Lots of work has been done and documented about “passive solar”, including various adaptations of the Roman clay flue bricks in floors and walls using combustion chambers in lower levels. Slaves though seemed to be a prerequisite for smooth continuous operation.
I saw a clever design that used attic heating and basement sub-floor heat storage. That would work for a cold climate.
But we are now getting used to having the best of both worlds. We want heat in the Winter and cooling in the Summer.
Ideally, we could balance our architectural designs and the amount of sunlight we collect so that the interior climate is perfect year round. But even that wouldn’t be enough for some; hence the need for heat pumps.
Also, ultra-efficient house insulation means that air needs to be exchanged and circulated actively. Passive will help, but consumers will want their comfort NOW and not eventually.
Likely we’ll have to augment the solar heat collection with solar cell electricity and energy storage. Hopefully battery technology will advance as well.
One of the amusing aspects of studying this technology and the architecture that embodies it is that this would also be suitable for making a comfortable dwelling on one of the many asteroids that fill the Solar System. What a grand villa that would be!
“Slaves though seemed to be a prerequisite for smooth continuous operation.”
Don’t go making that mistake again. This is why Electricity is So popular.
It picks cotton and cools houses perfectly and doesn’t gripe about it for the next 200 years after you turn it off.