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Prof M Keith Sharp ScD PE

Emeritus Professor

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Emeritus Professor
Louisville, KY 40292
United States

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RE: Thermal mass

Posted By M Keith Sharp 07-10-2026 03:48 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Bill, This thread is about keeping a building comfortable indoors when it is hot outside, so heat is exactly the point. Managing heat with thermal mass has many advantages as already discussed. Adobe and concrete can also hold up the roof. Try doing that with batteries! There are arguments both ways, ...

RE: Thermal mass

Posted By M Keith Sharp 07-10-2026 06:49 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
It is true that batteries store greater exergy (we used to call this availability). But even adjusted for their greater exergy, say with a futuristic heat pump COP of 5, adobe and concrete still have lower carbon per unit of energy stored. Factor in battery replacements over the lifetime of adobe and ...

RE: Thermal mass

Posted By M Keith Sharp 07-09-2026 12:18 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Adobe is also lower carbon than concrete, and much lower than batteries, for storing energy. ------------------------------ M Keith Sharp Emeritus Professor Louisville KY ------------------------------

RE: Thermal mass

Posted By M Keith Sharp 07-06-2026 11:52 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
90 F here, 74 inside with concrete thermal mass and no AC. With our cool nights, we could go lower if we wanted. JMHO, adobe is prettier! ------------------------------ M Keith Sharp Emeritus Professor Louisville KY ------------------------------

RE: What's happening to our national renewable energy laboratory and the clean energy transition

Posted By M Keith Sharp 06-22-2026 11:27 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Chuck, Thanks for writing an excellent article on not only the history of SERI/NREL, but also on the global situation in which we find ourselves. ------------------------------ M Keith Sharp Emeritus Professor Louisville KY ------------------------------

RE: Powering Change: Stories from the Front Line of the Solar Revolution

Posted By M Keith Sharp 06-15-2026 10:07 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Thermal mass inside the building can serve the same energy storage function as batteries for leveling AC loads. This is an attractive alternative, because concrete and water storage systems tend to be lower cost and have lower embodied carbon and longer service life than batteries. With the right combination ...

RE: Designing the Battery-Powered Home - Webinar - Wed April 15

Posted By M Keith Sharp 04-13-2026 11:19 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Sorry that I will miss this presentation live. Hope that Smith discusses the value of ambient energy for serving heating and cooling, as well as other loads. Heating and cooling are seasonal, with the consequence that much more generation and storage capacity are needed for some parts of the year if ...

RE: Wed 18 Mar - Trombe walls

Posted By M Keith Sharp 03-23-2026 12:33 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Excellent seminar with great advice for building Trombe walls. The example was from Michigan., not the first climate one would think of for passive solar. Just goes to show that it works across a wide range of climates. ------------------------------ M Keith Sharp Emeritus Professor Louisville KY ...

RE: Should ASES be educating more about efficiency-first building strategies?

Posted By M Keith Sharp 09-02-2025 10:42 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
ASES could and should do more to promote ambient-conditioned buildings. Just got the "Highlights and Insights from Solar 2025" newsletter. No mention of passive solar, passive cooling or anything related to ambient energy for buildings. What do we need to do to change this? ------------------------------ ...

RE: Should ASES be educating more about efficiency-first building strategies?

Posted By M Keith Sharp 09-02-2025 10:32 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
It is also true that builders tend to charge more for things that they are not familiar with and are not particularly interested in doing. Insulation is not one of the expensive building materials. With training and buy-in from builders, the whole job does not have to be expensive. ------------------------------ ...

RE: Should ASES be educating more about efficiency-first building strategies?

Posted By M Keith Sharp 09-02-2025 10:25 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
We should acknowledge that Green Home Institute is doing good work engaging designers and builders with their videos, including some on ambient heating and cooling. We just need more! ------------------------------ M Keith Sharp Emeritus Professor Louisville KY ------------------------------

RE: Should ASES be educating more about efficiency-first building strategies?

Posted By M Keith Sharp 09-02-2025 10:19 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
ASES would seem to be an appropriate place for an archive of examples of successful ambient-conditioned buildings. Complete specs and construction details are necessary, but performance results would make the archive more useful. We need examples across all climates. ------------------------------ ...

RE: Should ASES be educating more about efficiency-first building strategies?

Posted By M Keith Sharp 09-02-2025 10:06 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Luther, Thanks for mentioning NAEBRS. It is shaping up to be an epic meeting. We have MANY of our passive solar pioneers attending. Really looking forward to it, including your presentation on solar cookers. ------------------------------ M Keith Sharp Emeritus Professor Louisville KY ---------- ...

RE: Should ASES be educating more about efficiency-first building strategies?

Posted By M Keith Sharp 09-02-2025 10:00 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
It is important to remember that fixed slope PV only produces strongly for a few hours around solar noon. At other times, you are likely using utility electricity, which is on average 60% from fossil fuels in the US. Utility PV also only produces when the sun is out, so this percentage is probably higher ...

RE: Should ASES be educating more about efficiency-first building strategies?

Posted By M Keith Sharp 09-02-2025 09:43 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
While some retrofits are more challenging than others, the broad generalization that ambient conditioning is only possible for new construction is not true. In fact, Phius has a program specifically for retrofits https://www.phius.org/standards/retrofit. Phius does super insulation really well, so thermal ...

RE: Passive

Posted By M Keith Sharp 05-05-2025 10:25 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Wow! ------------------------------ M Keith Sharp Emeritus Professor Louisville KY ------------------------------

RE: 2025 National Ambient Energy for Buildings Research Symposium (NAEBRS)

Posted By M Keith Sharp 05-01-2025 12:39 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
The deadline for abstract submission has been extended to 1 June 2025. There are still a few spots available for free registration, room and board, but they are going fast. We now have commitments from Bruce Hunn, Ken Haggard, Pliny Fisk and Bristol Stickney. The collective passive solar wisdom at ...

RE: 2025 National Ambient Energy for Buildings Research Symposium (NAEBRS)

Posted By M Keith Sharp 04-28-2025 10:45 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Thanks, Ella and Debbie. We have commitments from some passive solar luminaries already. These include David Wright, who designed some of the most iconic passive solar buildings in the Southwest. Mark Chalom and Quentin Wilson, who worked with Peter van Dresser on the SunDwellings at Ghost Ranch, will ...

2025 National Ambient Energy for Buildings Research Symposium (NAEBRS)

Posted By M Keith Sharp 04-04-2025 09:48 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
To non-PV solar buildings researchers, architects, builders, educators, and policy makers, We are excited to announce this conference 7-9 September 2025 at Ghost Ranch, NM, generously supported by the NSF https://engineering.louisville.edu/naebrs/ . Ghost Ranch is the historic site of the first passive ...

RE: Pagosa Springs Ambient House performance for 2024

Posted By M Keith Sharp 01-21-2025 09:22 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum \ view thread
Timothy, We have to keep in mind that early IR cameras cost thousands of dollars (back when a thousand dollars was a LOT of money) and required a liquid nitrogen fill just prior to use. Today's technology is better and cheaper, and we don't have to bring a nitrogen tank along. The phone attachments ...