INTRODUCTION

DIRECT GAIN SYSTEM

INDIRECT GAIN SYSTEM - Trombe wall, Roof Pond
ISOLATED GAIN SYSTEM Sunspace(Solarium)
COMPARISON OF PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEM
SYSTEM COMBINATION
HYBRID SYSTEM
ROOF RADIATION TRAP

PASSIVE

HYBRID

ACTIVE

Energy Collection and

Storage is by NATURAL
means

Energy Collection and

Storage can be by
NATURAL means

Energy Collection and

Storage is by Forced
means

Energy distribution is by
natural means

Energy distribution from

COLLECTOR to STORAGE
to LIVING SPACE is by
mechanical means

Energy distribution is by
forced

The system mostly

works without External
Power

The system uses

External Power

The system works only

with External Power

Daylight is extensively
used

Daylight is extensively
used

Less use of Daylight

Passive heating and

cooling can be inherent
in the building
construction

Passive Heating and

cooling can be inherent
in the building
construction

Heating and cooling

systems and their
controls are not an
integral part of the
building

 Advanced passive heating techniques are used by

architects in building design to achieve thermal comfort

conditions in cold climate.
Passive solar heating systems can be broadly classified as:
DIRECT GAIN SYSTEM
INDIRECT GAIN SYSTEM TROMBE WALL, ROOF POND
ISOLATED GAIN SYSTEM SUNSPACE (SOLARIUM),
Greenhouse
SYSTEM COMBINATIONS
HYBRID SYSTEMS

Most common passive solar solution

SUN----LIVING SPACE ----STORAGE MASS
Actual Living space is directly heated by the sun and serves as a LIVE-IN Collector
In this system, sunlight enters rooms through windows, warming the interior space.
The glazing system is generally located on the southern side to receive maximum sunlight during winter (in the northern
hemisphere).
The glazing system is usually double-glazed, with insulating curtains to reduce heat loss during night. South-facing glass
admits solar energy into the building, where it strikes thermal storage materials such as floors or walls made of adobe, brick,
concrete, stone, or water.
The direct gain system uses 60-75% of the suns energy striking the windows.
The interior thermal mass tempers the intensity of heat during the day by absorbing heat. At night, the thermal mass radiates
heat into the living space, thus warming the spaces.
Direct gain can be achieved by various forms of openings such as clerestories, skylight windows, etc. designed for the
required heating. Direct gain systems have some limitations.
They cause large temperature savings (typically 10 C) because of large variations in input of solar energy. Strong sunlight,
glare, and ultraviolet degradation of the house material are some disadvantages of direct gain systems.
However, being relatively simple to construct and inexpensive, they are by far the most common systems used world wide.

S. No.

REQUIREMENTS

VARIATIONS

A large South facing glazed (Collector) area

to admit the maximum useful radiation

Storage on Exterior
Building walls

Living Space exposed directly behind the

collector

Storage on internal
walls

A Floor/wall storage mass to store solar

heat for longer time heating

Storage on Floor

A method for isolating storage from

exterior Climatic Conditions

Free standing Masses

on Floor

A proper Sunshade to prevent unwanted

heat Gain

A proper Insulation on the glazed collector

area to prevent unwanted Heat Loss

In an indirect gain system, thermal mass is located between the sun and the living space.
The thermal mass absorbs the sunlight that strikes it and transfers it to the living space.
The indirect gain system uses 30-45% of the suns energy striking the glass adjoining the
thermal mass.
Range of storage Materials includes CONCRETE, ADOBE, STONE, BRICK, AND even WATER

TROMBE WALLS
1. A trombe wall is a thermally massive wall with vents provided at the
top and bottom.
2. It may be made of concrete, masonry, adobe, and is usually located
on the southern side (in the northern hemisphere) of a building in
order to maximize solar gains.
3. The outer surface of the wall is usually painted black for maximizing
absorption and the wall is directly placed behind glazing with an air
gap in between.
4. Solar radiation is absorbed by the wall during the day and stored as
sensible heat.
5. The air in the space between the glazing and the wall gets heated up
and enters the living spaces by convection through the vents. Cool
air from the rooms replaces this air, thus setting up a convection
current.

The vents are closed during night, and heat stored in

the wall during the day heats up the living space by
conduction and radiation.
Thickness of the storage wall is between 200 mm and
450 mm, the air gap between the wall and glazing is
50-150mm, and the total area of each row of vent is
about 1% of the storage wall area. The trombe wall
should be adequately shaded for reducing summer
gains.

