• Clear topographical clarifications
  
• The positions in orientation to the sun path either to avoid direct sunlight entering the building of the opposite.
  
• The exploitation of breezes for ventilation and cross ventilation in the room
  
• The awareness and exploitation of the nature of flora and its use for practical functions (e.g. medicinal plants, fruit-baring trees)
  
• A good insulation of walls (40-50cm width) and roofs
  
• The small openings on the external walls for maximum insulation.

These elements can be found in constructions created since 7000B.C. Elements, which are
now fundamentally used in passive architecture. Early examples include:

• The Solarium was predominant whether acting as an arched corridor, as a central axis or even when it evolved into a self-contained space.
  
• Courtyards, planted mostly with deciduous vegetation like grapevines, providing shade in the summer and admitting the sun in the winter
  
• Almost all openings placed on the south wall providing natural light and heat.
  
• Arseres (small openings located high on the external walls) allowed lighter hot air to go out of the house and be replaced by cooler air from outside in the summer
  
• Thymes (small dense bushes) blocked the arseres in the winter and provided thermal insulation.
  
• Roofs and floors were constructed in a typical insulating manner
  
• The solarium admitted the rays from the winter sun to penetrate and so solar radiation could be utilized in winter.
  
• In multiple thermal modes and varied design, the courtyard and the solarium moderate high summer temperatures- their careful construction combined with the surrounding landscaping lower the temperatures around the building.

These examples, illustrate strong characteristics of historical architecture, which serve as
fine examples of energy-saving architecture today and are used on the Experimental Solar
House.