Survey of European Passive Solar Buildings

The idea for this report originated within the Solar Energy Pilot Study of the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS). The following countries were formal members of that pilot study: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States. (Additional countries participated as observers.) A Passive Solar Applications Group was formed as one of the sub-projects of the pilot study. As part of the Group's collaborative activities, France offered to undertake a survey of European passive solar buildings. The results of the survey are contained in this document which covers buildings in Andorra, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. An inquiry designed to identify newly constructed buildings required close cooperation between the authors, COMES, and both official organizations and concerned individuals in other European countries. The owners, builders, organizations, developers, architects, and researchers were asked to complete a questionnaire (reprinted in the appendix) and to supply additional documents, drawings, and cost figures that were used to establish data for each building.