Unglazed solar wall air heaters

Abstract

The new unglazed wall mounted solar air heating panels have become the preferred method of heating air using solar energy in cold climates. Since 1989 numerous systems have been installed on a wide range of applications and in several countries. Monitoring work under IEA Task 14 on a few of the solar wall heating systems has revealed interesting results and that the unglazed panels outperform the traditional glazed solar panels and at lower capital costs. The panels which have the trade name SOLARWALL® are built from conventional building cladding material, look like a typical metal wall and can be any dark colour. This paper will summarize some of the work to date, examples of applications, monitoring results, new developments and provide insight as to why this technology has the potential to revolutionize building construction in the future. © 1994.