The Trombe wall is a passive solar technique, one built into a home’s design without the ongoing need for mechanical devices. No moving parts means no maintenance requirements. In addition, a room heated with natural, solar heat is more comfortable than one heated with the forced air of furnaces. Trombe walls can easily be constructed by a qualified, solar installer, and the materials required are relatively inexpensive. In addition to having a warm home through an environmentally friendly alternative, homeowners can enjoy reduced heating bills made possible by a Trombe wall.
Trombe walls consist of an air space, an insulated glaze, vents, and a material such as stone, metal, concrete, adobe, or even a water tank. Each of these have thermal mass, or the capacity to store heat.
Trombe walls typically consist of 8- to 16-inch masonry walls. A small air space separates the masonry from the insulated glass that lets solar heat in while preventing it from escaping. The Trombe wall faces the sun, which typically begins to heat the wall in the late morning. By evening, the heat would have traveled through the wall and reached the interior of the home through the vents.
Air moves from the air space between the thermal mass and glazing via convection. Trombe walls are favorable because they distribute slow, even heat for many hours after sunset. Vents are convenient in the sense that they can be closed easily during the summer, when additional heating isn’t wanted.
Trombe walls are also accessible to aesthetic variations: they can include windows for natural lighting or moveable shades to reduce nighttime heat loss. You can even use a fish tank as your thermal mass surface.
If you’re ready for your own Trombe wall, you will make a wise investment. Especially if you select a certified, solar installer to ensure the work is done properly.
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Passive Thermal Heating Water Wall / Passive Thermal Heating Roof Pond / Passive Thermal Heating Trombe Wall