Solar site planning

For a passive solar home to receive the intended ~40% of a home's heat from the sun, proper positioning is crucial.  Solar azimuth angle, solar elevation angle and hour angle based on our latitude and time of year need to be determined for the site of the home.

Below is a map of the path and solar rays for winter solstice, December 21, the day with the least amount of sunlight.  If our home can receive the maximum amount of sun on this day, we can assume the remainder of the year will provide more than enough sunlight for effecting solar heating.

  
Here is another solar diagram which shows the solar elevation angle corresponding to the solar azimuth and hour on that same day.

At noon, when the time of the day when the sun is at its peak (in this case 19.06 degrees), the azimuth angle is 186.6 degrees.  This means we need to orient the southern facing elevation perpendicular to this heading to receive the most direct sunlight on the day with the least amount of sun.  

Here is another chart that represents the same data in a different way.

Here is an example of the opposite solar calendar; summer solstice on June 21st, the most daylight of the year.  Notice the dramatic difference of the angle of elevation and time of day of rise and set as compared to December 21.

The solar azimuth at noon changes to 193.3 degrees.  As stated above, our south facing elevation facing 186.6 (based on December 21 solar geometry) will not be directly perpendicular to the house at this time of year which is advantageous on keeping the house cooler.

Aside from eyeballing this data while at the lot, I have not applied these measurements to the site itself.  I will be using an inclinometer to determine solar light based on the time of day on December 21 and hopefully get at least 9-3pm sun.  Fingers crossed.