A house or other like structure is constructed out or ribbed concrete panels. In the outer walls a single ribbed panel is used with a thick overlying layer of insulation followed by a facade covering. Windows are double-paned and are installed in a concrete frame which is formed as part of the outside wall. The interior walls and floors have two ribbed panels facing one another, thus forming interpositional spaces between the ribs. By careful arrangement and interlocking of the ribbed panels, circulation of air is made possible through air circuits formed by the interpositional spaces, thus allowing for ventilation and, if the air is heated or cooled, enabling the interior walls to act as heat exchange surfaces.
Air condition control for buildings, having a roof structure of roof trusses relatively widely spaced, between which self-supporting roof plates are laid and covered by a covering layer so that a gap is formed between the covering layer and the roof plates. Air is passed in one or the other direction through a ventilation opening in the roof, through the air gap (13) and through ducts (9) in the roof plates. Air sucked in from the atmosphere through the ventilation opening passes through the ducts to an air conditioning unit (5) and to a distribution device (6) to maintain a suitable temperature in the building. Air flow can also be inverted by being supplied in the form of outdoor air to the air conditioning unit (5) and after its passage through the building being conducted away into the atmosphere through the roof structure by the ventilation opening.
The invention provides a foundation raft for supporting a structure such as a low rise building on soil which is prone to heaving or settling. The raft has a pair of foundation slabs, of set cementitious material which are spaced apart by a plurality of upwardly extending webs. The webs are fast with the slabs. Each slab has a thickness A of 50-200 mm; the slabs are spaced apart by a spacing B of 100-1500 mm; and each web has a thickness C of 0.2-400 mm.
A prefabricated insulated wall panel for installation with like wall panels for easily and inexpensively building a wall. The wall panel is a unitary combination of (1) a member having a planar portion and a plurality of spaced rib portions integral therewith and extending therefrom for receiving insulation therebetween, (2) insulating material attached to edges of the rib portions for reducing thermal conductivity from the rib portions to wallboard attached to the wall panel, and (3) a nailer for attachment of wallboard.
Apparatus for the utilization of radiated solar energy to heat the interior space of a building includes a solar energy collector in the form of a south-facing wall, energy storage elements in the form of remaining wall structures that, in combination with the collector wall, define the interior space, and a combination of conduit and air moving apparatus to circulate air warmed by the solar energy collector wall to the storage walls, where energy is stored, and returning the exhausted air to the collector wall.
A foundation for cellarless houses comprises a foundation wall (6) whose underside is disposed on a level below the ground surface (4) surrounding the house (1) and serves to support the house and, together with a bearing floor structure (5), also to define a bottom space (12) in the area above the ground on which the house is erected. The floor structure (5) has a lower portion which is air permeable in order, via the floor structure, to permit supplying air of substantially room temperature to said bottom space (12) from which the air is thereafter evacuated. According to the invention, said lower portion exclusively consists of a thin air-permeable web (11), and a heat insulating layer (21) for the foundation is placed directly on the ground (20) underneath the floor structure.
