A passive solar system for thermal comfort conditioning of buildings in composite climates

Passive solar heating is a well established concept in cold climates, but p assive systems which provide healing, cooling and ventilation depending on the season are less common. Some of the known systems in this category are: Sky-Therm, earth-air tunnel, the Silvestrini Bell, and the Barra-Costantin i System. which are applicable in composite climates. Large areas of Centra l and Northern India have a composite climate, which includes hut-dry, hot- humid and cold climatic conditions. The present paper describes the develop ment of a solar passive system, which can provide thermal comfort throughou t the year in composite climates. In the first phase, passive model 1 compr ising two sets of solar chimneys was developed and monitored fur its perfor mance for 1 complete calendar year. Based on the feedback and experience, a n improved version of model 2 was developed. In model 2 both the trombe wal l and sack cloth cooling concepts were incorporated. in order to make it mo re effective and also to give it a more compact and aesthetic appearance De tailed system descriptions along with year-round performance data are given in this paper. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.