Basic Principles of Passive Solar Design

8/13/2019 Basic Principles of Passive Solar Design

1/37

A project of Voluntews in Asi

by: Fred Hopman

JawalakhelKathmanduNepalAvailable from:Swiss Association for Technical AssistancePAL Box 113JawalakhelKathmanduNepalReproduced by per mission of the Swiss Associationfor Technical Assistance.Reproduction of this microfiche document in anyform is subject to the same restrictions as thoseof the original document.


2/37

W:

PRESlOENt~ TAOS SOLAR ASSOCIATIONOX 2334, TAOS, NEW MEXICOI U.S.A.

COMPILED BY:LOWELL ADAMS, Sc.0. TEXTANBREAS 6ACHMANN c/. SATA ORAWINGS


3/37

Traditionally BepaU8 have deeibuilt thair houa8a uBiW?l Mm8inciples which are now beid men t0 Ci&dW8 and u06energy to make the hsutieeSherDa houste, for exa

The new dseigns and materiel8 used inmOdem buildinga often overlook thaformsrlg wed techniqueas hacreteerlle, caaent pl ring, flat roig window8 all nb the build18tC., often brin advantagee,leak; in uintez? Pt may be too hot ononeeida of the houea in the daytime andfreezing cold at night. In CL 8lc it 10Often just to0 hot to 8tq in the X'OOm9on the eouth side.The Ptbcently dsv8lOpiag COmx@ts lot de-signing for efficient hou88 hsatiwwith 8olar 8n82"~ 9mphasin8 9intmgmt9dplanning 80 that all prrrte of the housecontribute to the h8ating proceaee m8function8 of the three principle compon-ente of house heating ace to adtit heatduring the warm part of the day, retainand stare the heat, and to release itat night. For admitting heat largewindow8 oc solar collectors are orlant-ad to the 8OUth, emall ox? no wlndowe onthe other &ides. Retention requireagood ineulatlon and adequate WM MNM f


4/37


5/37

m?ect win. l l

water Wall . . .&~lar @xwmhouaeHaof Ponds . l *

a l . .

. l . .

. . * a

l + . m

Orientation. . e w lDeeign . . + . . . .

North iYab1 l * l . lEast, and West Wa4118.South wall l l l l lGming. . a a l . lRoof 0 . . l I . * r

Poundation l . .? . .

. *. .i .* a. +

.

.

II

+

0

.

.

l

.

+

+

.

l

.

.

l

.

.

.

.

l

.

.

.

.

..l

.

P

.

a

+

l

+

l 1

e 2

l j

m 6

0

.

l

l

+

l

l

.

.

l

.

.


6/37

. ..e.*..e..w.a.+ 9 c +a+ matbon. . . e . . + . . . . +

VO1WH? memmmmm

a

e.

.*e.

c

;

*I

....e

.

*

t22a

25


7/37

aux3 $3 take theuew3mdeof yeam far aforest to aaa bay a r4ahllayer, it ia lmfortunate stto eon aroaian in on


8/37

unique poe.ition to amid the

tars 01, hot e&r coJItE'Ol8 ae eeparat8unite. Sinca the csllectorra c)C8 UEJU@ll~on th0 Poofb andb heat storain the house bela a fm QIP pu


9/37

heat-trarwpof

8 the nature

fehabbe fromrequires no further aevlcem6 to upm@ateb, Is t

lachBfatnolopaas& eolar technology ie the typet directly coupled to the 8un and iset dmaging to the envimmment, be-eauee it takee the principle of usingto ita logical \ktive and Passive QblaF ?frst--- -a m-l Y

&I active 801ar ey8tem 18 defined 88 onethat relies to 8ome extent cn COnventionalenergy to aperate- This implies that theadded conventional ener&y 18 needed toinduce the elements In the system to per-form In a ay that is counter to their


10/37

so.

eALAR HEAIEO AIR

GLASS COVEII\ ,.

