December 24 – Anniversary of the First Solar-Heated Home!

Posted on December 24, 2020

This is an update of my December 24, 2009 post:

First Solar-Heated Home – 1948

On this day in 1948, the first home heated completely by solar power was completed in Dover, Massachusetts.

(Odd timing, because it was a cloudy day near the beginning of winter, when the days are nearly their shortest.)

The home was named “Dover Sun House.”

The heating system was designed by Dr. Maria Telkes, a Hungarian-born scientist from the MIT Solar Laboratory; the solar-energy experiments were sponsored by Amelia Peabody; and the architect was Eleanor Raymond. (I'm sure some men were involved with the project, too!)

Above, architect Eleanor Raymond
Below, heiress and sculptor Amelia Peabody

Hungarian American scientist and engineer, Maria Telkes

Learn about solar energy here.

Try some solar power experiments.



Aaaannnndddd - it's Christmas Eve!

Many people have feasts, go to church, and exchange gifts. In Finland and Sweden, most of the Christmas festivities, including a visit from Santa to distribute the gifts, happens on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. (Swedish kids used to get gifts from the Yule Goat, not Santa!) In a lot of countries, children get ready for Father Christmas or Santa Claus by hanging stockings, putting out cookies and milk, and even putting out carrots for the reindeer.



La Noche Buena (Latin America) – Fireworks are common, plus families stay up til midnight for their gift exchange.

Santuranticuy (Saints for Sale) (Peru) This is the largest arts and crafts fair in Peru. Once a time for image carvers to display and sell figures that can be used in Nativity scenes, now other crafts items are included as well.

Also on this date:

Santuranticuy

Trailblazer Kit Carson's birthday 

Anniversary of the first radio broadcast

Anniversary of the first performance of Silent Night

Christmas Eve / Nochebuena

Yap Constitution Day in Micronesia

Anniversary of first solar-heated home

(original post)

National Eggnog Day

Birthday of composer Libby Larsen

Birthdays of a variety of artists

Christmas season gift bringers

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest pages on:

• December holidays
• December birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in December

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• January holidays 
• January birthdays 
• Historical anniversaries in January
  
  
  
  

January 15, 2013 - First Solar-Heated/Radiation-Cooled House in the U.S.

– 1955

Well...

...actually people have been building houses that utilize the power of the sun for millennia, paying attention to the climate and to where the sun appears in the sky in winter and summer as they choose the position and materials for their home. Just one example is the native peoples of the Southwest of what is now the United States: they built adobe houses that kept cool in the summer and retained heat in the winter.

But the first modern house that had integrated solar heating and radiation cooling is credited to Raymond W. Bliss. This house, finished on this date in 1955, used a large slanted slab of steel and glass to capture heat from the sun. This heat was ducted into the house. In the summer, the same ducts were used with fans to cool the house.

The house is in Tucson, Arizona, and it only cost $4,000 for materials and labor!

Nowadays...

There is a lot of information on “green” home designs that utilize geothermal or solar power and passive heating and cooling. You can find a sample here and here and here—but there are so many links on Google that you could spend all day just sampling them! 

But a word of warning: these houses cost a fair bit more than $4000 in materials and labor.

!

Learn some more...

I found this video to be very helpful in explaining passive heating and cooling.

DTE Energy has some kid-friendly info on solar energy and passive heating and cooling. 

Also on this date:

Anniversary of haberdasher history being made (?)

Anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth I

Fiesta del Nino Perdido in Peru

December 24, 2009

First Sun-Heated Home – 1948

On this day in 1948, the first home heated completely by solar power was completed in Dover, Massachusetts.

(Odd timing, because it was a cloudy day near the beginning of winter, when the days are nearly their shortest.)

The home was named “Dover Sun House.”


The heating system was designed by Dr. Maria Telkes, a Hungarian-born scientist from the MIT Solar Laboratory; the solar-energy experiments were sponsored by Amelia Peabody; and the architect was Eleanor Raymond. (I'm sure some men were involved with the project, too!)

Learn about solar energy here.

Order solar power kits from $10 to $25 (or so) here. They look pretty fun!

Also on this date:

Christmas Eve – Many people have feasts, go to church, and exchange gifts. In Finland and Sweden, most of the Christmas festivities, including a visit from Santa to distribute the gifts, happens on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. (Swedish kids used to get gifts from the Yule Goat, not Santa!) In a lot of countries, children get ready for Father Christmas or Santa Claus by hanging stockings, putting out cookies and milk, and even putting out carrots for the reindeer.



La Noche Buena (Latin America) – Fireworks are common, plus families stay up til midnight for their gift exchange.

Santuranticuy (Saints for Sale) (Peru) This is the largest arts and crafts fair in Peru. Once a time for image carvers to display and sell figures that can be used in Nativity scenes, now other crafts items are included as well.