HEATING AND COOLING WITH THE SUN!
(Page 2 of 2)
May/June 1980
By the Mother Earth News editors
Simply put, the Harmon house works on the principle of pressure differential caused by rapidly moving air. Here's how: In the summer, as the sun beats down on the surface of the roof, the air within the ceiling channel absorbs heat. Because the heated air has a much lower specific gravity than the ambient atmosphere, it tends to rise, flow upward along the channel between the inner and outer roof, and exhaust out the louvers in the "tower of power".
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Naturally, with all this air escaping, a new supply must be brought in . . . and it enters by way of the groups of 1/2" holes drilled through the soffits under the outside eaves. So, what results is a constant-and sometimes down-right furious-flow from the outdoors, through the roof channels, and outside again.
In order to take advantage of the air current, Jim Harmon has cut several small openings into the tower, at its highest point inside the house. As the heated air rushes past these holes, it actually entrains-or pulls-the air within the building right through the vents . . . in much the same way that an automobile's carburetor draws fuel out of its reservoir.
Of course, since air is then being drawn from the living area of the house itself, it must be replaced . . . and the only available sources of supply-as long as the home's doors and windows remain closed-are the eight ventilation tubes buried 40 inches beneath the surface of the earth . . . where temperature is maintained at about 75-80°F year round.
During the winter-when the path of the sun and its intensity result in lower temperatures within the roof channels -the system still functions, though not quite as efficiently as during the hot season. Fortunately, prevailing winds from the northwest, flowing over and around the outside of the "tower of power", tend to pull air out of the roof also. And, if this breeze effect is not sufficient to draw warmed air through the underground pipe network, the blower fan can always be activated.
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