Publication: Architect Magazine
Date: December 11, 2020
URL: https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/harold-hay-skytherm-and-the-quest-for-passive-cooling_o
Access: 403 — article text not captured. Content below is synthesized from accessible secondary sources.
Primary interview with Hay. Key content:
Background: Born 1909, Spokane, WA. Career in chemistry — wood preservation (pentachlorophenol at Monsanto), municipal water purification. Government of India adviser on low-cost housing.
Sky-Therm system description: "No pumps, no fans, no circulating liquids, no freezeups, no boil-overs, no trouble, no noise, no dirt." Water bags on roofs + movable insulating panels. System maintained comfort at 106°F exterior temperatures; above 115°F required small fan assistance. Adaptable to climates from equator to Arctic.
"Cool black and warm white" theory: Surface thermal properties depend on insulation layers. Tropical animals have dark coats because they need to radiate heat outward; polar bears are white because they need to absorb heat. Same principle governs roof behavior.
Philosophy: Design "with the climate" rather than overwhelming it with energy consumption. Criticized centralized solar (satellites, desert collectors with transmission lines) as polluting; favored distributed roof-level systems.
On Baer and peers: Hay referred to Steve Baer, Harry Thomason, and similar figures as "creative activists" — individuals who "took their own time and money and worked with their own hands to develop solar energy systems that work."
Timeline from interview:
Technical history. Key content:
India (1952): Hay served as adviser to the Government of India on low-cost housing. Observed that replacing thatch roofs with uninsulated asbestos-cement reduced comfort. Developed "Growing House" concept using manual movable insulation on roofs and masonry walls.
Arizona (1966–67): Experiments with 7-inch deep water basins in Tempe. Established that 6 inches of water provided adequate year-round thermal storage.
Phoenix Prototype (1967) — specifications:
Performance (Phoenix prototype):
Hay quote: "Water is the cheapest and most efficient heat storage material for buildings. Its fluid convection provides an outstanding advantage over the heat lag of solar materials."
Profile of Hay at age ~98. Key content:
Atascadero house (1973): 1,100 sq ft full-scale. Plastic waterbed-like bags. No pumps, compressors, piping, or ducts. Indoor 68°F–72°F vs 32°F–68°F outdoor.
Timeline:
Key quotes:
Direct Hay-Baer technical comparison:
Hay's system: Water bags on roof + movable insulating panels. Panels closed during hot days (deflecting heat while drawing warmth from interior); retracted at night to release heat skyward. Winter reversal. Atascadero used plastic waterbed-like bags. System operated for ~40 years without electricity.
Baer's system (per this source): Water wall (55-gallon drums) behind south glazing with insulated reflective covers. Later: Double Play — absorber panels on south wall, water storage in ceilings, radiator/cooling coils on roofs. Research showed only 25% cooling reduction with vertical vs horizontal radiators.
Performance comparison:
Book: Activism in Architecture: Bright Dreams of Passive Energy Design
Editors: Margot McDonald and Carolina Dayer
Publisher: Routledge (Taylor & Francis), 2018
ISBN: 978-1-138-74143-0 (hardcover), 978-0-367-66567-8 (paperback)
Chapter 4: "Harold Hay's influence and the Zomeworks Corporation" — authored by Steve Baer
This is the primary documentary source for the Hay-Zomeworks connection. Baer wrote the chapter himself, placing Hay as an acknowledged influence on his own work. Text is not publicly accessible; citation confirmed via Taylor & Francis catalog. The book also contains:
Google Books preview (partially accessible) confirms the book discusses Sunbenders as "still available from Zomeworks."