WATER COOP HEATING

\

SOLAR HEAI

blOfWAlER CQNIAINE

YP WATER PiPE S


11/37


12/37

6rate8 sntia.

out alternate

n indfcetion of t8OlBF h%ating da8A passive solap hoar8 in Ataecadero, Call-fornia which amploy a roof panmovable Snmlstion, ha been 100and cooled aince 1973 ith a reptlal Incremental cost of less than


13/37

7hieh utilfz

a repoFtsd coet of # lVft2nb ightad forulatlre hea$0.

A 2'JQO 122unlch utlllcollectionfiX'8t WintCO8A8ii h~tl~ Punning 1888 toath.A 1955 if2 home kn Loahlch utlllaee a %oeoler gain for hheated through itial lmrameatal comounting to only 1ntirs houee.Hotq: Of zecerraity9 moat of the &ouaeet estedl and described r0 me 8ereralyeara old. Hot all t prinCip1s8 uf pa*alve solar heating fh dF% UlhdM'8tGoOd IIWere Wsmporatsd %n each of them build-lngd. Batter perforomce can be expectsdin IFuture for laser addltioaal axpmm~. .


14/37

CUWdlPgtotal heat needeand the soler en

CURTAIN


15/37

d


16/37

of available radiation.WATER All

MOVE ABLEINSlJl.A~I~N

8 Wall or Thermal Ma138--r .- a f ..-.- -m=.-. .-.-a-- C - Ih-w the muth side of the house le madeof a aella walls palnted black on the outaide and covered aith double glazing.There are two waya that the heat entersthe building. @+Iratly the thermal maa~ ofthe wall aI2 rb8 the m&8 heat all dayQnd radiatethe bt ta the interim at nightdelw of the heat wave travelllngthrough the wall and reaching the Inneraurfaa &qmIads on the thickness of the


17/37


18/37

,

added insulation jlb lde@eother rellrr.&lap Qmmnhoues-=a--

gresnhouee 18 built on to the clouthall of a house al through convectionlta oxceea~ heat Into the houea du-ing the day, while heat atorad in theae~ wa13, which can be a @elf-lseulatingratax@ well or a matw mall, radlaterP tothe interior ae well. WI h the self-iaeulatlng watap wall, one can determine Ithe amount of stewed heat that radiatesto the interlap OF beck to the greenhouseat night.mi 8 eyetam provide8 an added eunny epp~ceto live In and cm provide a place torain8 vegetable8 and flowsrsr aa well98un angle8 have to be conaldered to gee-vant over heating of the gFeenhOu88 In8UmmbF l Large vente am helpful.


19/37

,


20/37

P 14Roof Pond8L-r - me.--In zoofpand eyatem, the thermal maea Inth(B form of bagrs of water, 18 located abovethle ceiling and has accee8 above ta solsrrasdiation and the night &y. Nkweeble,lnsu~ation id ~equlreb to make the 8yetemopera timal. The qyRtem 18 very good forcooling, sfnce It face8 the night sky, butdcme nat iuwe an Ideal angle fop collectionof heat. This drawback can be molded withref lee tare.Srslf Insulating Water Wall-. s P*. .--e-iA eelf ineulating water wall, invented andloped by the author, may ha

8 when ueed in ConjunCtiondim5ct gain eyatem in come aftuml8 eystem cm be ueed for heating abwell 88 cooling and ha8 the advantage ofbuflt-in lneulatlon. The 8y8tWI dep49nd8 onwater-filled tanke that have a sheet ai In-su3pIfAcm inaide close to the math face of

g mode: Wattw t t IR heated throughrfaca of the ta convects over theineu3atlon to a large storage compartmentand ia Peplaced by colder water enteringbelow the lneuI.ation from the atopage corn-partment. Wme m3verae convectloon laprevented by a valve at night, the insu-latfan can prevent heet lose from the maIn(heat etomge) compartment.&mllng Mode: me valve can be manuallyrevered, 80 that convection can not take


21/37

\ #-0 - - I :*0 DAY$5 -THCRMAC PONO 7 $$t\b CAINI \ ( JCNRLCT HEAT MQVEABCt;

METAL CEILING

CONCRk Vii 8C

MOVEABLElN iULAllON -ml-- - - I I


22/37

WINTER .NIGHTEATING

-- OPEN.

