The assessment of ten passive solar buildings in Tasmania

As many future home owners and professionals in the building industry are looking for existing solar buildings to find out information on features such as their appearance, price ranges, and the effectiveness of solar heating design, this thesis intends to provide that information and will assess a variety of passive solar buildings in Tasmania. This thesis will catalogue ten Tasmanian passive solar buildings and particularly highlight the following factors: a) the theoretical concepts of using passive solar designs; b) the appearance and architectural layout of the passive solar buildings; c) how, and how effectively, the passive solar system works; d) the problems (if any) related to the actual construction and maintenance of the solar systems; and e) the owner's own personal experience living and using such a solar building. The thesis is presented in two major parts. The first part, consisting of Chapter Two and Three, introduces some theoretical aspects of passive solar design and briefly reviews several other surveys of solar buildings. Chapter Two looks at aspects of thermal comfort and shows why space heating is such an important factor in Tasmania. This is then related to the various key components of passive solar design as they apply in the State. Chapter Three demonstrates that the technique of cataloguing existing solar buildings is a valid and useful means of advancing the state of the art in solar design, but that regional differences in climate, building practice, and lifestyle mean that these catalogues should be prepared for a particular region to be most effective. The second part of this thesis catalogues and evaluates ten passive solar buildings, all situated in Tasmania. Documentation of each of these buildings is presented in two parts, first, the technical aspects of the building are explained and, secondly, an owner analysis of the building's performance is given.