The people fortunate enough to live in a consistently warm and sunny place like Southern California don't need to worry about their heating costs in the winter. But the rest of us are looking for ways to save energy, thereby saving money. Today, being environmentally conscious is trendy anyway, and you'll save money to boot. When thinking about alternative home heating, consider the option of passive solar heating.

A fair bit of solar energy hits the surface of the earth, even in the depth of winter. The surface temperature would actually rise much higher were the days of the same length as in the summer. Imagine the possibilities of collecting power every minute the sun is available. Even better, what if no major alterations to your house would be required?

Here is where the Trombe wall comes in. This wall is made of a thermal mass (such as concrete or stone) that can store the heat built up during the day, and then release it slowly throughout both the night and day. On the outside the wall is insulated by a glass pane and an airspace, thus preventing the loss of heat to the outside during the night. A shade rests above the glass that allows direct light exposure during low winter sun, but acts as a protection during prolonged high summer sun heat, this dual action helps keep cooling bills in the summer low also.

It is not very easy to retrofit your home, and you would might need to do a major renovation. Custom designed homes are also expensive. Retrofitting your home for other energy efficient heating systems such as radiant heating is also expensive. However, with passive solar heating, after you pay for installation, it costs nothing to heat your home.

Consider also the fact that the concept of the Trombe wall is a 19th century invention that was popularized in the 1960's and so has been designed into a number of existing homes. So when you're looking for that new, energy efficient home, know that designs of yesteryear can still be green.

Now that the awareness of green issues is commonplace, people are becoming aware of the costs involved in heating our homes, both financial and environmental. Ideas from our ancestors, both ancient and not so ancient, solutions such as passive solar heating, are being looked at as viable because not only do they have a benefit environmentally, but they save us money as well.