As Fall approaches, less and less sunlight is coming through our windows.  With the right design, colors, and textures in your home, that limited sunlight can help lower your energy costs, especially during the colder months.

Passive solar systems can turn sunlight into heat energy in your home without using any fans, pumps or any other machinery.  In fact, they don't even require electricity.  The heat is collected and stored by design elements in a room or an entire house.  Supplementing another heating system with sunlight can cut down on energy usage.

Ric Evans built an addition on to his home that uses passive solar design.  Some of the main features are overhangs and large windows.  The overhangs shield the windows from the sun in the summer, which prevents the room from getting too hot.  In the winter, because the sun is lower in the sky, more direct light is allowed into the room. 

Evans says windows that face the south, southwest, or southeast will bring in the most solar energy.  To increase the sunlight coming in to your home, Evans suggests putting more windows into walls that face these directions or adding a small greenhouse, entry way, or mud room that contains a lot of glass windows.  "You can get more heat out of a smaller room, " says Evans. "The heat gets more concentrated.  You can then use a fan to move that warm air into other parts of the house." 

There are simple ways to utilize passive solar design without doing any construction.  "Window coverings are very important, " says Evans.  "You want to keep the blinds or curtains open during the day to get as much sun into the house as possible, but at night, closing the shades or the blinds will prevent that heat from being lost.  You want to retain as much of that heat as possible."

Different types of flooring absorb heat differently.  Evans recommends dark-colored, denser materials for maximum heat.  "Tile, hard wood, even soft wood that has been painted dark or has a dark stain will absorb more heat, " says Evans.  "When the sun goes down, those materials will re-radiate the heat they absorbed back into the room during the evening.  Carpet will absorb heat, but it's a really short-term gain.  As soon as the sun goes down, it'll have dissipated."

Certain colors can also help soak up the sun.  Dark colors are good absorbers while light colors reflect.  Evans says, "Earth tones that are on the darker side work really well.  Dark couches, chairs, tables, and other items will all help absorb heat.  If it's too dark, though, it may counteract all the bright light being brought in by the windows.  There's a balance there."