We have grown accustomed to having heat at the push of a button. This heat though too often is generated through inefficient methods. A much more energy efficient,not to mention cost effective, way to heat our homes,schools, and businesses is to use solar power.Capturing heat from the sun can be done in several ways,even in the dead of winter.In order to harness the sun’s heat what is called a solar source is needed.A solar source is something that will attract the sun’s rays and trap the heat generated by them. A sun room is a good way to illustrate this.

Sun rooms are attached to the house and are typically constructed of floor to ceiling glass panels.They are usually built to face the full morning sun so as to get the full effect of the heat. The glass intensifies the sun’s rays so that everything in the room is heated. This is a very efficient and generally economical way of heating.

Here are some other types of solar heat:

Thermal mass that absorbs and retains the heat of the sun while it is shining and then disperses it after the sun goes down.

A natural ventilation and solar heating system, the Trombe Wall, uses air channels to trap heat between glass and a solar mass facing the sun. That sunlight is then absorbed and stored in the wall before being circulated through vents in the top and bottom of the wall.The wall uses this to radiate the heat.

A solar chimney is another solar ventilation system. It is made of a thermal mass that is hollow on the inside. The chimney warms the air inside of the chimney and causes the heat to rise. This rise allows air to vent and circulate properly.

A great way to ventilate a building is through solar cooling. Solar heat is absorbed and cooled with ice made by a solar powered steam engine that is attached to a cooling device.

There are several ways we can heat and cool our homes,schools, and businesses. The methods that have been listed try to highlight how you can use the sun for this need without having to depend on those that use non renewable materials for energy.