Terms of Use

Effective Date: 13 October 2026

Welcome to PassiveSolarArchitecture.com. These Terms of Use explain the rules and conditions for using this website, including our articles, guides, calculators, checklists, tools, downloads, case studies, glossary entries, and other educational resources.

By using this website, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use the website.

1. About This Website

PassiveSolarArchitecture.com is an educational website focused on passive solar architecture, passive solar design, climate-responsive buildings, building science, energy efficiency, thermal comfort, daylighting, shading, glazing, thermal mass, insulation, airtightness, ventilation, and related design topics.

The website is intended for general educational use by architects, designers, students, self-builders, homeowners, investors, developers, clients, and readers interested in passive solar architecture.

The website is operated by Biljana Gligoric, a private individual based in Kotor, Montenegro, under the name Passive Solar Architecture (“we”, “us”). The content is published by the Passive Solar Architecture Editorial Team. You can reach us at info@passivesolararchitecture.com or through the Contact page.

2. Educational Information Only

The content on PassiveSolarArchitecture.com is provided for general educational and informational purposes only.

Our articles, guides, tools, calculators, case studies, checklists, diagrams, examples, and glossary definitions are designed to help readers understand passive solar design concepts. They are not a substitute for professional advice, project-specific design, engineering, code review, or construction documentation.

Passive solar design depends on many variables, including:

Local climate
Latitude and sun path
Site orientation
Solar access and shading
Building form and layout
Window placement and glazing performance
Thermal mass and material choices
Insulation and airtightness
Ventilation and moisture control
Local building codes and regulations
Construction quality
Occupant behavior

Always verify important design decisions with qualified professionals and local authorities.

3. No Professional Advice

PassiveSolarArchitecture.com does not provide professional architectural, engineering, legal, financial, real estate, investment, construction, or building code advice.

The information on this website should not be relied upon as a final basis for designing, building, renovating, purchasing, approving, financing, or investing in a building project.

For real projects, consult appropriate qualified professionals, such as:

Licensed architects
Building designers
Structural engineers
Energy consultants
HVAC designers
Building envelope specialists
Moisture and condensation consultants
Planning and permitting professionals
Local building code officials
Legal or financial advisors where relevant

Use the website as an educational starting point, not as a replacement for professional project review.

4. Calculators, Tools, and Checklists

PassiveSolarArchitecture.com may provide calculators, checklists, templates, worksheets, design tools, and other interactive or downloadable resources.

These tools are intended for early-stage learning, conceptual design support, and general educational use. They may use simplified assumptions, approximate formulas, or limited input fields.

Tool results should not be treated as final calculations, engineering outputs, code-compliant designs, construction documents, or guaranteed performance predictions.

Before relying on any calculator or tool result, you should confirm the result with:

Local climate data
Professional design review
Detailed energy modeling where required
Manufacturer product specifications
Local building codes
Project-specific site analysis

We do not guarantee that calculators, tools, or checklists will be accurate, complete, suitable, or error-free for your specific project.

5. Passive Solar Design Limitations

Passive solar design can support better comfort, daylight, energy efficiency, and climate response when designed correctly. However, no website article, calculator, checklist, or rule of thumb can determine the best solution for every building.

Passive solar architecture should not be treated as a universal formula. A strategy that works in one climate may fail in another. For example, large equator-facing glazing may be useful in some cold climates but may create overheating problems in warmer or mixed climates if shading, ventilation, and thermal mass are not properly designed.

We do not guarantee that using information from this website will reduce energy bills, eliminate heating or cooling needs, improve property value, satisfy building codes, or achieve a specific performance outcome.

6. Website Content

Content on PassiveSolarArchitecture.com may include:

Articles and guides
Educational explanations
Calculators and design tools
Tables and checklists
Case studies and examples
Glossary entries
Images, diagrams, and charts
Downloadable resources
Links to external websites

We aim to keep content clear, useful, and technically responsible. However, we do not guarantee that all content is complete, current, accurate, suitable for your location, or applicable to your project.

For more information about how we create and review content, visit our Editorial Policy and Sources / References pages.

7. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, all content on PassiveSolarArchitecture.com is owned by or licensed to the operator of Passive Solar Architecture. This includes text, graphics, page structure, diagrams, images, tables, tools, calculators, downloads, branding, and other website materials.

You may use the website for personal, educational, and non-commercial reference purposes.

You may not, without written permission:

Copy large portions of the website
Republish articles as your own
Sell, license, or redistribute website content
Use website content to create competing products or services
Remove copyright notices or attribution
Scrape, clone, or mass-download the website
Use our branding, logo, or name in a misleading way

Short quotations may be allowed for commentary, education, or citation when proper credit and a link to the original page are included.

8. Acceptable Use

You agree to use PassiveSolarArchitecture.com only for lawful and appropriate purposes.

