Environmentally driven heating and cooling system

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In an environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining at least two containers each for a quantum of thermal storage mass, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat;

each said container in a use condition having a filling of said quantum of thermal storage mass;

a building structure for a situs, and including a glazed portion sited for sunlight to fall along a path directly or indirectly thereon;

said containers being deployed in a group in said building structure when in said use condition, behind said glazed portion, relative to the path of sunlight falling on said glazed portion;

the improvement wherein:

the at least two containers further have a shipping condition wherein the at least two containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another than when grouped, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least two containers occupy less space than when grouped and in said use condition;

each container being formed of sheet material having two sidewall panels integrally joined to a bottom panel along two corresponding end panels;

a plurality of heat radiating fin means each having a joining flange and a fin portion;

each joining flange being secured to one of a sidewall and a bottom of a said container and lying generally flatwise against the respective sidewall or bottom while that container is in said shipping condition thereof, and said respective fin portion being bendable outwards during field erection of said wall means to constitute a respective useful fin for heat radiation.

2. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 1, further including:

a thermal insulation device removably disposed between said glazed portion and said stack of containers.

3. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 2, wherein:

said insulation device comprises a shade and means for mounting the shade for movement between two conditions, in the first of which the shade is drawn between the glazed portion and the group of containers and in the second of which the shade is withdrawn from between the glazed portion and the group of containers.

4. In an environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining at least two containers each for a quantum of thermal storage mass, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat;

each said container in a use condition having a filling of said quantum of thermal storage mass;

a building structure for a situs, and including a glazed portion sited for sunlight to fall along a path directly or indirectly thereon;

said containers being deployed in a group in said building structure when in said use condition, behind said glazed portion, relative to the path of sunlight falling on said glazed portion;

the improvement wherein:

the at least two containers further have a shipping condition wherein the at least two containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another than when grouped, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least two containers occupy less space than when grouped and in said use condition;

a thermal insulation device removably disposed between said glazed portion and said stack of containers;

said insulation device comprises a shade and means for mounting the shade for movement between two conditions, in the first of which the shade is drawn between the glazed portion and the group of containers and in the second of which the shade is withdrawn from between the glazed portion and the group of containers;

said group of containers being a vertical stack comprising an upper said container resting upon a lower said container, and

said mounting means comprising a shade roller and means mounting said roller on said upper container, so that said shade is drawn downwards from storage on said roller when moving from the second to the first condition thereof.

5. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 4, wherein:

the roller mounting means includes a cover for said upper container; a pair of brackets provided on said cover; and said shade roller being journalled in said brackets.

6. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 5, wherein:

the roller further includes a roller shaft; and

means for rotating said roller for raising and lowering the shade are secured to said roller shaft.

7. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 6, wherein:

said glazed portion includes a pair of laterally spaced, parallel mullions carrying a section of glazing therebetween;

each mullion having a vertically enlongated track portion protruding behind said section of glazing;

said shade, at the two lateral margins thereof having two respective bead portions slidably caught in the respective mullion track portions so that as said shade is drawn, air convection around the lateral margins of said shade is substantially prevented.

8. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 7, further including:

weighting means extending along the lower edge of said shade from one lateral margin to the other for weighting the shade when fully drawn sufficiently to prevent air convection under the fully drawn shade, when the weighting means settles on a horizontal surface of the building structure.

9. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 8, wherein:

the weighting means is constituted by a bean bag roll.

10. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 7, further including:

flap means secured to a ceiling portion of said building structure and depending into wiping relation with the shade on said roller, the flap means extending from one lateral margin of the shade to the other, for preventing air convection over the top of the shade roller.

11. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 3, wherein:

said group of containers is a generally vertical stack comprising an upper said container resting upon a lower said container.

