Geo Solar Homes

Geo solar homes:

Geo solar homes utilize energy from both the sun and earth for heating and cooling purposes. In these homes, solid wood walls substitute siding, framing, insulation, and paneling. Owing to this design, air flows around the building, creating a miniature biosphere. This air envelope is heated by the sun’s energy.

As the heated air circulates, geothermal energy is absorbed from beneath the house. The wood walls absorb and store energy, which creates a thermal inertia causing the house to maintain a comfortable temperature.

Geo solar homes are energy efficient due to the following aspects:

Solid wood construction:

Solid wood has been used as a building material for constructing homes in Scandinavian countries for centuries. Studies conducted on prototype buildings in the US have established the phenomenon of “thermal inertia” due to which solid wood walls are able to store energy during the day and release it during the night. Scandinavian building practices have successfully integrated this phenomenon to build energy efficient homes that have survived for centuries.

Using natural sources to generate energy:

Heating and cooling of buildings and homes attached to the earth can be energy efficient and cost free if the heat reservoir below the earth surface is successfully tapped. This infinite source of heat never drops below 50 degrees F. Geo solar homes use this energy to keep homes cool during the day and warm at night.

Turning the house into a heat pump:

In conventional buildings, an electric heat pump extracts heat for use from the geothermal reserve. These pumps are presently used in millions of homes. In geo solar homes, the house itself is a heat pump. Rising air heated by the sun is used to utilize geothermal energy below the building floor.

The role of the air envelope:

The air envelope in geo solar homes performs multiple functions. On bright winter days, it acts as a convection loop that is constantly recharging. It is also a fresh air exchanger since walls themselves breathe. Further, it minimizes sound and wind penetration thereby acting as a buffer to noise outside pollution. It functions as a ventilation channel during hot summer days and cool summer nights, when it is open to the atmosphere. It acts as a dehumidification system when its permeable outer wall is heated by the rays of the sun and allows this heat to penetrate into those household areas that further within by behaving like an access channel.

The "floating" factor:

Geo solar homes work due to the ability of their walls to gain, hold, and release heat. This allows the home to double up as an energy storage facility. The walls experience thermal lag, which leads to “floating” where daytime energy stored offsets the energy used at night. Floating can go on for days at a time, keeping the house warm during days when the sun does not shine. Geo solar homes are known to float through extremes of heat and cold that would endanger occupants of other buildings.

Reducing temperature difference:

Conventional building practices focus on increasing the thermal resistance of the home by using thicker walls and more insulation. Geo solar homes, however, work to reduce the temperature difference by natural means to prevent heat loss to the outside. The envelope perceives the temperature difference quite differently from the one a conventionally built house would have. Because of it, the living space always remains at temperatures close to the geothermal temperature below the house.