7.

7 DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR DIRECT-GAIN SYSTEMS

Area of South Glazing Use Table 7.7a as a guideline for initial sizing of south-facing
glazing. The table is based on the seventeen climate regions described in Chapter 5.
The last column shows how much more effective passive heating systems are when
night insulation is used over the windows. Very high R-value windows are usually not
a good option for south windows because the solar transmission decreases as the
thermal resistance increases. The best solution for south windows is to maximize
the solar transmission and use night insulation to reduce the heat loss. The night
insulation can also be used in the summer during the day to keep the sun and heat
out.
Notes on Table 7.7a 1. The table presents optimum southglazing areas.
Figure 7.6g The Urban Villa has a large south-facing facade that is 40 percent glass.
It minimizes heat loss by using superinsulation, many shared walls, and a compact
design. Summer comfort is achieved through ventilation and shading. Even though
the building is located at 52 N latitude, the balconies are not sufficient to shade the
summer sun, and therefore, exterior roll-down shades are also used at the outer
edge of the balconies. (Photograph from CADDET Technical Brochure No. 64)
Table 7.7a Rules for Estimating Optimum Areas of South-Facing Glazing for DirectGain and Trombe Walls Heating Load Contributed by Solar (%) Climate Region (see
Chapter 5) Reference City South-Glazing Area as a Percentage of Floor Area* No
Night Insulation With Night Insulation
1 Hartford, CT 35 19 64 2 Madison, WI 40 17 74 3 Indianapolis, IN 28 21 60 4 Salt
Lake City, UT 26 39 72 5 Ely, NE 23 41 77 6 Medford, OR 24 32 60 7 Fresno, CA 17
46 65 8 Charleston, SC 14 41 59 9 Little Rock, AK 19 38 62 10 Knoxville, TN 18 33
56 11 Phoenix, AZ 12 60 75 12 Midland, TX 18 52 72 13 Fort Worth, TX 17 44 64 14
New Orleans, LA 11 46 61 15 Houston, TX 11 43 59 16 Miami, FL 2 48 54 17 Los
Angeles, CA 9 58 72 *Use the floor area of those parts of the building that will
receive benefits from solar heating either by direct radiation or by convection from
the solar-heated parts of the building.
174 Passive solar
Table 7.7b Rules for Estimating Required Thermal Mass in Direct-Gain Systems
Thermal Mass Thickness inches (cm)
Surface Area to Glazing Area Ratio
Masonry or concrete exposed to direct solar radiation (Fig. 7.7b top)
46 (1015) 3
Masonry or concrete exposed to reflected solar radiation (Fig. 7.7b bottom)
24 (510) 6
Water exposed to direct solar radiation

612 (1530) About 1/2

Phase change material exposed to direct solar radiation 14 (2.410) 1
Figure 7.7a Thermal mass can also consist of vertical tubes filled with water. The
tubes can be opaque, translucent, or transparent. (Courtesy of and Solar
Components Corporation.)
2. Smaller south-glazing areas than those shown in the table will still supply a
significant amount of heat. 3. Larger glazing areas will collect more solar energy. 4.
Adequate thermal mass must be supplied (see Table 7.7b). 5. Windows should be
doubleglazed without low-e. 6. The building must be well insulated. 7. Unless large
amounts of light are desired for daylighting, sunbathing, etc., direct-gain glazing
areas should not exceed about 20 percent of the floor area. In those cases where
more than 20 percent glazing is recommended, use either Trombe walls or
sunspaces to supply the additional glazing area.
Thermal-Mass Sizing Use Table 7.7b as a guideline for sizing thermal mass for directgain systems. Keep in mind that slabs and walls of concrete, brick, or rock should be
about 46 in. (1015 cm) thick. Because of time lag, most heat in a solid is stored
near the surface that is exposed to the sun. Since heat does not travel beyond
about 6 inches (15 cm) before the sun sets, only the first 6 inches (15 cm) are
useful for heat storage. In water, however, heat is transferred quickly by convection
currents. Thus, water containers can be more than 12 inches
(30 cm) deep (Fig. 7.7a). Materials that are exposed to neither direct nor reflected
sunshine store relatively little heat.
Notes on Table 7.7b 1. A combination of mass directly and indirectly exposed to the
sun is quite common. 2. The table specifies minimum mass areas. Additional mass
will increase thermal comfort by reducing temperature extremes.
3. Mass surface area is more important than mass thickness. 4. Keep mass as close
as possible to the floor for structural as well as thermal reasons. 5. The thermal
mass should be medium to dark in color, while surfaces of nonmassive materials
should be very light in color to reflect the solar radiation to the darker mass
materials (Fig. 7.7b). 6. For more information on thermal mass, see Section 7.17.

