Most all houses are sun tempered to some degree. Any windows that
face south, southeast, or southwest can't help but to receive some heat
from the winter's sun. The Native Americans who built the cliff dwellings
of Mesa Verde in Colorado understood this simple principle of solar heating.
When designed and implemented with care, solar heating has many benefits--not
the least of which is lower energy cost. A properly designed system can
enrich the interior with wonderful natural daylighting. However,
great care must be taken to avoid excessive overheating by providing one
or more of the following:
1) Ventilation (both mechanical and passive),
2) Shading (vegetation, movable shutters and/or shades),
3) A Solar Staircase,
4) Proper Orientation.
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The house's orientation is the single most important factor when considering
how to sun temper a house. Ideally, from an architectural standpoint,
the long axis back elevation of the house should face south or southeast.
This orientation gives you the most flexibility in arranging the rooms,
so that lived-in rooms (e.g. family rooms, kitchens and breakfast areas)
receive daylight, and rooms used in the evenings (dining, formal living
rooms and sleeping areas) are placed in the darker north and northeast
areas of the plan.
One other note on orientation is to minimize the amount of glazing
that is oriented to the west. The western exposure receives insolation
in the late afternoon when the house is already heated by internal heat
gains and is most vulnerable to overheating.
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