CLASSIFICATION OF PASSIVE TECHNIQUES

Depending on the nature of the function, the passive design could be either passive heating or
passive cooling system.
CLASSIFICATION OF PASSIVE HEATING TECHNIQUES
Based on the relationship between the sun, storage mass & living space, the passive concepts
can be broadly divided into 3 groups namely
Direct gain system
Indirect gain system
Isolated gain system
Direct Gain System
The direct gain concept is the most common & simplest approach.
In a direct gain system, solar radiation is directly admitted into the living space and then
stored in a thermal storage mass. Thus the living space serves as a live in solar collector.
One important feature of this approach is that it used both direct and diffuse radiation thus
admitted.
Various heating techniques under this system are usage of glazed walls, bay windows etc.
Indirect Gain System
In this system also, the fabric of the building still continues to collect and store solar energy.
But one thing that distinguishes this concept from direct gain is that in this the radiation
does not travel through the living space to reach the storage mass. On the other hand, it is
intercepted directly behind the glazing by the storage mass, which is located between sun
and living space. The energy is then transferred to the living space.
Depending on the location of thermal mass, there are 2 types of Indirect gain systems
Thermal storage walls & Thermal storage roof. The storage mass can be either of masonry
or of water in containers.
Various techniques that fall under this category are
o Trombe wall
o Water wall
o Solar chimney
o Trans wall
o Roof radiation trap
o Roof pond
o Sunspace
Isolated gain systems
In this system the collector and the thermal storage are separated thermally from the living
space and are not integrated with the living space. They can be placed independent of the
building. The heat transfer takes place by convection.
Technique that fall under this category is
o Convective Air Loop

I. DIRECT GAIN HEATING TECHNIQUE

Direct gain is a passive heating technique generally used in cold climates.
It is the most common simple, cheap and effective approach.

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Requirements
The requirements of a direct gain system are
1. Glazed windows
2. Thermal storage mass
3. Movable Insulation panels
Working Principle

The basic principle is that sunlight is admitted

into the living spaces, directly through
openings or glazed windows to heat the
thermal mass (walls & floors) & the heat stored
in the thermal mass is released at night into
the interiors. Thus the actual living space is
directly heated by sun and serves as a live-in
collector.

The glazing system is usually located on the

southern side (in the northern hemisphere) to
receive the maximum sunlight during winter.
This sunlight admitted through south facing
glazing strikes the massive interior surfaces
(concrete floor & masonry wall surfaces which have some time lag)
During the day, a part of this sunlight is absorbed & converted to heat. Some of the heat is
immediately released back into the interior by the process of convection & radiation. The
remaining heat is conducted into the thermal mass. Because of this, the thermal mass
slowly warms up and at night, this stored heat is released back into the interior.
Hence some thermal storage mass is provided in the form of a bare massive walls or floors
which have a time lag and arrests the increase in room temperature.
Movable insulation panels (curtains or shutters) can be provided to reduce the heat loss on
winter nights. Unwanted heat gains in summer may also be avoided by the movable
insulation.
A suitable overhang may be provided for shading from the summer sun to avoid undesired
heating.
The direct gain system uses 60%-75% of solar energy, which strikes the windows.
Direct gain can be achieved by various forms of glazing systems clerestories, skylight
windows designed for the required heating.
ADVANTAGES
The system is simple and effective.
It provides daylight into the buildings & provides views to the south.
The incremental cost compared to a non-solar building is small.
DISADVANTAGES
There is a limitation on the choice of materials & construction methods because of the
requirement for thermal mass distribution.

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 The use of decorative floor & wall coverings is also limited in this solar passive system. For
example carpets act as insulating covers & prevent heat from these from being stored in the
floor slab.
Interior finishes especially upholstery & carpeting is subject to fading and degradation from
exposure to direct sunlight.
The presence of large amount of direct sunlight presents several visual problems. If the sun
is in direct view of the observer there is a direct glare that causes discomfort.
The large south windows have to be left undraped in order to be thermally effective. This
poses a problem on maintaining privacy inside the space.

