We enclosed our south facing front porch with five sets of glass sliding door units. On the coldest winter days that are sunny, the porch heats our entire home. We installed a dark stone floor to hold the solar heat. When the porch is hot we open the door.
We use a small fan that faces onto the porch and sits on the floor. The fan collects the cold house air, pushes it into the hot porch, forcing the hot air into the living room. Another small fan is placed on a table to draw the warm air to where it is needed.
At dusk we use our fireplace and small fans to direct heat. We have cut our oil dependency drastically.
By RexAnne from Newburgh, NY
I used to work for architects, and they used this passive solar technique quite often in building new homes and remodeling older ones (and in businesses too). It really works well. I just wish that we had the means to convert our home, because as you said, it can really help with energy savings.
