How it Works

Solar walls work best on well insulated buildings. The passive solar wall uses natural convection of air to transfer heat from the collector to the building. When sunlight strikes the collector, the dark metal absorber is heated. The absorber transfers this heat to the air in the cavity between the absorber and the glazing material.

The warm air rises and flows into the building through the 200 mm (6”) continuous opening near the ceiling. Cool air from the building is drawn into the collector through the opening near the floor to replace the solar heated air which has been expelled from the top opening.

The passive solar wall is self-regulating. When the sun is lowest in the sky, in the winter, maximum solar energy is collected. In the spring and fall, less heat is produced. Little, if any heat is collected in the summer, as the sun is high in the sky. This system starts and stops itself, depending only on the availability and intensity of sunlight.