WATER WALLS
Water walls are based on the same principle as that for
trombe walls, except that they employ water as the thermal
storage material.
A water wall is a thermal storage wall made up of drums of
water stacked up behind glazing. It is usually painted black to
increase heat absorption.
It is more effective in reducing temperature swings, but
the time lag is less.
Heat transfer through water walls is much faster than that
for trombe walls.
Therefore, distribution of heat needs to be controlled if it is
not immediately required for heating the building.
Buildings that work during the daytime, such as schools and
offices, benefit from the rapid heat transfer in the water wall.
Overheating during summer may be prevented by using
suitable shading devices.

A large south-facing Glazed area to admit Maximum

useful radiation
A storage Mass (Masonry, water wall etc) directly
behind the collector
A provision of External movable insulation to reduce
wasteful heat loss during night in winters
A provision of preventing unwanted heating of the
storage mass by shading the glazed area in summer
A provision for suitable vent at the top of glazed area
to provide induced ventilation for summer cooling of
the living space

A thermal Storage Roof

In this roof pond system, water is stored in black
plastic bags on a metal deck roof and during a
winter day the sun heats the water bags
The heat is quickly conducted down and radiated
from the ceiling into the living space
At night, movable insulation covers the water to
keep the heat from being lost to the night sky
Not only heats passively in winter but also passive
cooling in the summer.

DISADVANTAGE
Weight of the water and potential
water leakage
No one has been able to develop a
workable, movable insulation system
for the roof
Due to Cosine law, flat roofs receive
less solar radiation than sloped or
vertical surfaces in the winter. Higher
the latitude the worse this problem

A body of water ROOF POND located in the roof.

A provision to protect the pond by exterior
movable insulation to reduce heat loss in winter
and heat gain in summer
A provision of cover to stop loss of water due to
evaporation
The system finds application when the space is in
Direct thermal contact with the thermal storage.

SOLAR COLLECTION AND STORAGE are

thermally isolated from the LIVING SPACES of
the building
It thus allows COLLECTOR & STORAGE to
function somewhat independently of the
building, while the building can draw from
them as its thermal requirements dictate.

SUNSPACE
A sun space or solarium is the combination of direct and indirect
gain systems.
The solar radiation heats up the sun space directly, which in turn
heats up the living space (separated from the sun space by a mass
wall) by convection and conduction through the mass wall.
In the northern hemisphere, the basic requirements of buildings
heated by sun space are (a) a glazed southfacing collector space
attached yet separated from the building and (b) living space
separated from the sun space by a thermal storage wall.
Sunspaces may be used as winter gardens adjacent to the living
space.

A provision of SUNSPACE to collect solar energy.

This space is isolated from the living space
A provision to thermally link sun-space to storage
mass for heat retention and distribution
The size of the sunspace can be variable in size. It
may extend upto full size of the south exposure
A provision of movable insulation to prevent
unnecessary heat losses on winter nights or cloudy
days
A provision of shade to prevent overheating of
glazed spaces during the summer.

ADVANTAGE

DISADVANTAGE

Promotes the use of large windows.

Least expensive
Most efficient
Effectively used clearstories, daylighting and
heating can be combined ,which makes it
appropriate for schools, small offices etc.
Very flexible and best when total glazing area
is small

Too much light ,which can cause

glare and fading of colours
Thermal-storage floors must not be
covered with carpets
Only few and small paintings can
be hung on thermal mass walls.
Over heating can occur if
precautions not taken.
Fairly large temperature swings
must be tolerated.(10*F)

Gives high level of thermal comfort

Good in conjunction with direct gain to
limit lighting levels
Medium cost
Good for large heating load

More expensive than direct gain

Less glazing available for views
and day lighting
Not good for very cloudy
climate

Avery attractive amenity

Extra living space
Can function as greenhouse

Most expensive
Least efficient

Prof. B. Givoni developed the

Roof Radiation trap System
The glazing on the roof is
tilted to maximize winter
collection at any latitude (Tilt
= latitude + 15o)
After passing through the
glazing, the solar radiation is
absorbed by the black painted
concrete ceiling slab.
The building is heated by radiation from the ceiling.
The sloped roof is well insulated and a movable shutter
can reduce heat loss through the glass at night.
This system can also be adapted for summer passive
cooling

The greenhouse acts as a solar collector, building up the sun-heated air.

The air circulates by natural convection to an insulated earth bed, where
it is stored and can be retrieved when needed
Architect Lee Porter Butler designed this house in Tennessee for interior
climate control by natural means through cold and hot seasons
Vents and dampers direct solar heated air into the rooms to warm them
or force summer heat out through the top of the house to cool it

The angle of the balcony is

calculated so that the
summer sun misses the
house interiors.
The bed of earth rock, as
well as a water pool beneath
the house, act as reservoirs
to provide heat in winter
and cool air in summer.
In addition, intake vents in
the earth bring air through
the ducts into the house,
routing it thro the house
interiors for summer air
cooling