• Solar energy harnesses the power of the sun.solardach image by Holger B. from Fotolia.com
  
  The North Carolina State University in Raleigh created the North Carolina Solar Center in 1981 to research the power of solar energy. It built the Solar House to demonstrate how a house, typical for the region in which it was located, could be powered by the use of readily available solar and energy-efficient technology. The Solar House is used both as a research lab for student body as well as an educational center for the public.
  
  

Key Features

• The centrally located sunspace collects, heats and distributes heat for the entire house. Like the name suggests, the two thermal storage walls collect and store heat but also transfer the solar heat for space heating. For a backup heating and cooling system, there is a water source, geothermal heat pump that works in conjunction with a horizontal, closed-loop heat exchanger. The house's photovoltaic system generates 3.2 kilowatts of electricity and the house also features a solar hot water system.
  
  

Sunspace

• To store passive solar heat, each square foot of window glass requires three square feet of thermal mass. Such standard building components as brick, concrete block or stone and quarry tile can be used as thermal mass. The centrally located U-shaped design means the living space wraps around the sunspace and doors and window connect every major room to this space. The interior doors or windows, between the sunspace and conditioned spaces, are treated as exterior elements.
  
  

Exterior Features

• A south-facing roof slope optimizes the solar collection by the roof-mounted collectors. Also on the roof are the natural light reflecting fixtures and PV modules. Window size and placement also serves a purpose in the solar house. Smaller northern-facing windows reduce heat gain in the summer thanks to the morning and evening sun. Likewise there are limited windows facing the east or west for the same reason. The landscape was also designed to block out the summer sun to make the house more energy efficient.