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In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unlike active solar heating systems, it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices.
The Solar Bowl above the Solar Kitchen in Auroville, India concentrates sunlight on a movable receiver to produce steam for cooking. Solar cookers use sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. Solar cooking offsets fuel costs, reduces demand for fuel or firewood, and improves air quality by reducing or removing a source of smoke.
Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer (i.e., the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature) between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. [1] Thermal insulation can be achieved with specially engineered methods or processes, as well as with suitable object shapes and materials.
The passivhaus standard combines superinsulation with other techniques and technologies to achieve ultra-low energy use.. Superinsulation is an approach to building design, construction, and retrofitting that dramatically reduces heat loss (and gain) by using much higher insulation levels and airtightness than average.
Loose-fill insulation comes in loose fibers or pellets and should be blown into a space. Rigid foam is more expensive than fiber, but generally has a higher R-value per unit of thickness. Foam-in-place insulation can be blown into small areas to control air leaks, like those around windows, or can be used to insulate an entire house. [33]
Parabolic Solar Cooker. A solar cooker is a device which uses the energy of direct sunlight to heat, cook or pasteurize drink and other food materials. Many solar cookers currently in use are relatively inexpensive, low-tech devices, although some are as powerful or as expensive as traditional stoves, [1] and advanced, large scale solar cookers can cook for hundreds of people. [2]
Cavity wall insulation: A building with cavity walls can benefit from insulation pumped into the cavity. This form of insulation is very cost effective [ clarification needed ] [ citation needed ] . Programmable thermostats allow heating and cooling of a room to be switched off depending the time, day of the week, and temperature.
This is a list of insulation materials used around the world. Typical R-values are given for various materials and structures as approximations based on the average of available figures and are sorted by lowest value. R-value at 1 m gives R-values normalised to a 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) thickness and sorts by median value of the range.