You agree not to:

Use the website in a way that violates laws or regulations
Attempt to hack, damage, overload, or disrupt the website
Use automated scraping tools without permission
Upload or transmit malicious code
Misrepresent your identity
Use the website to distribute spam
Copy or republish content without permission
Use website content in a misleading, unsafe, or deceptive way

We may restrict, block, or terminate access to the website if we believe these terms have been violated.

9. User Submissions

If you send us messages, corrections, case study suggestions, feedback, files, images, project information, or other materials to PassiveSolarArchitecture.com, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the right to share them.

By submitting materials, you grant us permission to review, respond to, edit, reference, or use the submission for website improvement, editorial review, educational content, or communication purposes, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Please do not submit confidential, sensitive, proprietary, or project-critical information through the website unless you are comfortable sharing it.

We are not responsible for protecting confidential project information submitted through the contact form or by email.

10. Case Studies and Project Examples

PassiveSolarArchitecture.com may publish case studies, representative examples, before/after analyses, diagrams, or educational project scenarios.

Case studies are intended for learning. They should not be copied directly as building plans or design instructions.

Each real project must be adapted to its own climate, site, budget, construction system, code requirements, and professional design process.

11. External Links

This website may link to external websites, organizations, tools, standards, references, products, services, or third-party resources.

External links are provided for convenience and educational value. We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their content, accuracy, policies, availability, security, or practices.

A link to an external website does not necessarily mean endorsement.

When using external sources for project decisions, verify the information directly with the original source, official standard, manufacturer, local authority, or qualified professional.

12. Commercial Content

The website does not use sponsored content or advertising. Some links to third-party products are affiliate links: if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We offer one paid digital product of our own, the Passive Solar Home Design Toolkit. It is sold by our authorised reseller Lemon Squeezy under Lemon Squeezy’s Buyer Terms. Its use is governed by the Toolkit Licence and Product Terms, and refunds by the Refund Policy. These Terms of Use do not apply to the purchase itself.

You should evaluate any product, tool or recommendation against your own needs, local context, project requirements and professional advice.

13. Downloads and Digital Products

PassiveSolarArchitecture.com may offer free or paid downloads, including templates, checklists, spreadsheets, ebooks, diagrams, worksheets, and other digital resources.

The free Passive Solar Design Checklist & Project Brief is sent by email after you sign up on the checklist page and confirm your address. How we handle your email address is explained in section 6 of the Privacy Policy; you can unsubscribe at any time.

Unless otherwise stated, downloads are provided for personal, educational, or internal project use only. They may not be resold, redistributed, republished, or claimed as your own.

Digital products may include simplified assumptions and should be checked before use in real projects.

We do not guarantee that any download or digital product will be error-free, compatible with every software system, suitable for every project, or accepted by any authority, client, consultant, or building department.

14. No Warranties

The website and its content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

We make no warranties or representations, express or implied, regarding:

The accuracy of content
The completeness of content
The suitability of content for your project
The availability of the website
The accuracy of calculators or tools
The performance of any design strategy
The reliability of external links
The absence of errors, interruptions, or technical issues

Your use of the website is at your own risk.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, PassiveSolarArchitecture.com, its operator, contributors, editors, partners, contractors, and affiliates will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost, claim, or expense arising from your use of the website or reliance on its content.

This includes, but is not limited to:

Design errors
Construction problems
Energy performance issues
Overheating or comfort problems
Building code non-compliance
Financial loss
Investment loss
Project delays
Product selection errors
Misinterpretation of educational content
Errors in calculator or tool outputs

You are responsible for obtaining professional advice before making decisions related to design, construction, renovation, purchase, investment, or compliance.

16. Website Availability

We may update, modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of PassiveSolarArchitecture.com at any time without notice.

We do not guarantee that the website will always be available, secure, uninterrupted, or error-free.

We may also update, remove, rename, redirect, or reorganize pages, tools, calculators, downloads, and internal links as the website develops.

17. Privacy

Your use of this website may involve the collection or processing of certain information, depending on how you interact with the site.

For details about how information may be collected, used, and protected, please read our Privacy Policy.

18. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Use from time to time. When changes are made, the effective date at the top of this page may be updated.

Your continued use of the website after changes are posted means you accept the updated Terms of Use.

We encourage you to review this page periodically.

19. Governing Law

These Terms of Use are governed by the law of Montenegro. If you use the website as a consumer, this does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory provisions of the law of the country where you live.

If any part of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining sections will continue to apply.

20. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms of Use, please write to info@passivesolararchitecture.com or use the Contact page.

Final Note

PassiveSolarArchitecture.com is here to help readers understand passive solar architecture and climate-responsive building design. Use the website as an educational resource, ask better questions, and always confirm project-specific decisions with qualified professionals.