12. In an environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining at least two containers each for a quantum of thermal storage mass, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat;

each said container in a use condition having a filling of said quantum of thermal storage mass;

a building structure for a situs, and including a glazed portion sited for sunlight to fall along a path directly or indirectly thereon;

said containers being deployed in a group in said building structure when in said use condition, behind said glazed portion, relative to the path of sunlight falling on said glazed portion;

the improvement wherein:

the at least two containers further have a shipping condition wherein the at least two containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another than when grouped, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least two containers occupy less space than when grouped and in said use condition;

a thermal insulation device removably disposed between said glazed portion and said stack of containers;

said insulation device comprises a shade and means for mounting the shade for movement between two conditions, in the first of which the shade is drawn between the glazed portion and the group of containers and in the second of which the shade is withdrawn from between the glazed portion and the group of containers;

each container being formed of sheet material having two sidewall panels integrally joined to a bottom panel along two corresponding bend lines, and two corresponding end panels;

a plurality of corrugations formed in each container sidewall;

said group of containers being a generally vertical stack comprising an upper said container resting upon a lower said container,

said building structure including a roof and a sidewall including a south-facing portion;

said glazed portion being incorporated in said south-facing portion of said sidewall, and

said group being ranked behind said glazed portion, with said shade stationed removably therebetween;

it being necessary to rotate at least one part of one said container, relative to its respective neighboring said container in order to create said stack from said at least two more condensed containers, by thereby constituting a means by which the sidewalls of each respective lower one of these containers supports the bottom panel of each respective next upper one of these containers in said stack.

13. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 12, wherein:

a cosmetic finish panel being ranked behind said stack, relative to said glazed portion;

said building structure including a ceiling and a floor;

first vent means between the cosmetic panel and the floor and second vent means between the cosmetic finish panel and the ceiling, for the circulation of air within the building structure into and from between the cosmetic finish panel and the stack of containers.

14. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 13, further including:

third vent means between the glazed portion and the stack nearer the floor, and fourth vent means between the glazed portion and the stack nearer the ceiling, for the circulation of outside air into and from between the glazed portion and the stack of containers.

15. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 12, further including:

the thermal storage mass being a liquid;

spray means;

means for withdrawing warm liquid thermal storage mass from said containers and for feeding that withdrawn liquid under pressure to said spray means for cooling of that withdrawn liquid by spraying of that withdrawn liquid into the air; and

means for collecting that spray-cooled liquid and for returning that spray-cooled liquid to said containers.

16. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 15, wherein:

means for cascading the warmest of said liquid thermal storage mass from said upper container by overflow to said lower container;

said means for withdrawing being communicated with said lower container; and

said means for collecting and returning being communicated with said upper container below where said warmest liquid overflows therefrom.

17. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 16, wherein:

the collecting and returning means includes a collecting apron for said spray tower means,

a sump;

said collecting apron draining into said sump; and

a sump pump having a return conduit leading therefrom to said upper container.

18. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 17, wherein:

the cascading means includes:

the wall means of said container including a floor having means defining an opening therethrough;

a pipe closely fitted in said opening, said pipe having an open upper end near but below the upper extent of the upper container for defining the upper level of liquid in said upper container during cascading, and having an open lower end disposed near but below the upper level of liquid in said lower container during cascading; and a deflector at said lower end for ensuring that liquid cascading from the upper container to the lower container joins the liquid in the lower container quietly, substantially at the upper level of the liquid in the lower container.

19. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 17, further including:

automatic control means for automatically sensing the time frame each night during which spraying for a brief interval of time will cause the most cooling of said liquid, and for operating said cascading means, withdrawing means and collecting and returning means during said brief interval of time.

20. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 12, wherein:

said containers are graduated in size relative to one another, both as to thickness and as to internal volume.

21. In an environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining at least two containers each for a quantum of thermal storage mass, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat;

each said container in a use condition having a filling of said quantum of thermal storage mass;

a building structure for a situs, and including a glazed portion sited for sunlight to fall along a path directly or indirectly thereon;

said containers being deployed in a group in said building structure when in said use condition, behind said glazed portion, relative to the path of sunlight falling on said glazed portion;

the improvement wherein:

the at least two containers further have a shipping condition wherein the at least two containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another than when grouped, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least two containers occupy less space than when grouped and in said use condition;

each container being formed of sheet material in generally more coplanar knocked-down form, having two sidewall panels integrally joined to a bottom panel along two corresponding bend lines; and two corresponding opposite end panels, and in which each container may be field erected by bending up the sidewall panels along said bend lines to less coplanar form, and securing said opposite end panels in place; stacking flange means on each sidewall, made effective by said bending, for supporting each respective next upper container upon each respective next lower container in said stack; and

field applicable seam sealing means sealing between said sidewall panels and said opposite end panels within each container.

22. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 21, further including:

a plurality of heat radiating fin means each having a joining flange and a fin portion;

each joining flange being secured to one of a sidewall and a bottom of said knocked-down form, with the respective fin portion thereof lying generally flatwise against the respective sidewall or bottom, and said respective fin portion being bendable outwards during field assembly of said container to constitute a respective useful fin for heat radiation.

23. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 22, further including:

clip means on said container sidewalls near the respective container bottom;

said stacking flange means comprises a perimetrically extending out-turned flange at the upper extent of said sidewalls of each container, so disposed that when said containers are stacked vertically, the clips of the upper container engage the out-turned flange of the lower container to stackingly support the upper container on the lower container and prevent sidewall wall spreading of the lower container.

24. In an environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining at least two containers each for a quantum of thermal storage mass, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat;

each said container in a use condition having a filling of said quantum of thermal storage mass;

a building structure for a situs, and including a glazed portion sited for sunlight to fall along a path directly or indirectly thereon;

said containers being deployed in a group in said building structure when in said use condition, behind said glazed portion, relative to the path of sunlight falling on said glazed portion;

the improvement wherein:

the at least two containers further have a shipping condition wherein the at least two containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another than when grouped, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least two containers occupy less space than when grouped and in said use condition;

said building structure including a pitched roof supported by means including a plurality of generally triangular trusses, each initially including a pair of oppositely pitched top chords, and a generally horizontal lower chord, in a triangular arrangement, with means providing a plurality of tension and compression webs extending between the lower chord and a respective one of the top chords;

a secondary, generally horizontal lower chord extending between one of said webs and one of said top chords, somewhat above the lower chord, with vertical spacking therebetween;

at least one web extending between said one top chord and said secondary lower chord;

said building structure further including a pair of laterally spaced overhead door tracks flanking said glazed portion and an overhead door mounted on said tracks;

a short segment of said lower chord of each said truss which lies between overhead door tracks, adjacent said one chord being field-cut-away, to create a slot between said lower chord and said secondary lower chord and into which said overhead door may be raised along said tracks.

25. In an environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining at least four containers each for a quantum of thermal storage means, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat;

each said container in a use condition having a filling of said quantum of thermal storage mass;

a building structure for a stius, and including a glazed portion sited for sunlight to fall along a path directly or indirectly thereon;

said containers being deployed in at least two each in two adjacent end-to-end, generally vertical stacks in said building structure when in said use condition, behind said glazed portion relative to the path of sunlight falling on said glazed portion;

the improvement wherein:

the at least four containers further having a shipping condition wherein the at least four containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another than when stacked, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least four containers occupy less space than when stacked and in said use condition;

each container being formed of sheet material having two sidewall panels integrally joined to a bottom panel along two corresponding bend lines, and two corresponding end panels;

a plurality of heat radiating fin means each having a joining flange and a fin portion;

each joining flange being secured to one of a sidewall and a bottom of a said container and lying generally flatwise against the respective sidewall or bottom while that container is in said shipping condition thereof, and said respective fin portion being bendable outwards during field erection of said wall means to constitute a respective useful fin for heat radiation.

26. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 25, further including, for each stack:

a thermal insulation device removably disposed between said glazed portion and the respective stack of containers.

27. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 26, wherein:

each such insulation device comprises a shade and means for mounting the shade for movement between two conditions, in the first of which the shade is drawn between the glazed portion and the respective stack of containers and in the second of which the shade is withdrawn from between the glazed portion and the respective stack of containers.

28. In an environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining at least two containers each for a quantum of thermal storage mass, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat;

each said container in a use condition having a filling of said quantum of thermal storage mass;

a building structure for a situs, and including a glazed portion sited for sunlight to fall along a path directly or indirectly thereon;

said containers being deployed in a group in said building structure when in said use condition, behind said glazed portion, relative to the path of sunlight falling on said glazed portion;

the improvement wherein:

the at least two containers further have a shipping condition wherein the at least two containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another than when grouped, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least two containers occupy less space than when grouped and in said use condition;

each such insulation device comprising a shade and means for mounting the shade for movement between two conditions, in the first of which the shade is drawn between the glazed portion and the respective stack of containers and in the second of which the shade is withdrawn from between the glazed portion and the respective stack of containers;

each stack of containers being a vertical stack comprising an upper said container resting upon a lower said container, and

each said mounting means comprises a respective shade roller and means mounting said roller on said respective upper container, so that said respective shade is drawn downwards from storage on said roller when moving from the second to the first condition thereof.

29. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 28, wherein:

each roller mounting means includes a cover for said respective upper container; a pair of brackets provided on that cover; and said respective shade roller being journalled in said brackets.

30. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 29, wherein:

each roller further includes a roller shaft;

further comprising:

means connecting the shade shafts for rotation together; and

means for rotating said connecting means for raising and lowering the shades jointly.

31. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 30, wherein:

said glazed portion includes a three laterally spaced, parallel mullions each respective two carrying a section of glazing therebetween;

each mullion having a vertically elongated track portion protruding behind the respective section of glazing;

each shade, at the two lateral margins thereof having two respective bead portions slidably caught in the respective mullion track portions so that as said shades are drawn, air convection around the lateral margins of said shades is substantially prevented.

32. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 30, further including

sealing and securing means sealing and securing together the adjacent lateral margins of the shades.

33. For an environmentally driven heating and cooling system,

wall means defining at least two containers each for a quantum of thermal storage mass, each including surface means for collecting and radiating heat when filled with said quanta and stacked with one another in a building structure behind a glazed portion of the building structure upon which sunlight will impinge,

said at least two containers further having a shipping condition wherein the at least two containers lack said filling and are more condensed relative to one another that when stacked, so that while being shipped to said situs in said shipping condition, said at least two containers occupy less space than when stacked and in said use condition;

each container being formed of sheet material in generally more coplanar knocked-down form, having two sidewall panels integrally joined to a bottom panel along two corresponding bend lines; and two corresponding opposite end panels, and in which each container may be field erected by bending up the sidewall panels along said bend lines to less coplanar form, and securing said opposite end panels in place; stacking flange means on each sidewall, made effective by said bending, for supporting each respective next upper container upon each respective next lower container in said stack and

field applicable seam sealing means sealing between said sidewall panels and said opposite end panels within each container.

34. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 33, further including:

a plurality of heat radiating fin means each having a joining flange and a fin portion;

each joining flange being secured to one of a sidewall and a bottom of said knocked-down form, with the respective fin portion thereof lying generally flatwise against the respective sidewall or bottom, and said respective fin portion being bendable outwards during field assembly of said container to constitute a respective useful fin for heat radiation.

35. Environmentally driven heating and cooling system improvement of claim 34, further including:

clip means on said container sidewalls near the respective container bottom;

said stacking flange means comprising a perimetrically extending out-turned flange at the upper extent of said sidewalls of each container, so disposed that when said containers are stacked vertically, the clips of the upper container engage the out-turned flange of the lower container to stackingly support the upper container on the lower container and prevent sidewall spreading of the lower container.

36. An environmentally driven heating and cooling system, which includes:

wall means defining a container for a quantum of thermal storage mass, including surface means for collecting and radiating heat when filled with said quantum;

said container having a use condition in which it is arranged and disposed to receive and contain said quantum of said thermal storage mass and is ranked in a building structure behind a glazed portion of the building structure upon which sunlight will impinge;

said container further having a shipping condition wherein said container is more collapsed and occupies less space than when in said use condition and containing said quantum;

said container being formed of sheet material in generally more coplanar knocked-down form, having two opposite sidewall panels integrally joined to a bottom panel along two corresponding bend lines;

and two corresponding opposite end wall panels, and in which said container may be field erected by bending up the sidewall panels along said bend lines to less coplanar form, and securing said opposite end wall panels in place;

supporting flange means on at least two of said opposite wall panels, made effective by said field erection, for providing means for supporting another structure upon the container;

field applicable seam sealing means sealing between said sidewall panels and said opposite end wall panels within the container;

a thermal insulation device mounted adjacent the container and removably disposed facially of one face of said container;

said thermal insulation device comprising shade means and means for moving the shade between two conditions, in the first of which the shade means effectively blinds said container one face and in the second of which said one face is at least substantially less obstructed by said shade means.

37. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system of claim 35, wherein:

the shade means is constituted by a building wall external panel which, when in said first condition forms a respective portion of the exterior of a building wall.

38. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system of claim 37, further including:

a building having a building wall including glazing having said container ranked therebehind in a use condition with a filling of a quantum of thermal storage mass;

said shade means being mounted on said building to be moved to externally cover said glazing in said first condition.

