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Newsgroups: sci.energy,sci.engr.heat-vent-ac,alt.solar.thermal,alt.architecture
.alternative,alt.home.repair,bit.listserv.geodesic
Subject: Re: A zero-fossil-fuel studio?
Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 20:21:26 GMT
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[email-masked] (Nick Pine) wrote:

>And when you mention "successful" direct gain solar mass walls do you mean
>Trombe walls?

>A few years ago, I spent some time explaining to a local architect, a more
>technical person than most, who had taken a few engineering courses on the
>way to architecting, that a "Trombe wall" with some dark-colored insulation
>on the outside and an air gap between the insulation and glazing and some
>to the inside of the house that opened up during the day was a lot more
>efficient at collecting and keeping solar heat in the house than a plain old
>"traditional" Trombe wall, with masonry right behind the glass, with no
>insulation.

An alternative method is to use transparent insulation material (TIM).
This is a honeycomb structure of transparent polycarbonate, somewhat
like drinking straws at right angles to the wall stuck together  to
form a slab, but stoppered to prevent air convection (sounds like
polar bear fur!).
There is no air flow - heat flow to interior is by conduction - and
temperature control is by external blinds (to stop overheating on
summer days and reduce losses at night).

Construction goes:

low-iron content glass/cavity with motorised blind/TIM/backing sheet
of transparent polycarbonate/cavity (to minimise conduction, closed
horizontally at intervals to minimise air circulation/dense wall with
heat absorbing surface.

This is a bit complex;  however direct solar radiation is not
necessary. It is indicated a well insulated house could have its
entire space heating demand met by a 50m2 TIM wall.

There were several papers presented on this at the
2nd European Conference on Architecture, 4-8 Dec '89, Paris.