Comparative Evaluation of Solar Houses Applied in Turkey

The construction sector consumes a significant portion of the energy resources irreversibly and harms the environment. Limited resources and emerging environmental problems have made it necessary to search for new energy resources in the world and in our country, and to use renewable energy sources, environmentally friendly and energy efficient building designs in the building sector. In this context, the issues of solar energy, which is one of the clean and renewable sources and the use of solar energy in buildings, have gained importance. Although Turkey is in advantageous position compared to European countries in terms of potential solar energy, solar energy is not sufficiently utilized in buildings and studies are limited to academic studies. Solar houses, which are built in Turkey in order to benefit from solar energy with active and passive methods in heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation of buildings, consist of single examples designed with different functions. The aim of this study is to emphasize the importance of the use of solar energy in buildings within the scope of renewable energy sources, to examine the solar houses applied in Turkey comparatively and to make suggestions for solar house design.