Masonry Magazine January 1980 Page.15
BIA Technical Notes
on Brick Construction
Brick Institute of America 1750 Old Meadow Road, McLean, Virginia 22102
43
Mar/Apr
1979
PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING WITH BRICK MASONRY
PART I-INTRODUCTION
Thermal Storage Wall Under Construction
FIG. 1
Interior of Combined Thermal Storage Wall
and Direct Gain Systems
FIG. 2
INTRODUCTION
Energy conservation and fuel consumption have become of major concern in recent years. Much of the nation's fuel is consumed in the heating of buildings. The use of solar heating systems will reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy sources. Solar energy is an available renewable energy source. Most buildings can easily be designed to benefit from solar heating.
Two types of solar energy systems may be used to heat buildings, active and passive. Active solar heating systems are those which require mechanical equipment for operation. Pumps and other mechanical devices are required to circulate liquids or gases through solar collectors, to storage media, and then to transfer the collected heat to the occupied spaces of the buildings.
Passive solar heating systems do not require the use of mechanical equipment. The heat flow in passive solar heating systems is by natural means; radiation, convection and conductance. The thermal storage is in the structure itself. Although passive solar heating systems do not require mechanical equipment for operation, this does not mean that fans or blowers may not, or should not, be used to assist the natural flow of thermal energy. The passive systems, assisted by mechanical devices, are referred to as "hybrid solar" heating systems.
Passive solar systems utilize basic concepts incorporated into the architectural design of the building. They usually consist of: buildings with rectangular floor plans, elongated on an east-west axis; the south-facing wall is glazed; there is a thermal storage media exposed to the solar radiation which penetrates the south glazing; the overhangs project sufficiently to shade the south glazing from the summer sun, or other shading devices may be used; and there are few windows on the east and west walls, and preferably none on the north walls. Passive solar systems do not have a high initial cost or long-term pay-back period common with many active solar heating systems.
This Technical Notes introduces the general features and requirements for the development and application of passive solar heating systems. Due to the variations in building type and environment which must be considered, sometimes it is not feasible for passive solar systems to be the sole source of heat in some climatological areas. Technical Notes 43A provides the methodologies for selecting and sizing a system, estimating the percentage of heating that can be supplied by the passive solar heating system, and the requirements for auxiliary heating.