DIRECT GAIN DESIGN GUIDELINES

1. Mass distribution
Area of exposed mass should be six times the glazing area (3 times the glazing area should be
the minimum, more than 6 times is desirable but difficult to achieve).
2. Mass thickness
Thinner sections are more effective than thicker sections.
3. Colour
Floors should be dark in colour. Light coloured walls & ceilings are desirable in order to reflect
sunlight and thus distribute as much sunlight before being absorbed.
4. Surface covering
Any insulating cover over thermal mass decreases heat storage effectiveness & building
performance.
5. Concrete block masonry
When hollow core concrete block is used, select a high-density block & grout holes solid.
6. Floor materials
Concrete or brick flooring materials are recommended. If insulation is used under flooring, it
should be covered with atleast 4 of mass.
7. Limits in direct gain glazing area
Area of south facing glazing 7% of floor area for low mass buildings, 13% of floor area for
high mass buildings.
8. Glazing orientation
Vertical glazing facing directly south is the preferred orientation. The heating performance
decrease by 10% or less for orientations departing by 15 degrees from due south orientation
and by 20% or less for orientation is less than 30 degrees.
9. Night insulation
Solar heating performance of direct gain systems is significantly better with the use of night
insulation.
10. Thermal insulation
Insulation should be located outside the thermal mass. This serves to reduce the loss of stored
heat from thermal mass to exterior at the same time encourages the free transfer of heat
between the mass and interior.

THERMAL STORAGE WALL

In direct gain buildings sunlight is first admitted directly into the space and then absorbed by
the thermally massive surfaces i.e. the living space is adjacent to the glazing and the
thermal mass.

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 In a thermal storage wall system, the thermal mass is placed between glazing and the living
space.
So during the day, the absorbed heat is through the entire thermal mass thus warming the
entire mass. At night it acts as a buffer in the living space from direct exposure to the cool
glazing.
A thermal storage wall consists of
Wall itself which stores the solar energy, constructed either of solid masonry Trombe
wall or water filled containers Water wall
Glazing over the outer surface of the wall.
TROMBE WALL SYSTEMS

REQUIREMENTS
A massive thermal storage
wall made of concrete,
masonry or composites of
brick, block and sand with
vents provided at top and
bottom. It is a usually
located on the south side
(in northern hemisphere) of
a building to receive
maximum solar radiation.
The outer surface of the
wall is usually painted black for maximizing absorption.
Glazing is placed in front of the wall with an air gap in between.
WORKING PRINCIPLE
Solar radiation is absorbed by the wall
during the day and stored as sensible heat in
the wall. The air in the space between the
glazing and the wall gets heated up and
enters the living spaces by convection
through the upper vents. Cool air from the
room is replaced by this air and cool air
escapes through the lower vents thus
establishing natural convection currents.
During nights, the vents are closed and the
heat stored in the wall during the day heats
up the air in the living space by convection
and radiation. Thus the living space gets
heated up.
During the summer months, when the suns
altitude is high the overhang on the wall cuts
off the direct sunshine. The Trombe wall also
provides induced ventilation for summer cooling of the space i.e the heated air in the

