How Does a Trombe Wall or Sunspace Work?

The glazing traps solar radiation like a small greenhouse. An attached sunspace is essentially a Trombe wall where the air space is so big it is habitable. A successful Trombe wall or attached sunspace optimizes heat gain and minimizes heat loss during cold times, and avoids excess heat gain in hot times.

How does Trombe wall work in winter?

Trombe walls often serve load-bearing functions alongside their passive heating roles. To maximize solar gain, the glazed side of the wall typically faces toward the Equator, which allows the wall to collect more sun during the day and during the winter.

How much does a Trombe wall cost?

If desired, a 24-inch thick wall can be constructed for about double the cost, $1470. Construction includes support systems, vents, and concrete. To finish the Trombe wall a glazing window must be added at an approximate cost of $912. Ultimately, the average completed 12-inch Trombe wall will cost $1,650.

What are Trombe walls used for?

A Trombe wall, also known as a solar wall, is a masonry wall with high thermal mass used to passively store solar energy in a home. The sun-facing wall is separated from the outdoors by glazing and an air space, and absorbs solar energy and slowly releases it toward the building’s interior at night.

Why is it important to close the Trombe wall vents at night?

At night the vents are closed off to prevent the convection system from reversing itself and cooling the house. But the heat stored in the stone, brick, mud wall, etc. (and this is the principal reason for the Trombe wall’s success), radiates steadily into the house after the sun has gone down.

What are the four elements of passive solar design?

The key aspects of passive solar design are: thermal mass, insulation, angle and direction of the sun (orientation), windows (placement and operable), overhangs and shading, ventilation and circulation, surface colors, and geographical location (see Figure 1).

Where does one find a Trombe wall?

A Trombe wall is always located on the southern face of buildings in the northern hemisphere to increase solar energy throughout the year. It consists of a wall of concrete or bricks for heat storage, and the wall is coated with black paint to increase the absorption of solar radiation.

How does a Trombe wall hold in heat?

A pane of glass or plastic glazing, installed a few inches in front of the wall, helps hold in the heat. The Trombe wall heats up slowly during the day. Then as the wall cools gradually during the night, it gives off its heat inside the building.

When is the best time to build a Trombe wall?

For a Trombe wall to work properly, it must be built to maximize the total heat gain from the Sun while minimizing any losses that occur during cold times. As well, they shouldn’t gain heat in hot periods. In the daytime, Trombe walls facing the Sun have sunlight incident upon them.

Who is the inventor of the Trombe wall?

Variations of this system then proliferated around the world, but it was not until 1967 that the first Trombe wall was implemented by architect Jacques Michel in Odeillo, France. Named after engineer Felix Trombe, the system combines glass and a dark, heat-absorbing material to conduct heat slowly into the house.

What kind of glass is used in Trombe walls?

There are two types of glass that are commonly used for the glass panels: Insulated glass (double glazing) – More heat is trapped in the space between the wall and the glass.