We are in December, yet the sun is flooding our Ecohouse (built to Passivhaus standard) from top to bottom. It is so bright and warm, we need to put some shutters down.
The EcoHouse is positioned so that the main windows are on the south side, with an overhang on each floor. In the summer this overhang on the terraces shade the windows from the sun. Now in winter, as the sun is much lower, every bit of light and sun flood us with warmth. Our doors are open {only for a short while} to let the sun-warmed air come in, a joy to live in this house of the future. This really demonstrates the value of using straight-forward passive features to the optimum – positioning to make maximum use of the sun, fewer openings to the north, east and west, and high external insulation. Surrounded by trees, nature itself shares our home.
Some building purists would say that additional heating systems are unnecessary as the inherent passive design, together with high insulation on the outside walls and roof, coupled with an efficient ventilation and air-re-circulation system ensures that the only additional heat input need come from the activities of the occupants. That may be true for the moderate climate in central Europe, but not when the external temperature stays above 35, sometimes in the 40s, as it does with us in summer. We definitely need extra cooling!