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writing:solarpunk_in_fantasy_settings [2025/11/30 17:00] – JacobCoffinWriteswriting:solarpunk_in_fantasy_settings [2025/12/02 02:44] (current) – JacobCoffinWrites
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 Solar panels might be out but there are plenty of other interesting ways to use solar power.  Solar panels might be out but there are plenty of other interesting ways to use solar power. 
  
-**Solar Concentrators** - There's a ton of different designs (from parabolic mirrors to giant lenses) for use in all kinds of purposes, but the important thing for a fantasy setting is that they're generally pretty simple. Mirrors (which in this case would probably be polished metal because making big sheets of smooth glass is hard), a framework, and mathematical formulas for the overall shape, and you can produce incredible heat – up to 3,500 °C. In real life wood and coal met most of society's heat and metalworking needs, but a society that went all in on solar concentrators could find all kinds of clever configurations, layouts, and scales to use them at. [[https://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/cokeandchocolatebar/|Small, concave, handheld mirrors for starting fires]], [[https://solarcooking.fandom.com/wiki/Scheffler_Community_Kitchen|Scheffler reflectors]] [[http://www.solare-bruecke.org/index.php/en/component/content/article/2-the-scheffler-reflector?itemid=|bouncing light]] into households, bakeries, or common kitchens to run ovens, [[https://inhabitat.com/old-fashioned-steam-engines-could-solve-solar-energy-storage-problem/concentrated_solar/|parabolic troughs on rooftops heating water in pipes]], perhaps cities specifically built where the local rock formations allow for massive [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_furnace|solar furnaces]] or even something like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility|fields of mirrors]] being manually (or magically) aimed at the right furnace. A mix of some or all of these could give a fantasy region a visually distinctive character. +**[[solar_concentrators|Solar Concentrators]]** - There's a ton of different designs (from parabolic mirrors to giant lenses) for use in all kinds of purposes, but the important thing for a fantasy setting is that they're generally pretty simple. Mirrors (which in this case would probably be polished metal because making big sheets of smooth glass is hard), a framework, and mathematical formulas for the overall shape, and you can produce incredible heat – up to 3,500 °C. In real life wood and coal met most of society's heat and metalworking needs, but a society that went all in on solar concentrators could find all kinds of clever configurations, layouts, and scales to use them at. [[https://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/cokeandchocolatebar/|Small, concave, handheld mirrors for starting fires]], [[https://solarcooking.fandom.com/wiki/Scheffler_Community_Kitchen|Scheffler reflectors]] [[http://www.solare-bruecke.org/index.php/en/component/content/article/2-the-scheffler-reflector?itemid=|bouncing light]] into households, bakeries, or common kitchens to run ovens, [[https://inhabitat.com/old-fashioned-steam-engines-could-solve-solar-energy-storage-problem/concentrated_solar/|parabolic troughs on rooftops heating water in pipes]], perhaps cities specifically built where the local rock formations allow for massive [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_furnace|solar furnaces]] or even something like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility|fields of mirrors]] being manually (or magically) aimed at the right furnace. A mix of some or all of these could give a fantasy region a visually distinctive character. 
  