7.8 EXAMPLE
Design a direct-gain system for a 1000 ft2 (90 m2) building in Little Rock, Arkansas,
as shown in Figure 7.8. Procedure: 1. Table 7.7a tells us that if the area of southfacing glazing is 19 percent of the floor area, then we can expect solar energy to
supply about 62 percent of the winter heating load if night insulation is used. Use
this recommendation unless there are special reasons to use larger or smaller
glazing areas. 2. Thus, the area of south-facing glazing should be about 19 percent
1000 ft2 = 190 ft2 (19 percent 90 m2 = 17.1 m2). 3. Table 7.7b tells us that we
will need 3 ft2 (3 m2) of mass for each square foot (m2) of glazing if the mass is
directly exposed to the sun. Thus, 190 ft2 3 = 570 ft2 (17.1 m2 3 = 51.3 m2) is

required. If we use a concrete slab, then we have a slab area of 1000 ft2 (90 m2), of
which only 570 ft2 (51.3 m2) is required for storing heat. The remaining 430 ft2
(38.7 m2) will help to reduce the indoor daily temperature swing or it can be
covered by carpet if desired.
7.9 TROMBE WALL SYSTEMS
The Trombe (a.k.a. indirect gain) wall was named after Professor Felix Trombe, who
developed this technique in France in 1966. In this passive system, the thermal
mass consists of a wall just inside the south-facing glazing (Fig. 7.9a). As before, the
greenhouse effect traps the solar radiation. Because the surface of the wall facing
the sun is either covered with a selective coating (see Section 3.11) or painted a
dark color, it gets quite hot during the day, causing heat to flow into the wall. Since
the Trombe wall is quite thickoften about 12 in. (30 cm)and the time lag is quite
long, the heat does not reach the
176 Passive solar
interior surface until evening. This time-lag effect of mass was explained in Section
3.18. If there is enough mass, the wall can act as a radiant heater all night long (Fig.
7.9b). When only the suns heat and not its light are desired, the Trombe wall is the
system of choice. Because this is a rare occurrence, the Trombe wall is ordinarily
used in combination with direct gain. The direct-gain part of the system delivers
heat early in the day, functional light, views, and the delight of winter sunshine,
while the Trombe wall stores heat for nighttime use. The combination of systems
prevents the need for excessive light levels, which can cause glare and fading of
colors. When one carefully chooses the right combination of systems, great thermal
and visual comfort is possible. Although the Trombe wall is usually made of solid
materials, such as concrete, brick, stone, or adobe, it can also be made of
containers of water. Rectangular steel tanks can be fabricated, but most water walls
consist of vertical tubes. If steel tubes or tanks are used, they should be painted a
dark color on the glazing side and any color on the room side. Corrosion of the steel
tanks can be prevented by adding either rust control additives or sacrificial metal to
the water. As mentioned before, a mix of Trombe walls and direct gain usually yields
the best design solution. Although many Trombe walls are full height with punched
windows, some are built as a parapet wall (Fig. 7.9c and 7.9d). An arrangement, as
shown in Figure 7.16b, can increase morning pickup, prevent afternoon overheating,
and provide storage for the night. The Visitor Center at Zion National Park, Utah,
uses many passive strategies. South-facing windows provide both daylight and
winter heating. The wall below the windows is a Trombe wall characterized by the
use of textured glazing (Fig. 7.9e). The windows and Trombe walls are shaded in the
summer, and cool towers supply cool air, as described in Section 10.13.