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airspace flows out through the exhaust vents at the top of the outer glazing and the cool air
from outside enters the space through the openings to replace the hot air. This continuous
air movement cools the living space.
It is worth noting that in buildings with thermal storage walls, indoor temperature can be
maintained at 15 deg C when outside temperature is as low as 11 deg C.
Generally the thickness of storage wall 200mm to 450mm, air gap between wall and
glazing 50 to 150mm, total area of each row of vent 1% of storage wall area.
ADVANTAGES
Trombe wall performs well compared to other passive systems.
Thermal mass is positioned between the living space and sun and glazing. Thus it provides
as a buffer between the occupants and temperature variations of the solar absorber.
The transfer of heat through the thermal storage mass is slow (by conduction). Hence the
temperatures are both delayed and moderated. This allows the delay of delivery of solar
heat to the interior in a reliable and predictable manner.
Typically the masonry wall also serves structural functions used to support part of the
roof.
There are only few construction and room finish constraints on the rest of the building
because all collection and storage functions are concentrated within the wall.
DISADVANTAGES
The space between the glazing and wall is too narrow to provide access for maintenance.
Therefore glazing must be removed for cleaning and repainting of the absorber surface. To
solve this, sliding doors could be provided.
The installation, operation and maintenance of night insulation are difficult.
Vented walls must be provided with flap valves to prevent undesirable reverse thermo
circulation at night.
Vented walls also accelerate dust accumulation on the inner glazing surfaces and on the
absorber surface.
WATERWALL
Water walls used in this
way need not be vented
at top and bottom and can
be constructed in many
ways - even 55-gallon
drums filled with water, or
specially constructed
plastic or sealed concrete
containers.
As the water is heated, the convection process quickly distributes the heat throughout the
mass and the interior space is warmed by heat radiated from the wall.
THERMAL STORAGE WALL DESIGN GUIDELINES
1. Glazing azimuth

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 The optimum orientation for thermal storage walls is due south. For orientation within 30
degrees off south the performance decrease is 10%.
The performance decreased rapidly upto 50% for orientation 90 degrees off south.
Performance is also affected with or without night insulation.
2. Glazing distance
In unvented trombe systems space between glass and masonry wall can be 1.
In vented trombe systems the minimum gap should be atleast 6 for unrestricted airflow.
1. Trombe wall thickness
Wall thickness varies between 16 and 10 based on masonry material and whether vents
are used.
Normally 12 thick wall is recommended for all materials.
For buildings occupied only during day (and where evening heating is not required) a
thinner wall provides quicker warm up and should be used.
2. Water walls and phase change material walls
The advantage of using water or PCM in a thermal storage wall is the ability to achieve high
thermal storage capacity in a smaller volume and with less weight than a masonry wall.
3. Selective surface
A selective surface on the outside face of a thermal storage wall can improve performance. If a
selective surface is used vents should not be installed since dust accumulation may impair its
selective optical qualities by increasing its emittance and decreasing its absorptance.
4. Absorber colour
Thermal storage walls are very sensitive to the solar absorptance (color darkness) of the
wall surface.
As the absorptance decreases, performance of Trombe walls and Water walls falls off
rapidly, therefore a black absorber surface is to be used.
However this applies to opaque water storage containers. Transparent fiberglass water
cylinders transmit some visible solar radiation through the entire storage wall as direct gain
where it is absorbed by the room surfaces beyond. Transparent fiberglass tubes are very
attractive because of the manner in which they refract and diffuse light and they can contribute
to the daylight illumination of the rooms beyond.
5. Vents
Generally for residential applications vents are often omitted from Trombe walls.
If more daytime heat is required for the building vents can be used which provide heated air into
the building.
This offsets immediate daytime heat loads.
For Trombe wall systems with
SSF 0-25% Total area of top vents = 3% of glazing area
SSF 25-50% Total area of top vents = 2% of glazing area
SSF 50-75% Total area of top vents = 1% of glazing area
SSF >75% Unvented
Lower vent area should be equal the upper vent area.
SSF Annual heating performance

SOLARIUM / ATTACHED GREENHOUSE /SUNSPACE

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This method is suitable for cold climates.

An integration of direct gain and thermal storage concepts is achieved in this approach.
Solar radiation admitted directly into the space heats up the air, which by convection
and conduction through the mass wall reaches the living space.
It consists of a sunspace or a green house constructed on the south side ( in the
northern hemisphere) of the building with a thick mass wall linking the two.
REQUIREMENTS:
:
A glazed south
facing
collector
space
attached
Thermal
storage link
between the
collector and
living space
for heat
transfer.
WORKING PRINCIPLE:

It consists of a sunspace or a green house

constructed on the south with a thick mass wall
linking the space and the living space.
Radiation through the glazing heats up the
interior space of the greenhouse.
The heat is absorbed by the thermal mass and
is transferred to the living space.
If a vented masonry wall is used as storage,
heat can also be released into the living space
by convection.
This combination also works with an unvented

water wall.
The greenhouse, then, is heated by direct gain while the living space is heated by
indirect gain.

SOLAR CHIMNEY
REQUIREMENTS
The system consists of a

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 Solar chimney which acts as the collector of solar energy &

Thermal storage unit to store the heat
A solar chimney consists of a collector panel with a minimum thermal inertia on the south
vertical surface of the building.

WORKING PRINCIPLE

The system may be identified as modified Trombe wall system.

The solar radiation incident on the absorber of the collector is absorbed and the air in the
space between the absorber and glazing is heated up. The hot air forces itself into the living
space through the vents and heats up the space. Cooler air takes its place and the cycle is
repeated. A well-insulated collector limits the heat loss to outside.
In addition to heating the space, heat can also be stored for later use by passing hot air
through a storage mass.
The storage is generally the inner structure of the building like internal wall and/or
concrete ceiling, which is not exposed to the outside. Hence heat loss to outside is also
minimized.
Besides during evening and night hours the well-insulated collector serves as a thermal
buffer between the house and exterior and eliminates the need for movable insulation.
The system can also be used to induce ventilation for summer cooling by venting out the
hot air by cool air from a shaded or cooler area.

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ROOF RADIATION TRAP

REQUIREMENTS
It essentially consists of
Vertically or slightly inclined, glazed south facing plane
North sloping insulated plane, which exceeds slightly over the glazing to shade it during
summer.
In winter the suns radiation can penetrate through the glazing. Between the roof and insulation,
an air pocket is formed & in it solar radiation can be trapped.
The insulating layer is covered by a white painted metal sheet to increase its emissivity.
The roof is painted black to absorb maximum radiation.
WORKING PRINCIPLE
In winter, solar radiation penetrates the glazing and is absorbed by the black roof surface.
Part of the absorbed energy is conducted and radiated into the living space while the rest is
transferred to the air pocket. This hot air can be drawn to a thermal storage unit (gravel,
rockbed/water mass) to be used on cold nights. A movable insulation can reduce the heat
loss through glazed plane during nights.
This system can also be used for cooling purposes. The metal sheet over the north
insulated plane, due to its white paint gets cooled in night because of emitted longwave
radiation. So the air under this sheet is cooled. This cooled air when drawn into a gravel
storage unit, cools the storage. This cold energy can be used in cooling the living space.

ROOFPOND/SKYTHERM
REQUIREMENTS
Water
in
transparent
bags/waterproof
structural
metal/fiberglass
tanks is kept on the
roof, depth ranging
from 50 to 300mm.
The top of the
bag/container
needs to be
transparent to solar
radiation whereas
its bottom surface should be of dark colour. If both sides of the container are transparent,
then the top surface of the roof needs to be blackened for absorbing solar radiation.
The pond is protected and insulated by an external, movable & reflective insulation. The
movable insulation is usually of 50mm thick polyurethane foam reinforced with fiberglass
strands and sandwiched between aluminium skins.
This technique can be used as a heating as well as a cooling technique.

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WORKING PRINCIPLE
During summer days,
the insulation prevents
solar radiation from
reaching the water
mass and keeps it
cool. This cool water
then absorbs heat from
the rooms below and
cools the air inside. At
night the insulation is
removed and the water cools by convection and radiation.
In winter, the panel positions are reversed. During the day the insulation is removed so that
heat is absorbed by water for heating the interior. During the night, the insulation reduces
the heat loss.
The waterproofing layer of the roof should be such that the heat transfer from the pond to
the interior is not inhibited.
Radiation is responsible for the thermal interaction between roof and living space. Therefore
the ceiling of the room must not be very high as the intensity of radiation reduces with the
height or distance. This technique is very effective for 1 or 2 storeyed buildings.

TRANSWALL
REQUIREMENTS
A transwall has 3 main components
Container made of parallel glass walls set in metal frame
Thermal storage liquid which is generally water
A partially absorbing plate set at the center of transwall parallel to glass walls.
These modules are stacked to form a wall on the south side of the building located directly
behind double-glazing.
WORKING PRINCIPLE
Solar radiation incident on the wall is partly absorbed in the wall. The radiation is partly
absorbed & partly transmitted. The transmitted radiation causes direct heating & illumination
of the living space. The absorbed heat is transferred to the living space at a later time.
It is similar to Trombe wall type in the fact that it is located behind glazing.
It differs from Trombe wall in the following aspects
It is semi transparent unlike Trombe wall.

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 Most of the solar energy incident on Transwall is absorbed at the center

of the wall unlike trombe wall where it is absorbed at the front face facing
glazing.
Unlike Trombe wall. The heat loss through glazing is low as much of the
heat deposited at the center of transwall & hence its exterior surface
does not become too hot.
It is similar to direct gain system in the following aspects:
Its semitransparency behaviour allows vision to the exterior like direct
gain system.
The transmitted fraction of solar energy causes direct heating as well as
illumination of living spaces as in a direct gain system.
Thus the system combines attractive features of both direct gain & trombe wall systems.

CONVECTIVE AIR LOOP

REQUIREMENTS
Solar Collector
Thermal Storage mass

WORKING PRINCIPLE
Air is typically heated by a sloped
glazed solar collector isolated
from the living space.
As the air is heated in the
collector it rises by natural
convection & replaces the cool air
in the living space.
The cool air from the space is
drawn into the bottom of the
collector.
The heated air may be circulated
through a thermal storage bed of
rocks (or hollow concrete floor slab) to provide thermal storage. Thus the heat is transferred
to the rocks and the air is cooled in the process. The cooled air returns to the collector for
reheating. The cool air from the house gets heated up by the rocks, rises by natural
convection and enters the house.

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 In this system the airflow throughout is driven by natural convection, hence the vertical
placement of the elements is more important for the system to operate effectively.
The collector cannot be above the storage, the storage cannot be above the living areas to
be heated. Air always flows up as it gets heated.
The collector can be positioned independent of building.
ADVANTAGES
This system is an isolated gain system where the heat transfer to the living space is by
convection. Hence it is easily controllable by closing the convective openings and hence it
is not prone to overheating also.
The building envelope may of any type.
DISADVANTAGES
The locations for the different components of the system become a strong architectural
design determinant.
If the system is to work efficiently there is only a little spatial flexibility in this arrangement.
The component materials are relatively inexpensive. But they occupy a large volume
compared to other passive systems.
In natural convection airflows at a very low velocity. To get adequate volumetric flow rate air
channels must be quite large.
Because most of the components are positioned outside of the building envelope, they are
single function- solar heating purposes. Whereas in other passive systems like direct gain
and trombe wall, they serve as structural and enclosure elements apart from being used for
solar heating.
As a result only few convective air loop systems have been built.
CONVECTIVE AIRLOOP DESIGN GUIDELINES
Make D=1/15 L, atleast
Make rockbed 2 deep if small gravel (1diameter) and upto 4 deep if large rock(6diameter)
Make the collector slant atleast 45 degrees and atleast 6 long.
Insulate the storage box (rockbed) with atleast 6 fiberglass insulation.
Keep all flow channels atleast 1/15th of collector area.
Avoid corners in flow channels
Storage cross section = 1/3 collector area atleast
Place the rock bed above collector or use damper.
Build the house above the rockbed.
Provide a vent flap at the top of collector to open during summer to prevent overheating.

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