dear all,
in middle of *slowly* plodding (er, I mean, planning) a custom home. Hoping to achieve high insulating standards (R30 on walls and R40s in ceiling), but also came across this concept of trombe walls.
Does anyone have any insight as to how to build them? Much of the stuff I’ve read points out 2 things: 1) bigger trombe walls aren’t always better and 2) at night (or winter), trombe walls really need some sort of insulating screen/ shutter system to ensure the radiating heat doesn’t go right out the window, but back into the living space.
Replies
Start research here: http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=41796.44
Dave Crosby wrote some good stuff on it recently.
Ive personally seen two diffrent trombe walls ripped out after several years because they got tired of a huge masonary wall blocking views and direct sunlight.
built lots of solar homes in the '70's.. trombe walls are just another passive storage device..
so is everything else in your house... drywall.. plaster.. floors.. furniture. teh real secret is superinsulating your house so the entire living space stores the heat you are generating..
trombe walls are a big waste3 of sunlight... living space.. and design flexibility.. in short.. they're passe'..
design your house for living.. and then super insulate it
but hey, whadda i no ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
It also turns out that direct gain is generally more efficient than a Trombe wall configuration. Collects more heat, and stores more heat if you have a slab.
Somewhat related, I am building a house with hydronic heating, tile covered concrete floors, and lots of south and west facing windows. The climate is moderate but cool here on the north coast of California. Air conditioners are virtually unknown. However, we do get a few days a year that approach 80° and can make a tight and well insulated house uncomfortable. I am hoping that the large thermal mass will get me by, but as a backup plan I am setting up the hydronic loops so they can circulate from the south and west window areas to the back of the house. Calculations show it on the edge of comfort on the warmest and sunniest days.
Edited 6/12/2004 9:43 am ET by CJD
Sounds like a good plan, similar to my (as yet unfinished) house. Don't make the controls or piping for summer cooling any more complicated than it needs to be... all you have to do is turn on all the pumps, open all zone valves, and of course keep the boiler off.
Back of envelope calculations, or are you modeling the house on a computer?
I had the calcs done by Richard Rue of Energy Wise Structures. He probably has the best computer model of ICF and SIP performance. Here in California you also have to have a Residential Title 24 Energy Compliance Analysis. It is not as in depth and does not provide as much design data as those from Energy-Wise, but was more or less in line.