The use of a heavy internal wall with a ventilated air gap to store solar energy and improve summer comfort in timber frame houses

Abstract

This paper considers supplementary heating and cooling within timber frame houses. The transmission of solar energy to an internal concrete cavity wall by air is analyzed. The objective of this work was initially to study the dynamic insulation in timber frame houses. The initial studies showed that it is more efficient to recover solar energy rather than heat losses, which is the principle of dynamic insulation. Clearly, the thermal regulations lead to lower heat losses through walls by conduction. Due to these factors we have decided to study a wall with an integrated solar air collector and a heavy ventilated internal wall. This internal wall, which is used to store solar energy will allow the reduction of heat demand in winter and will improve thermal comfort in summer because thermal mass increases and ventilation during the night will cool the internal wall. We have selected a closed loop air circulation system because, with an air to air heat exchanger, it can be proved to be more effective and the risk of unhealthy air pollution is reduced because the flow of fresh air will not pass through the ventilated air gap. We are constructing an integrated air collector prototype.