B. WILBY Applied Science Publishers, 0 85334 899 5, £15.00 (1980).
'IT IS ONLY in an era of cheap fuel that we have lost the skills of designing with the climate. Practised in all indiginous architecture it is an art we shall have to relearn.' So states the author of this book in an introductory chapter in which he argues persuasively for the passive approach to the use of solar heating. In passive solar heating design the energy budget of a building is reduced by close attention to the building's orientation, insulation, window placement and design, and to the sutleties of the energy transfer properties of building materials. It is a less spectacular method of using solar energy than the active approach in which collector panels, storage units and energy transfer and distribution systems are used, and possibly for this reason it has received less publicity than the active method. In this book the author describes both the theory and the practice of passive solar heating design. He begins with a classification and comparison of passive heating systems using examples of actual buildings to illustrate the various methods described. The greater part of the book is concerned with describing the techniques used in passive solar heating design. These include the procedures for surveying the climate and microclimate of a site, the selection of an orientation and suitable form for a building, the detailed design of the building for optimum thermal performance, and the design calculation procedures. A worked example, concerned with the adaptation of an existing building for passive solar heating, is given to illustrate these techniques. A series of appendices provides a detailed description of computer programmes suitable for use on pocket programmable calculators. These include a programme for simulating the thermal performance of a building, which is flexible enough to be capable of modelling several different passive systems, a
170 pp.,
ISBN
THE GRAPHS PRESENTED in this volume are designed to allow the internal forces and bending moments in a range of barrel vault roof shells of circular-arc cross-section to be calculated without the need for complicated analysis. Single shells having plan dimensions in the range 1 2 × 6 m - 2 4 × 1 2 . 5 m are covered, and the graphs are also suitable for multi-bay arrangements. They also allow for variation in the shell thickness from the crown to the springing. The analysis and equations on which the graphs are based are presented in a series of short introductory chapters, and examples which illustrate the use of the graphs are included.
Solar Houses for a Cold Climate DEAN CARRIERE P H O T O G R A P H E D BY FRASER DAY John Wiley, 279 pp. ISBN 0471 99809 5, £10.25 (1980).
THERE IS A deep concern throughout the World about the ability of governments to secure conventional fuels, about the environmental degradation that has resulted from the wasteful use of these and other material resources, and about the safety of certain alternatives such as nuclear power. A small but growing number of people are exploring and implementing life styles and technologies which are more sympathetic to the natural environment, and 'Solar Houses for a Cold Climate' is the story of some of these people and their solar heated dwellings.
166
B o o k Reviews
Twenty-six houses, representing a wide range of solar heating system designs, are examined in depth and illustrated with floor plans, schematic diagrams and photographs. The examples include active and passive solar heating systems as well as hybrid systems having both active and passive components. They include houses designed specifically for solar heating as well as houses built originally with conventional heating systems and subsequently modified for solar heating. All of the houses are situated either in Canada or the U.S.A., and their locations range through urban, rural and suburban sites. Although solar heating of houses in cold climates is the central theme of the book, the authors examine all aspects of the design of houses from the ecological
viewpoint. Areas covered include constructional techniques, technical support systems such as heating, water supply and waste disposal, and the building's relationship to the natural environment. The 26 case studies of actual buildings which form the greater part of the book are preceded by a short introductory chapter in which the principles of house design, so as to take account of ecological considerations, are outlined, and the book is concluded with a bibliography. It is well written and well illustrated, and constitutes a useful addition to the literature on the use of solar energy and other alternative technologies. A.J. MACDONALD