Britain may be having one of the dreariest summers in recent memory, but it's 黑洞社区's holiday issue and we've got the sun in mind. We hotfoot it through history to give you the lowdown on everything from solar architecture to sundials 鈥� plus, meet the summer-lovin' construction workers 鈥�

The Sunstation

A modular solar PV system that can be installed in less than a day. Efficiency in peak conditions: 5/5
Efficiency in low light conditions: 3/5
Price: 拢6700 for an eight-panel module (2640 mm 脳 2952 mm)

Sunslates

Individual solar slates that integrate with standard roofing slates. Efficiency in peak conditions: 5/5
Efficiency in low light conditions: 3/5
Price: about 拢700 per m2

Bespoke laminates

The architects鈥� favourite 鈥� with a price to match. Efficiency in peak conditions: 3-5/5
Efficiency in low light conditions: 3-5/5
Price: from 拢800 to 拢1200 per m2.

Solar Shingles

They work well in low light conditions, hence their popularity in Britain. Efficiency in peak conditions: 3/5
Efficiency in low light conditions: 5/5
Price: about 拢700 per m2

Solar roofing

Use it instead of your conventional standing seam. Efficiency in peak conditions: 3/5
Efficiency in low light conditions: 5/5
Price: 拢350-450 per m2

Return of the suburban accessory: The sundial

Thanks to the new millennium, sundials have experienced something of a revival. These primitive solar clocks now commemorate the year 2000 in town squares and plazas all over the country. And they don鈥檛 come cheap 鈥� a sundial can cost up to 拢25,000. Tracey Hancock of David Harber Sundials says: 鈥淧art of the appeal of sundials is that they are working monuments.鈥� The company鈥檚 recent work includes a sundial tower at the entrance to the Millennium Dome and a traditional bronze armillary sphere built to commemorate the Queen Mother鈥檚 100th birthday. Although sundials have been used for thousands of years, their heyday was in the 18th century, when watches and clocks were so unreliable that they had to be reset every noon using sundials erected by councils. There are now more than a dozen specialist sundial makers in the UK.

Some like it hot

Five buildings orientated by the sun

1. Stonehenge, Wiltshire, 3100-1100 BC
Two 鈥渉eel stones鈥� frame the midsummer sunrise. 2. Pyramid of Cheops, El Giza, circa 2528 BC
Twice a year, at midday, the sun shines down a deep shaft to the Pharoah鈥檚 burial chamber. 3. De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, 1935
Bar, restaurant and sun terraces all face south, catering to a sun-loving generation. 4. Milton Keynes Shopping Centre, 1979
The rigidly rectilinear building is aligned towards the rising sun in midsummer. 5. City Hall, London, 2002
The lopsided building slopes due south to optimise sun shading.