Solar heated houseIn 1955, the first U.S. house to be both solar-heated and radiation-cooled started its system. It was built in Tucson, Arizona by solar physicist Raymond W. Bliss, Jr. (6 Oct 1915 - 7 Nov 2004). The system was built at a cost of nearly $4,000 for labour and materials. It was made using a large slanted slab of steel and glass that converted sunlight into heat, which was ducted into the house. Summer cooling used the same ducts and associated fans and controls. The first U.S. house to be completely solar heated was occupied in Dover, Mass. on 24 Dec 1948. That heating system was designed by Dr. Maria Telkes from the MIT Solar Laboratory, used black sheet metal collectors to capture solar energy, stored by the phase-change of sodium sulphate decahydrate in “heat bins.” |
