Conclusion
I have had the experience of living in a house heated by passive solar energy. So, I know that it really does work. I understood how it worked at the time and that there were some areas of its use that could have been better. All I cared about was that on sunny winter days when the temperatures wavered in the 30 degree Fahrenheit range (which is the norm in Northern New Mexico) my house was warm. A wood fire was necessary at night, but since I worked evenings in a restaurant, I usually came home and went to bed without building a fire. By 10 AM, the house was warm again. I was happy and not spending my hard earned cash on cords of wood to stay warm. I have been a fan of passive solar heating ever since.
After doing all of the research for this unit, I now understand just how much was wrong with that house. Yet, it still worked. When I decided to add a greenhouse with large south facing windows to the front of the house, no thought was given to the degree of slope in the angle of the glass. I simply told the carpenter to just tie it into the porch roof that was there. There was not enough thermal mass. The front wall separating the house from the greenhouse was adobe and the cement slab was of normal thickness. The walls on the east, west and north sides of the house were of conventional framing with sheetrock interior and stucco exterior. Huge windows faced the north, east, and west. The back portion of the house had a high ceiling and clearstory windows. This is a plus in the daytime for adding heat and a minus at night for losing it. But the point is it still worked. It saved me money and cut down on my personal carbon footprint. In summer, the house was cool thanks to the slopping overhang of the greenhouse roof which shielded the sun's rays which were angled from a higher arc in the sky. Some people may opt to make drastic changes in the way they live and others might only institute small changes in their existing architecture. Individual changes in architecture and lifestyle may not seem significant, but on a global level they can make significant differences in CO 2 emissions and quality of life.
We are not going to tear down all of the homes in the world and start over. But as new construction is considered, I want my students to be aware that there is another way of doing things. In this way, they will become an informed electorate capable of choosing government officials whose policies can effect change. That change is beginning to happen. In April of 2007, the city of Houston hosted a symposium attended by representatives of American cities that have begun developing "green" building codes. These cities are also supporting efforts to lower the carbon footprints of their cities [47]. Petroleum will continue to be the mainstay of the Houston economy, providing excellent opportunities for employment. What I want my students to understand, as they study this unit, is that there are going to be innovations in the world of energy research and usage. Shell Oil is currently working with a European company to develop more cost effective PV cells. An ad appearing in the August, 2007 Texas Monthly Magazine announced that British Petroleum will be a title sponsor in the U.S. Department of Energy's 2007 Solar Decathlon. Universities will compete to design, build and operate an attractive and energy-efficient house that is entirely powered by the sun. Their houses will be built and judged on the National Mall in Washington D.C. in October of 2007. This is where the new challenges exist and these areas of research and development will provide the newest sector of employment choices. The implications for improving the lives of people in third world and developing countries through the use of alternative energy sources are enormous. It is my hope that by delving into solar energy and architectural alternatives, this unit will stir the curiosity and imagination of my students, encourage a deeper interest in science and contemporary global issues, and lead them into a more advanced study of other energy alternatives.
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