39. The environmentally driven heating and cooling system of claim 36, wherein:

the thermal insulation device is mounted on mounting means provided on the container;

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently, there have been published a number of books which survey the present state of the art of solar heating and cooling of buildings. Noteworthy are:

The Solar Home Book, Heating, Cooling and Designing with the Sun, Bruce Anderson with Michael Riordan, Cheshire Books, Hanesville, N.H. (1976); and

Designing and Building a Solar House, Your Place in the Sun, Donald Watson, Garden Way Publishing, Charlotte, Ver. (1977).

Particularly of interest in the Anderson book are the following topics:

M.I.T. Solar House II (1947), pp. 23, 24; Telkes et al--Dover House (1948), pp. 24,25; Jonathan Hammond--Winters House (1974), pp. 40-42, 181; Chapter 4--Direct Solar Heating, pp. 76-113; Wright House (1974), pp. 108, 109; Odillo House 1962 (1962), p. 129; Zomeworks--Baer House (1971-1972), pp. 129-133, 181; Kalwall Corp. "Sun-Lite" storage wall collectors, pp. 133, 240, 241; Harold Hay/Sky Therm Process and Engineering--Solar Architecture House (1973), pp. 133, 137, Phoenix Test Building (1967), pp. 135-137, Sky Therm North, p. 140; Total Environmental Action--Jackson Freese House, p. 140; Day Chahroudi--Subfloor Heat Storage, p. 142; Small Containers of Water, p. 188, 189; Solar Cooling, p. 197, 198; Bill and Susan Yanda--Solar Sustenance, pp. 233-239; Jonathan Hammond--Hammond House (1975), pp. 239-241.

Particularly of interest in the Watson book are the following topics:

M.I.T. Solar House II (1947), pp. 6, 7; Telkes et al--Dover House (1948), pp. 6, 7; Wright House (1974), p. 29; Zomeworks--Baer House (1971-1972), pp. 35, 45; Kalwall Corp. "Sun-Lite" storage wall collectors, p. 38; Harold Hay/Sky Therm Process and Engineering--Solar Architecture House (1973), pp. 31, 38-40, 47-49; Other Window Collector Designs, p. 30; Bill Mingenbach, p. 38; Prof. Shawn Buckley/M.I.T.--Thermic Diode Solar Building Panels, pp. 41, 42; J. D. Balcomb and J. C. Hedstrom--Simulation Analysis of Passive Solar Heated Buildings, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, p. 48; Selecting a Solar Heating Approach, pp. 172-174.

Both books contain extensive bibliographies and appendices of interest.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The system of the present invention was developed in response to a need for simple, marketable ways and means of introducing thermal storage mass into structures, while providing direct contact with the environmental drive systems as well as with the conditioned space. It provides an interface between the environment and end users.

A principal improvement provided by the present invention is simplicity of fabrication, installation and operation. In the heating mode, generally there are no moving parts. In the cooling mode some climates require the use of a circulating pump. Others do not.

Simplicity of installation and the elimination of those maintenance issues associated with traditional solar heating and cooling systems, is a valuable contribution of this system. Elimination of high operating temperatures enables the system to be more sensitive to heat gain, less subject to high temperature degradation, less prone to mechanical failure and less expensive to buy and operate.

The system replaces the following components previously associated with space conditioning: heat exchanging systems at the points of collection, storage and delivery; storage remote from collection; electric control systems (in many applications); all moving parts (except in some cooling climates); and market resistance, by virtue of direct simplicity.

The system provided by the invention has the greatest mass per square foot of sun aperture per unit of dedicated floor area known to the inventor.

The heating and cooling modes are based upon different technologies which can be used separately or jointly. Their joint use is a particularly efficient combination, but some climates require one without the other.

