When it comes to heating costs, most of us are not lucky enough to live in a temperate area with a constant year-round climate, and instead have to contend with winter heating bills that can be exceptionally high. When evaluating alternative home heating, an option that is often overlooked is passive solar heating. You not only save money, but energy as well.

Even on those truly frigid days in the dead of winter, the sun still emits a noticeable amount of heat. The only factor that precludes the accumulated snow from melting is the long night and short daylight period. Wouldn't it be nice if you could use the sun's heat when it's available without needing to significantly modify your house?

Passive solar design is a holistic approach integrating the home's architecture, materials and mechanical systems. It will consider the local climate conditions, including temperature, solar radiation and wind, to create energy conserving structures that can be powered with renewable energy sources.

Here is where the Trombe wall comes in. This wall is made of a thermal mass (such as concrete or stone) that can store the heat built up during the day, and then release it slowly throughout both the night and day. On the outside the wall is insulated by a glass pane and an airspace, thus preventing the loss of heat to the outside during the night. A shade rests above the glass that allows direct light exposure during low winter sun, but acts as a protection during prolonged high summer sun heat, this dual action helps keep cooling bills in the summer low also.

The room behind the Trombe wall receives slow, even heating for many hours after the sun sets. Rooms heated by a Trombe wall will often feel more comfortable than those heated by forced-air systems because of the radiantly warm surface of the wall, even at lower air temperatures.

True, short of major renovations, such an addition isn't going to be easy to retrofit to your house, and custom designed homes are expensive. But retrofitting a house for other energy efficient heating techniques, like radiant heating, is also expensive and, unlike the other alternatives, passive solar heating, once implemented, costs nothing to continue using.

Even though it became popular in homes built in the 1960's, the idea behind the Trombe wall actually originated in the 19th century. In shopping for that new, energy efficient home, you should keep in mind that you can still go green by using past, proven design techniques.

Now that the awareness of green issues is commonplace, people are becoming aware of the costs involved in heating our homes, both financial and environmental. Ideas from our ancestors, both ancient and not so ancient, solutions such as passive solar heating, are being looked at as viable because not only do they have a benefit environmentally, but they save us money as well.