Design and control tradeoffs for rockbins in passively solar heated houses with trombe walls, direct gain and high solar fractions

Abstract

Performances of active and passive rockbins are compared in Albuquerque, NM, Santa Maria, CA, and Madison, WI. The basic house is assumed to contain both Trombe wall and direct gain. The Trombe wall and direct gain are assumed to be optimally sized and controlled for each weather zone. It is demonstrated that, provided charging is done from the trombe wall, rockbins can be used to advantage in reducing the early morning auxiliary energy consumption peak common to passive houses with night setback thermostats. The paper also analyzes performance sensitivity to rockbin configuration (active, radiant slab top down charge, radiant slab bottom up charge), and to control strategies for charging and discharging. Effects of fan energy are included.