Passive solar schools in the UK: features employed currently and their operation

SYNOPSIS There are now nearly fifty schools in the UK which incorporate some means of using solar energy to reduce their purchased energy needs through the sole use of their form and fabric. These passive solar school buildings are described in this paper which reports the results of a detailed survey carried out by the authors. Passive solar gains displace heating and lighting energy in most of the buildings surveyed without overt passive solar features. These buildings represent economically viable passive solar design that has been generally accepted by many architects in the school buildings field. Emphasis is placed on the main functional requirements of passive solar design, to reduce the auxiliary energy load and to provide a pleasant, aesthetically pleasing internal environment with, possibly, some additional usable space.