A trombe wall is a solar heating system made of a thick heat-absorbing material that collects heat during the day and releases it at night. It was patented in 1881 and named after Felix Trombe. The wall absorbs heat from the sun, and some systems include vents to conduct heat into the home. They have less heat loss at night but are less efficient than other passive solar heating techniques.
A trombe wall is a type of solar heating system. The walls are made of a thick heat-absorbing material so they can collect heat during the day and slowly release it back into the house at night. A trombe wall is a type of indirect gain solar system, which captures solar heat in an area adjacent to living spaces.
The concept of capturing heat in a wall to keep a dwelling warm at night dates back many years, and horn walls are just one technique for doing so. Trombe walls were patented in 1881 by Edward Norse although they did not become popular until the 1960s. The trumpet wall is named after Felix Trombe, who helped popularize the design by building trumpet wall houses in the French Pyrenees.
A thick masonry wall is the primary component of this type of solar heating system: Common masonry materials used include brick, stone, concrete, and adobe. The walls are usually between 4 to 16 inches (about 10.16 to 40.64 centimeters) thick and face south to more effectively capture the sun’s heat. Dark enamel is used to coat the surface of the wall so that it absorbs heat. A piece of glass, which can be one or two layers, is mounted close to the wall surface. High transmission glass typically works better at conducting heat to the wall.
The trombe wall works by absorbing heat from the sun during the day. Since the wall is very thick, it takes time for the heat to travel through the wall and the heat is stored throughout the thickness of the wall. If a wall is optimally designed, heat will reach the interior of the wall at dusk and slowly release heat throughout the night. The large wall surface helps to heat the room evenly.
Some trombe wall systems include vents at the top and bottom of the wall. These vents conduct heat into your home during the day. A wall requires 10 to 12 square inches (approximately 64.5 – 77.4 square centimeters) of ventilation space per linear foot (approximately 30.5 linear cm) of wall.
Compared to other forms of passive solar heating, vent walls have less heat loss during the night. They are also very simple to build and maintain. On the other hand, they collect heat less efficiently than other techniques, lose stored heat, and can even lose heat during consecutive cloudy days.
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