Masonry Magazine April 1981 Page. 15
BIA Technical Notes
on Brick Construction
Brick Institute of America 1750 Old Meadow Road, McLean, Virginia 22102
43c
March
1980
PASSIVE SOLAR COOLING WITH BRICK MASONRY
PART I-INTRODUCTION
Abstract: Brick masonry passive solar energy systems can be used to significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels for heating and cooling buildings. The concepts of passive solar cooling systems discussed here are simple modifications to passive solar heating systems. For locations where humidity is high, or there is little exterior temperature fluctuation, or applications where low interior design temperatures are required, passive solar cooling may not be viable. Several methods of pre-cooling and the concept of dehumidifying air with these systems are introduced.
Key Words: attached sunspace, bricks, buildings, cavity wall systems, climatology. conservation, direct gain systems, effective temperature, energy, masonry, passive solar cooling systems, passive solar heating systems, solar radiation, system operation, temperature, thermal storage wall systems.
Brick Institute of America
March 1980
INTRODUCTION
The application of passive solar energy systems using brick masonry can help to significantly reduce the amounts of fossil fuels and electric energy currently being used for heating and cooling buildings. Other Technical Notes in this Series address passive solar heating systems with brick masonry. They discuss the general concepts, the procedures for sizing the systems, and the performance calculations. This Technical Notes introduces the concept of passive solar cooling systems using brick masonry.
PASSIVE SOLAR COOLING
The terminology "passive solar cooling" does not necessarily refer to the actual reduction of the interior air temperature of the building. "Passive solar cooling" is a means of providing comfortable interior conditions by properly using the natural flow of thermal energy to create air movement. These "cooling systems provide comfort by controlling the effective temperature of the interior of a building.
The effective temperature is a measure of the comfortable air conditions in a building dependent upon the actual temperature of the air, the level of relative humidity, and the amount of air movement. By properly varying any one, or any combination of these factors, more comfortable interior conditions can be achieved. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) provides methods which may be used to determine the amount change or fluctuation necessary to achieve comfortable interior conditions. These methods are described in ASHRAE 1977 Handbook of Fundamentals, and ASHRAE Standard 55-74, Thermal and Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.
The actual determination of the effectiveness of passive solar cooling is complex and its performance is not yet satisfactorily predicted with calculation procedures alone. The type of passive solar cooling system selected, and its performance can be greatly affected by the site and the climatological conditions.
SYSTEMS AND OPERATION
The basic passive solar heating systems, utilizing brick masonry, are discussed in Technical Notes 43, 43A and 43B. These systems are: thermal storage wall systems, direct gain systems, attached sunspaces and combinations of these. These passive solar heating systems can be easily modified to provide interior comfort during the cooling season. Obtaining all the necessary cooling with passive solar cooling systems usually is neither economically nor thermally feasible for the entire cooling season. These simple modifications to passive solar heating systems can be used to create more comfortable interior conditons for at least part of the cooling season in most climates.
The necessary modifications to passive solar heating systems to provide passive solar cooling are provisions for 1) exhausting air from the interior, and 2) intaking exterior air. Schematics are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 for the direct gain system, attached sunspace, and thermal storage wall system, respectively. The principal modification is to provide controlled openings for exhausting the internal heat gained by the passive solar heating system. The controlled openings should be at
0000
4d
BRICK
MASONRY
GENERAL DATA
ENERGY CONSERVATION
13d
TOTAL ENERGY SYSTEMS
SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION