lucubrando

One of the first things that an environmental building design should incorporate is that great lump of natural energy source called the sun. A good passive solar design will aim to provide just enough sunlight into the rooms to be absorbed by the surrounding thermal mass. The thermal mass can be viewed of as a kind of heat battery that absorbs warmth during the day to keep things from getting too hot and then gives that heat back to the room after the sun goes down. Equally important to thermal mass is insulation, such as straw bales, that will ensure that the heat remains on the inside.