Aim of the article is the description and the evaluation of the contribution of energetic need provided by the passive solar system in relation to the acclimatisation of residential environment. The applicability of innovative solutions capable of sustaining, energetically, autonomous electrical structures of rural and/or isolated premises is also studied. The realisation of a prototype (wooden prefabricated volume) to test passive solar systems for a bioclimatic and environmental control has been done; experimental tests had been carried out and the results are shown. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.