fLAS --=--m

I 1 rNSlOEeb=G

OUT SIOE8UILOlNG4 --

DAY\

\

\

\

\

NIGHT01L I VALVE

r OPENOIL I VALVE

CLOSE0

-%+NlCHt slcvoCOOL MEAT SlNH

HEAT w-


23/37

place during the day but la allowedduring the night+ Then the wamer raterconvect e Prom the main compartment overthe Insulation, radiates the heat to thenight environment and return8 cooledbelow $he inmlation to the main compart-ment. The cooled water then acts aa aheat sink for the building during theby-The convection In either selected mode18 pa8e3lv6, and the day-nlgbt valvingaction le ale0 paselva. Theee modulesaae beat used in con$mctlon with dlmctBahn andhp a -Par greenhouse. Thea&m~blng efflcUmcy is between 55 an& 65a$ ava liable radlat Ion, anC cg littleheat Is loet at night.If uaad lth direct gain, then the eauthside ot the house le made up of ealf-lnaulatlng water wall modulea and rln-dowe- me Inner surface of the modulearadIatea heat to the Interior and therate of radiation can be controlled bJIa curtain. The 8ane czaneldewatlons ofoverhang, ad mentioned above apply tothl0 eysten. fkls e$ataa 16 eultablsfor ratroilttln&$ eXi8tiAg howmaeThe phenomenal advantage of them m~r8-tern8 Is only now becoming apparent,partly bscrrursle the InfePactloa of heatand material8 wa8 IhOt eelf-avirequired consldarabla m88aFch, a&partly became the 8yetame have not


24/37

18been widely publiciaed sines there ia noare to aell and nobody has a metedintareat in th fr promatlon. *

su Y OF )"ASSIVE SOLAR PRINCIPLESOrientation: The Ideal lft a location that---.--.- *- s I.. -..et a no shdding dx+wbng the wArat r monthswhen the mia ie low.Another con8ideFatiOn is protection fromprevailing wind. If the local climate8 prevailing morning or afternooncloudineee the house is orlcnted @lightlymore to the et or to the eaat reapect-

&st and Weat Walle: &ml1 to-----"66a,-&o6d lnsulatlan, thein8ide.South wall:H... c One can calculate the alxe ofcoilector area recrulred for 8 etructursfrom the collector efflcienc r an& the heatload of' the 8tIWCtWe. The 'heat load"-orcm heat 10s~ fs a fbnction of the size 0


25/37

the structure, the Insulatingties and the climate. A Dougcollector eftlclencies can bethe above dlecu8alm of pamivThe pecullerltite of each eyarteIza taken into account and cosuch a8 dimsct gaXn cbr g%3en8elf-lnwalating wataP wall, a%a iWW388e the oveFak]e efflthe above, except the elf-insu'batinater wall, night inaued. External reflector6 Increase tP18imorning redlatlon.

: W311 lnaulatama1 ma88 lnelde.k~of: Overhang to mouth t~iiiihw 8un in, but guts outPreferable Is an adjuhlnged) erlnce for the came eua angle, Qneed8 mom e01m Input iIn the fall. Horizontaljuetable angles can aleo be uhading. They ahauld be nounthe glaee fol? miniEoumon: should be lnaulated on theoiiteide iiiout 100 cma vertically belowground level) snd have a vapor barrierbetween It@ md the ma88 wall above It.Insul%tlon md &r-p~oofing: Double alr---i0ck t3ntiiGnce ) prefkxbly away from pre-valent wind, but not on south side.


26/37

The most cost-affaotivecatad above, uaee 0x8south (dlfiuaingthidmaes of 10 - 1518 sufficlsnt althou

8 t abearbing L ktrrlning arrd relaaslheat ae well. PaFtltlaa wallseffective at twice the thicknerrrrad srbove (20 - 30 cm) aince they abeorband relsaee heat mm both aIdem*


27/37


28/37

fe there eufficiant thermalxieting house iacement or others denseand ii not inmalated inside, it pro-has eufficient heat stocage capa-kf ineulstiqa ie attached outelde.e hmme le ade redo imntly oflnmlating aateriale P\mmd, chfhxrblsrckoc insulated stud rails) then tuet be intraduced to theheat fs to be &wed for night-tire use,

on the outaide- 601 that ace glazedlant lovan add-on gffactiva


29/37

23When sunlight strikes a white surface (saywhitewa8h) 90 :/3or more of the radiation _is reflected back a8 dlffuae radiation(white roof iA hot climate).When sunlight strike8 a mirror or specu-lar surface the radiation is reflected atthe same angle a8 the angle of incidence.

