THE OXFORD SOLAR HOUSE

This paper presents preliminary results from the first nine months of monitoring the Oxford Solar House (OSH) which was built, in particular , to evaluate the potential for photovoltaics to contribute cost effec tively to domestic energy supply in the UK. The house uas built in a s outh facing site with good solar access. It has a 4kW PV system integr ated into the roof structure and a 5m(2) solar thermal domestic hot wa ter pre-heat. The house was designed to require a minimum of energy fo r beating, cooling and lighting, therefore optimizing the significance of the contribution or the solar electric supply. The performance of the PV system is presented as well as an analysis of the whole design strategy to minimize energy loads.