Thermal Storage in the Walls of a Solar House

Abstract

Residential winter thermal energy storage features water encapsulated into 3-in. (7.6-cm) diameter plastic pipes, mounted into conventional stud wall cavities of a house. With an air solar collector, solar-heated air can be passed through the stud cavities, heating the water. During the discharge mode, this water loses its heat directly to the house, and the radiating walls allow the residents to feel warm even at lower interior air temperatures. Empirical and theoretical component performance data are reported for the waterfall thermal energy storage unit. The interaction between a large air-heating solar collector and the waterfall thermal energy storage is considered for the winter heating mode. The collector-storage thermal integration analysis is detailed for a charging flow rate of 40 cfm per cavity. A simpler but reasonably accurate integration analysis is illustrated for 10 cfm cavity flow rate. Performance parameters indicate that the waterfall thermal energy storage approach is very compatible with a solar air heater.