Perforated air collectors
The Illustrated Guide to Renewable Technologies BG 1/2008, By Kevin Pennycook, published by BSRIA in March 2008, states: ‘Commercially available under the trade name SolarWallTM this type of collector comprises a dark steel or aluminium profile that is perforated to allow air to pass into a cavity that collects the heated air. As the air passes through the perforated wall it absorbs the wall’s warmth. The warm air rises within the cavity and is extracted at the top and supplied to the building using a fan. During summer the heated air is exhausted away from the building and outside air is supplied to the building to meet the ventilation requirement. The solar air cavity increases the U-value while the perforated wall acts to shield the building from the direct sunlight during the summer, lowering the solar heat transmission inside the building.’
--BSRIA
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