0any solar device.When sunlight strike8 a black 8urface, thehigher frequency radiation (light) le con-verted to lower-frequency radiation (heat).An extremely black surface can absorb 85 -90 % of the 8un'rr radiation@ but ueuelPyat Jeaat 20 % of this Oe mlradiatad a~heat.Collector efficiencies of 50 % of avail--.I .- .qlable aunlight me avzage to good. 70 %efficiency Pe exceptionally good.Heat ie t&memittad In 3 distinct uaye.wrstanding of these 18 valuable forall 8QbU' applications:1. Radiation ie a wave-like transmieelonof h&r%arie independent of air andgravity. & it travel8 domward juet a8~$11 as upward and a long dietance a@ well88 a short one, although the &tepsitx iegreatly reduced tha further it Wavele,because it spreads out. bdiant heat


30/37

24virtually doe8 not heat up the air ittravels through+2. %nUuctioa occucs between two sub-etazk


31/37

Fact that the warmer garte of the fluid orgas are lighter and tend to rice while thecooler part8 are heavier and tend to sink,thus eetting flowing currente In motion.'L'hla 18 important in transmitting heat,ror inatance rrom a greenhouse to an ad-Joining house. 'L'o yrevent convection,%OI@nstance between tW0 layer8 Of ghmft,they are kept clam together (2 - 4 cm).To promote convection in an air system,the greater the temperature differentialand the higher, the eyetern the better ther1i3w.

.'Xo try to heat mm8 wall8 of a build-ing by firet heating the sip, and then thewrall~ by conduction, I8 ten time laceaffective then heating the wall0 directlywith radiant heat-Inmlation: Vacuum is a perfect ineulstorfor conivectlon and conduction. ~adlatlonhowever passes through.The characteristic of all conventionalbuilding insulation a8 we11 a8 warmclothes, bedding, etc. ie that themeterial contain8 tiny spaces of air thatcamot convect the heat away* --


32/37

dead air epace bet 0 layera ofglapf~ i8 many times better a8 an lmula-tar than one layer of glass, and two deadair apacee with a aheat of alu inum foi?lsandwiched bet een iRner and outer masonrylayera create8 t o air spacea and a radia-t Ion barrier.Volume %nelderatianle: Since the mpfmx ofv-w ---mea building lo~ree heat Prom the interior,one tries to reduce the ratio OF surfaceto interior volume as much 88 poeaible.In geometry a sphere harr the amalkst mm-face area for a given volumeI, Archi-tecturally a dome closely approximates aephere + The further one deviate8 fromCOInpaCtne88, ards a atar shapedflaar plan, the greater the surface areato vc&rlume. Another conhleratlon 01 size:the larger the house the smaller the cur-face to. volume ratio. One way of conei-dsring it i8 to take mang amall homesand put them together ta make one largeone. Ql former ext nal wall8 that havebecome internal 11s (roo diviilara)d not be heated.Weather etripjAng and Vapaur barriers: It- . ---a18 lmpdrtant to seal- Zf? ai iXki% G abuilding. A convective chimney effecttaakee place in 8 warm hoUSe in a coldenvironment. %ld air chmacterietical-ly mtera In the lower half of" a bulld-ing and hot air escapes in the upper half.


33/37

all ,r1 lQq: mcl doors. W3ergl83 RR 18tXlCp~6tt%l 4wli two mate ma.11~f die-9lmllw ec~dYloienta of expansrim meet inconHt Im\xtl ion (brfckB against ~11008.). Avq~-)ur barlrier is mqgeatkd In walla, mdahouM be interior to the imulatlon. IfIt. were placed oxterj or to the Ins~lFJtsi~n,maistur,e from the rocm would condenee whenthe dewpoint wa8 reached 9 ~onre dlatance in-to the inRu1ation. Thip would rad,uce theineultrtion efficiency and could CRUB~moisture damage. A good mettbad of sealinginterior mass wall0 ie with a layer ofpleeter # cmcreto or mud.