 If you want to go a bit later in the timeline, solar concentrators were even used to generate steam which was then [[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Solar-steam-engine-for-water-pumping-near-Los-Angeles-circa-1901_fig1_338391519|used to drive water pumps for agriculture]]. And to [[https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/27/augustin-mouchot-french-pioneer-solar-power-engine|run a basic refrigerator]]. If you want to go a bit later in the timeline, solar concentrators were even used to generate steam which was then [[https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Solar-steam-engine-for-water-pumping-near-Los-Angeles-circa-1901_fig1_338391519|used to drive water pumps for agriculture]]. And to [[https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/27/augustin-mouchot-french-pioneer-solar-power-engine|run a basic refrigerator]].
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   * **[[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/09/how-to-make-biomass-energy-sustainable-again|Pollarding and Coppicing]]** are a useful way to harvest wood from living trees, and even to shape the wood a bit (the long, straight branches produced were useful for fences, tool handles, firewood etc).   * **[[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/09/how-to-make-biomass-energy-sustainable-again|Pollarding and Coppicing]]** are a useful way to harvest wood from living trees, and even to shape the wood a bit (the long, straight branches produced were useful for fences, tool handles, firewood etc).
   * **[[https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/living-fences-zmaz10onzraw/|Hedgerows and living fences]]** - Hedgerows are a traditional practice of shaping suitable trees into living fences which provide [[https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/hedgerows-nature-uk-countryside-christopher-hart/|valuable]] [[https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-07-04-trees-and-hedges-farmland-significantly-boost-butterfly-numbers-study-finds|habitats]] and last generations. ([[https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-8721-guide-hedgerows-plantings-enhance-biodiversity-sustainability-functionality|A version tailored to North American plants]])   * **[[https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/living-fences-zmaz10onzraw/|Hedgerows and living fences]]** - Hedgerows are a traditional practice of shaping suitable trees into living fences which provide [[https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/hedgerows-nature-uk-countryside-christopher-hart/|valuable]] [[https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-07-04-trees-and-hedges-farmland-significantly-boost-butterfly-numbers-study-finds|habitats]] and last generations. ([[https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-8721-guide-hedgerows-plantings-enhance-biodiversity-sustainability-functionality|A version tailored to North American plants]])
-  * **[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_root_bridge|Living bridges]]** - This is a type of tree shaping mostly found in India and Indonesia, using the aerial roots of trees to bridge rivers and canyons. As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the roots in the bridge can naturally grow thick and strengthen.+  * **[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_root_bridge|Living bridges]]** - This is a type of tree shaping mostly found in India and Indonesia, using the aerial roots of trees to bridge rivers and canyons. As long as the tree from which it is formed remains healthy, the roots in the bridge can naturally grow thick and strengthen. These carefully shaped bridges are an excellent fit for wet climates - [[https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/08/01/892983791/photos-living-tree-bridges-in-a-land-of-clouds|they survive long rainy seasons, earthquakes and floods, grow stronger over time, and can be made with time, effort, and an understanding of native plants.]]
  
 === Architecture === === Architecture ===
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 Solarpunk structures will generally be designed to fit local conditions and use local materials - especially in a lower tech setting where there's less choice to do otherwise. (Although a setting where an overuse of magic serves as a stand-in for oil and allows for lazy one-size-fits-all design at an environmental cost could be cool). Architectural designs and urban planning from basically all of human history prior to the last few hundred years probably qualifies as long as the climate and available materials are similar to your setting. This section will call out a few interesting examples but there's simply so much out there it won't be comprehensive.  Solarpunk structures will generally be designed to fit local conditions and use local materials - especially in a lower tech setting where there's less choice to do otherwise. (Although a setting where an overuse of magic serves as a stand-in for oil and allows for lazy one-size-fits-all design at an environmental cost could be cool). Architectural designs and urban planning from basically all of human history prior to the last few hundred years probably qualifies as long as the climate and available materials are similar to your setting. This section will call out a few interesting examples but there's simply so much out there it won't be comprehensive. 
  
-  * Consider whether to make access to sunlight [[https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/11eqfhc/the_solar_envelope_how_to_heat_and_cool_cities/|a foundation of your urban planning]] or whether people would want to [[https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250715-how-old-dubais-historic-streets-beat-extreme-heat|minimize it to stay cool]].+  * Consider whether to make access to sunlight [[https://www.reddit.com/r/solarpunk/comments/11eqfhc/the_solar_envelope_how_to_heat_and_cool_cities/|a foundation of your urban planning]] or whether people would want to [[https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250715-how-old-dubais-historic-streets-beat-extreme-heat|minimize it to stay cool]].  
 +      * I've seen some claims that the villages the Puebloan peoples [[https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/cliff_dwellings_home.htm|built in cliff alcoves on the sides of mesas]] were intended to benefit from winter sunlight while sheltering from summer sunlight, but since most of those articles didn't get the name of the people right, I'm now doubtful that that fits. It could just be the alcoves were more sheltered than living up on the mesa tops where they farmed. (I'll update once I've done some more reading)
   * In addition, consider passive systems like [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2025/06/dressing-and-undressing-the-home/|Awnings]] and [[https://www.womanandhome.com/homes/homes-news/victorian-sash-window-hack-air-conditioning/|sash windows]] which were common before air conditioning.   * In addition, consider passive systems like [[https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2025/06/dressing-and-undressing-the-home/|Awnings]] and [[https://www.womanandhome.com/homes/homes-news/victorian-sash-window-hack-air-conditioning/|sash windows]] which were common before air conditioning.
 +  * From what I've read, [[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/derinkuyu-turkey-underground-city-strange-maps|cave cities]] were mostly [[https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220810-derinkuyu-turkeys-underground-city-of-20000-people|designed around defense]], but the stable underground temperature also provided protection from cold winters and extremely hot summers. Below ground, the ambient temperature is constant and moderate. As a bonus, it is easier to store and keep harvest yields away from moisture and thieves.