The SOLARWALL® Solar Heating System

Description
- Winter heating
- Summer cooling
- Indoor air quality
- Air distribution
- Maintenance
- Performance and economics

Industrial/Commercial Buildings

Apartment Buildings

PV Solarwall®

Description

Winter Heating



SOLARWALL® winter daytime operation

A SOLARWALL® solar air heating system is based on a patented, perforated metal (aluminum or steel) cladding that is installed on the south-facing wall of a building. The system operates in a very simple manner using economical and environmentally-benign solar energy to heat buildings:

SOLARWALL® also reduces building heat loss during the winter. All buildings lose heat to the outdoors. On the south-facing wall, heat lost to the cavity between the metal panels and the building is captured by the incoming air and returned to the building along with the heated fresh air from the SOLARWALL®. Even at night, a SOLARWALL® acts to reduce building heat loss.

SOLARWALL® is suitable for both new and retrofit applications. In new construction, SOLARWALL® replaces conventional wall cladding. SOLARWALL® is available in several attractive colours (all dark, to increase solar heat gain).

Summer Cooling

SOLARWALL® provides summer cooling by preventing solar radiation from striking the south wall of a building. Warm air between the SOLARWALL® and the building rises and is ventilated through holes at the top of the cladding. This reduces cooling loads in the building. Fresh ventilation air is drawn directly into the building by way of by-pass dampers.

Indoor Air Quality


Good indoor air quality is the result of an adequate, continuous, supply of fresh outdoor air. ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) states that the best way to avoid illness due to poor indoor air quality is to increase the volume of fresh air entering a building. The negative impact of uncontrolled entry of outdoor air is increased heating costs. SOLARWALL® solar air heating systems can solve this problem by using solar energy to preheat ventilation air.

Improved Air Distribution


SOLARWALL®, together with its air handling system, controls the volume and distribution of fresh air entering a building. The ability to effectively control air flow has several benefits:
Uncontrolled entry of outdoor air leads to drafts and poor distribution of fresh air
The SOLARWALL® air handling system leads to fresh, warm air with even distribution

Building Maintenance

The movement of moisture through masonry walls causes bricks to crumble. Installing a SOLARWALL® protects walls from rain and moisture. The cost of a SOLARWALL® installation over a masonry wall can be recovered from the energy savings by the use of free solar energy to lower fuel costs.

Performance and Economics


Air-temperature rise vs. Solar Radiation for various flow rates

SOLARWALL® Performance
Operating Efficiency: up to 75%
Estimated RSI value: 9 (R-value: 50) while operating

Apartment Buildings

SOLARWALL® air heating systems have been installed on several medium and high rise apartment buildings. The cladding heats ventilation air as well as protects masonry walls from moisture.

Solar heated air is collected at the top of the SOLARWALL® panels and is ducted to the rooftop fan that supplies air to the building. All large apartment buildings have pressurized corridors to meet safety codes; the air required for this use can be heated by the SOLARWALL®.

In apartment installations, SOLARWALL® solar systems are sized according to the air required for ventilation. In some cases, this means that only a portion of the south facing building wall needs to be covered by a SOLARWALL® cladding. Even a south-facing penthouse wall can provide appreciable fuel savings with Solarwall to heat hallway ventilation air.


Windsor Housing Authority
World's tallest solar collector
(Location - Windsor Ontario)

Industrial/Commercial Buildings

SOLARWALL® has been used very effectively in industrial and warehouse buildings. It performs several functions:

SOLARWALL at the Ford Motor Company heats fresh air, insulates the south wall, stops drafts, and improves comfort for employees. Both management and employees are pleased with the improvements provided by SOLARWALL®.


Ford Motor Company, Oakville, Ontario

Aircraft hangars are ideal installations for SOLARWALL®.


AVUM Helicopter hangar, Fort Carson, Colorado


Bombardier's 10,000 m2 (100,000 ft2) SOLARWALL®
is the world's largest solar air heating system

SOLARWALL® fans have several characteristics of interest in industrial applications:

SOLARWALL® solar heating systems can be used over steel clad or concrete block walls. It can replace conventional cladding in new construction.


Federal Express distribution center, Colorado

The Federal Express company used SOLARWALL® solar heat cladding on its new distribution centre in Colorado. Building codes required that the building be ventilated at a rate of 7.5 l/s per m2 (1.5 cfm/ft2) of floor area, or 42 m3/s (90,000cfm) for the large FEDEX building. Heating this air by conventional means would have been very expensive. A 465 m2 (5,000 ft2) SOLARWALL® system heats 21 m3/s (45,000 cfm) of air on a continuous basis. Additional fresh outdoor air can be admitted by fan units when necessary.

It is estimated that the SOLARWALL® will reduce the building heating requirements by 2,300 million BTUs of natural gas per year, approximately $12,000 (US) in energy savings. The incremental cost of SOLARWALL® increased lease payments by $4,800 a year. This means that FEDEX will save over $7,000 a year in operating costs for the 10 year term of the lease.

Better yet, as a responsible corporate citizen, FEDEX saved 115,000 kilograms (254,000 pounds) of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of gas to heat the building.