In p:enaral it can be mid that even thoughthem principles appear to be self-evidentonce they Rre known, it hers taken thislong to underetand them h~~causa of theirh >Ilietic natum. The paaBive systems aretll~ctlly coupled to the Bun and the threefrlnctiona of collection, mtorep and die-tributlon of heat me CW-e%dllly integratedink) the mchltectuml whole. .~erlul~~d la an understanding of the cha-racterbi&ics of the mRterlale uaed and thephyelcs of sunlight and heat trRnefer. Thenew systems fire termed p8asive becausethey are effortleR0: the , take Rdvantsgeof the naturd propensities of heat and


34/37

materiala to achieve the B~KIJwI IIWRI~~~without the need for added conven%fanalenergy,TM0 pager Is a short IntrodwMon topamive ayetem design+ The rruthar offershis aervlcee aa ealar conmaltant for Bmom thamugh consideration of particularquaetione ox? deaii

.28

1. F.C.rResaling, l mmia, act u&g1 the PeCfoFmince of FVhbaiv w Heat-ed Bulldlnge I &ntcs for ronment alResearch, &ho01 of cmtactura, uni-

WH8ity of Oregon, gene, CM. Q74033197T.2. I.Dauglaa Balcomb, James C. Redstrom,Robert D.arland, wP~esllvb SolarHeatirq of EWlding8, Lo8 hmmBoiantllPla feboratorlas of the Unlvsr-

8ity Of &lifCWnia, Lo8 AJ.alBo8, h3WYaxico.. .Submitted to: Hlarkahap on Solar Appll-catiane, Associated UniveFsftles Inc.,June - July L977*T. R3isher and KF.YandR, '8olar~ Green-houses, John MaipI kTef48, Santa Fe,N,Y. 1976.


35/37

294* R.p.Strcmberg and ~~OINmdall,Passive Solar Wllldings: A corn-

I ilation of Data and Bemlt#.alas Technical tiaimm Devieion5711-s %ndia fiaboratorie8, Albequerqua.N. e 87115. 1977 l5. WLHopmas, " If-Inmlstlng W3ter WallW,Taos &Y&W Energy AasociatUm, P.O.bx

23311, Taoa, HI l a9 %4, 1977.6. J.D. Bale p James c. &? datram, "ASimplif ie ethod POF Calculating

Required 8~ Callactor Array Sixe, forSpace Heating, 08 Aaamoe ~ientlficLrobara to of Cali-fornia p CO.bmitted to: hwin~ the f&m %larGergy Conferhg;u8t, lg76. innip p Canada.

7* N,Skurja a I?@"Design for aLimited Pla Ballantine Wake:,Ne York.e Bruce Andecson, "Solala in BuildinHill Book co.

9, R.Anderfton, Michael Rlordan, "TheSo1Rr Home Book, Heating, Coolingmd Designing with the sun", Chaahlrebok8, ?hFI?i8Vi1h3, Bh?i RampahiraaDistzibuted by RP Distributore,.Q.bx 1785, Rot ville, MD 20850, U3L9Jm.


36/37

WINDOW -

GLASS - WANW AIRCOOL ROOM AIR

P9- IN SlJLAt ION I*

a variationEXISTING WIN0OW-b I

c. . B WAUMEO AIRGLASS OR PLASTIC COOL ROOM AIR

BLACK COLLECTOR PLATE -.e-

c


37/37

Swiss Hssoei ticlrl for Technj mlAssistsnceJawalakhelP,b. box 113Kathmandu / hepal

B Y 52Llalaju Yantra ShalatJlumbing ilivisiondalaju Industrial DistrictP.U. lmx 2ti9thmendu / 1HtCAsT

k Lenter fas Appl.kedScience and TechnelegyTribhuvan ilniversityKirtiyurKathmandu / heyal

Basic Principles of Passive Solar Design

Documents