Case study of the Brookhaven House

An evaluation is made of a passive solar house with a superinsulated shell. The building was constructed in 1979 at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. A Trombe wall and a sunspace wall collect and store solar energy during the day. The temperature-energy wave travels through the mass walls and heat is released to the inside of the building about 5 hours after peak solar irradiation. The tightly insulated envelope ensures that the heat accumulated in the house is not lost to the outside. Consequently, measured auxiliary heat requirements are very low, about 25% of a comparable conventional house in the region. In summer the house performs satisfactorily. Due to storage of night coolness temperatures in the living area are well below outside temperatures for most of the day. 11 refs., 35 figs., 16 tabs.