J. Douglas Balcomb

J. Douglas Balcomb, Ph.D. (1935, Los Alamos, NM — 2023, Astoria, OR) was a nuclear physicist who became one of the most influential figures in passive solar research. He earned his BS in nuclear engineering from the University of New Mexico in 1957 and his PhD in physics from UNM in 1961.

Career at Los Alamos

Balcomb joined Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1961, initially working on Project Rover, the nuclear rocket program. When LANL launched an alternative energy research program in 1973 amid the oil crisis, Balcomb transitioned to solar energy and went on to direct the LANL Solar Energy Group. In that role he served as principal author of the DOE Passive Solar Design Handbook, Volumes II and III (1980-84), which became the definitive technical reference for the field.

The Balcomb House

In 1976, Balcomb built his own passive solar home in First Village, Los Alamos, designed by Susan Nichols and William Lumpkins of Sun Mountain Design. The 2,300-square-foot house featured south-facing greenhouse glazing and adobe thermal mass walls, achieving an 84% solar heating fraction. It became a demonstration landmark, drawing roughly 2,000 visitors.

Later career

Balcomb later moved to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he developed Solar10, a building energy simulation tool that became a precursor to EnergyPlus. He remained active in professional organizations throughout his career: he served as board chair and president of the American Solar Energy Society during the 1980s and chaired the New Mexico Solar Energy Association.

Balcomb was part of the core New Mexico passive solar community alongside Steve Baer, Peter Van Dresser, and others. He once characterized the physicists’ contribution with characteristic modesty: “What we contributed wasn’t so much from a design sense; the architects were good at that. We brought respectability.”

J. Douglas Balcomb

Career at Los Alamos

The Balcomb House

Later career

See also