Article: Builder uses solar power to heat Fairbanks home in the winter

Sun 03 February 2019

Just found this on Twitter, even though it’s a rather old article from 2011 "Builder uses solar power to heat Fairbanks home in the winter"

FAIRBANKS — Sunlight poured into a large south-facing window and drenched the stained concrete floor, stones and flower beds in warmth. Like batteries, these features capture, store and dispense energy to the 2,300-square-foot house year round. Sun coming through the window has provided all the home’s heat since mid-February.

Outside, a dozen solar thermal panels stared at the Alaska Range and drank in the mid-morning sun. The panels and a stone masonry heater (complete with a bake oven) are the only heat sources in the home.

It’s not the "alternative" energy aspect of the article that grabbed my attention but rather the energy storage that is built into the house. I should probably look up the engineer and see how these experiments are going now that he’s had several years, and probably a few more houses built, to test all of his theories. Looks promising!

By Sparks, Category: Energy

Tags: solar power / energy efficiency /