The principles of the invention will be further discussed with reference to the drawings wherein preferred embodiments are shown. The specifics illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify, rather than limit, aspects of the invention as defined in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the south wall of a building provided with an environmentally driven heating and cooling system incorporating principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a frontal perspective view from the exterior, of a collecting wall employing principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a typical schematic circuit diagram for an automatic control system useful in connection with the arrangement of apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one horizontally extensive heat storage modules (in an empty condition);

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an add-on support rib block for use, in plurality, with the module of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical cross-sectional view on a larger scale, showing two of the modules, one stacked on the other;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 6, but of an alternative construction;

FIG. 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing four of the modules, nested;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing two of the modules, one stacked on the other, the upper one being shown provided with two types of overflow mechanisms;

FIG. 10 is an isometric view, similar to FIG. 2, but of a modification of the apparatus in which the uppermost modules starting at 102B' are smaller in size and volume than the respectively successive next lower modules;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view, on a larger scale, of an upper portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-sectional view showing glazing shades and a mullion for use with a collecting wall incorporating principles of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-sectional view showing a variation for the apparatus depicted in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 depicts in fragmentary perspective, a variation of what is shown in FIGS. 4, 12 and 13, and in which the glazing mullion/shade fastener is formed integrally with the respective modules;

FIG. 15 depicts in fragmentary perspective, a variation of what is shown in FIG. 13, and in which the adjoining shades are interconnected by use of a strip of adhesive tape or other form of binding attachment;

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative form of module for the collecting wall;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary, cutaway perspective view of an instance wherein the collecting "wall" comprises a floor accessible to sunlight via an adjacent window;

FIG. 18 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 1, but of an instance in which the building faces north, and the collecting wall is a rear wall served by a glazed roof aperture;

FIG. 19 is a front elevational view of a south-facing house provided with three collecting wall stacks of modules 102 and/or 102' as described in relation to FIGS. 1-16 and 18, but for the provision of exterior, raisable panels, one of which shown raised, for service similar to that of curtains 104, 104';

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on line 20--20 of FIG. 19, showing a novel partly prefabricated job site completed roof truss arrangement; and

FIG. 21 is an enlarged-scale horizontal cross-sectional view of a glazing system which is attached directly to the water modules as in FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The system of the present invention is capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions, some of which are illustrated herein to suggest the breadth of the invention.

By preference, the present invention makes use of a plurality of basic component (i.e. modular) containers, filled with thermal storage mass deployed within a structure to allow sunlight to fall directly or indirectly on the modules through a glazing system. The surface of the modules act as a solar collector, and as a radiator of collected and stored energy to the rooms of a structure.

In its heating mode, the system typically functions as follows.

The winter sun 100 (FIG. 1) shines through glazing system 101 onto modules 102, causing energy to be absorbed by the storage material such as water, sand, or phase change materials like Glauber's salt or calcium chloride. The temperature of this material is a function of the quantity of sun, the transparency of the glazing system and the quantity storage medium as well as the chemical make-up of the storage medium. Altering the thickness 103 of the modules 102 alters the temperature of the storage mass. A movable insulation device 104 can be introduced when the sun does not shine to reduce outward losses of stored energy. The heat thus collected is radiated through cosmetic finish panel 105, if any is employed. When such a panel is used, it may have a vent 106 at the bottom and another, 107, at the top, thereby creating a convective air chimney 108, which also removes heat from storage. Air in the cavity 108 is heated and rises out through top vent 107, drawing cooler air off the floor through bottom vent 106.

With the coming of summer, the sun gradually assumes a new relationship to the wall by rising higher in the sky. Architectural overhangs 108 and/or roller shade 104 block the sun from heating the storage mass contained in modules 102. Modules 102 no longer absorb solar radiation, but can absorb heat from within the building if the storage medium is kept below the desired room temperature.

Then, in the cooling mode of the system, cooling may be accomplished in at least one of two ways depending on local climate.

If the nights are cool enough, vent 109 at the bottom of the south wall is opened as well as vent 110 at the top of the wall, thus admitting cool night air into cavity 111 where it is heated by the daytime excess heat stored in modules 102. It passes upward and out through vent 110, thereby lowering the temperature of storage enabling it to cool the building the following day or days.

However, many climates do not offer this cool night circumstance. In those climates which include most of the U.S., additional means must be taken to reduce the water temperature.

FIG. 2 shows how modules can be incorporated in a system to facilitate removing a liquid storage medium like water, spraying it into the air outside the building, thereby reducing its temperature at least to the temperature of the air if not lower, and then returning the cooled medium to storage.

In FIG. 2, heat storage fluid filled modules 102 can be deployed on a south wall interrupted by windows and the like. Modules 102 are horizontally stacked, reducing the water pressure at any one point very significantly over the similar but vertically extensive modules 112. In the cascade system depicted, module 102A keeps pump 113 primed. When the pump is turned on automatically or manually, fluid from module 102A is raised up