Solar Power in Olynthus, Greece - A Designed Solar City

Olynthus was one of the leading cities of northern Greece during Hellenic times.

The latitude of Olynthus was about the same of New York and Chicago, so temperatures could drop below freezing in the winter.

In the fifth century B.C. the citizens built a new city adjacent to the old city that was intended to by more defensible against the Athenians of the time. The population was established to be about 2,500 people.

Evidence shows that the use of solar power in Olynthus, Greece was fully planned and designed by the city and implemented with solar orientation and architecture because of its layout.

The new city of Olynthus was built on top of a plateau and the streets perpendicular north-south and east-west. This allowed all the houses to built with a southern sun-facing exposure, thus allowing the structure to take more advantage of the sun's heating.

Excavations show that housing blocks were built in long rows with common walls usually with two floors each. The north wall was made of adobe bricks and was built to be about one and a half feet thick. The north wall had very few window openings; if there were openings they would have had heavy wood shutters that would be closed tight during cold weather.

Main living rooms of the houses were about 16 feet deep and faced a portico supported by wooden pillars located on the south side of the structure.

The portico lead out to an open air court that was about 320 square feet. It had a low wall in front that separated the court from the street. The design allowed the residents of the house to enjoy the outdoors yet provided privacy. The court served the source of light and winter solar heat.

In the winter the Sun's rays travel low across the southern sky and streaming into the south facing court and into the house through the porticoes.

The earth floor and adobe walls absorb and retain a large quantity of solar heat which would be released later in the evening.

Often low level walls were built to reduce floor level cold drafts.

In the summer, when the sun in almost directly overhead, the portico shaded the main rooms of the house from the hot sun. The common walls on either side of the house offered more insulation and protection from hot sun in the morning and afternoon.