Applied Energy 17 (1984) 217-234

Solar-Energy Stimulated, Open-Looped Thermosyphonic Air Heaters

B. N o r t o n and S. D. Probert
Applied Energy Group, School of Mechanical Engineering, Cranfield Institute of Technology, Bedford, MK43 0AL (Great Britain)

SUMMARY The behaviours of solar-energy collectors for use in a thermosyphon airheating system are discussed. Almost identical instantaneous collector efficiencies are achieved by collectors whose base surfaces (which are orthogonal to the direct insolation) have fins which run parallel with, or perpendicular to, the mean convecting airflow direction in the collector. Those surfaces with )qns perpendicular to the flow are shown to have longer thermal response periods to changes in insolation than surfaces with fins parallel to the air stream. The latter arrangement exhibited an almost equal response period to that achieved by a plane surface.

NOMENCLATURE A C F I k rh Ta T/ T,.
TO

Aperture area of air-heating solar collector (m2). Specific heat capacity of air (J kg- 1 K - 1). Collector heat removal factor. Global insolation on the plane of the collector (W m-2). Pressure-head loss coetficient. Mass flow rate of heated air passing through the collector (kg s - 1). Dry-bulb ambient temperature (K). Air-stream temperature at the collector inlet (K). ( T O+ T,)/2 (K). Air-stream temperature at the collector outlet (K). Total steady-state heat-loss coefficient for the collector (Wm-2K-1). Absorptivity for solar energy by the absorber plate.

217 Applied Energy 0306-2619/84/$03.00 Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1984. Printed in Great Britain

218

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

"c

Instantaneous collector efficiency (defined by eqn. (1)). Transmissivity of collector glazing with respect to solar energy.

THE POTENTIAL MARKET AND SELECTION CRITERIA FOR SOLAR-ENERGY AIR HEATERS The occupation of schools, offices, commercial premises and most public buildings occurs mainly during daylight hours. Therefore, many passive solar-energy collectors, such as Trombe walls, are inappropriate as sole heating systems in such circumstances because of the significant delays between the collection of the solar energy and its delivery as useful heat into the rooms. (These devices store heat which is released into the rooms predominantly during the night.) An alternative procedure, which involves a shorter thermal response period, is the enhancement of the direct solar gain by increasing the non-shadowed glazed proportion of the south-facing walls of the building. Unfortunately, this can lead to overheating of the associated rooms during the summer months and also to significantly increased rates of heat loss from the structure at night. The deliberate use of direct gain, however, should be encouraged: at the design stage, the intended collection of solar energy should affect the shape of the building, its optimal location relative to the N-S direction, rather than parallel with the adjacent road, the overlap of the eaves, the arrangement of partitions and furniture within the building, and the planting of trees. However, the loss of privacy experienced, due to the concomitant large windows, may be unacceptable to the occupants. Thus, a solar-energy space-heating system is required that possesses the following, sometimes conflicting, attributes: 1 Minimum delays should ensue between solar-energy collection and the input of the harnessed heat into the room(s). Only low rates of heat loss from the room(s) should occur during 'cold' conditions. Overheating of the building must not happen during the summer months. The construction should be robust, mass-producible and lightweight. Only mininal maintenance should be likely to be needed. The initial capital cost should be low. The whole system should be aesthetically acceptable when installed.

Solar-energy stimulated, open-looped thermosyphonic air heaters

219

A natural-circulation air-heating solar-energy collector and distribution system could satisfy these criteria.

NATURAL-CIRCULATION AIR-HEATING SOLAR-ENERGY COLLECTORS A closed-loop solar-energy stimulated air thermosyphon (combining an air-heating collector with a rock-bed heat store) was monitored in New Mexico and found to operate with an average daily conversion efficiency of heated air to insolation of 40 per cent during the winter months, 2 thereby providing 70 per cent of the total annual space-heating demand. For daytime heating only, it was suggested that, without the thermal store, the air-heater alone could provide, over a year, more than 30 per

DIRECTION OF AIRFLOW

OLAZ,
. . . . . . . . . .

GLAZING ~;

..............

i~

INSOLATION L.~.... ~ i.0~..... (Q)SCHEMATIC VERTICAL SECTION SHOWING CONVENTIONAL THE SOLAR (t THETROMBE WALL e WALL)

(b}"S-LOOP" OPAQUE SOLAR WALL

C_,~LAZIN(~__ J~i/~, ..... ~JJ

~SOLA:,O. \ \

GLAZING,,...,.,..,-,-~
/j

Y'///'l

,NSOLArio.\ \

~GLAZING

(c~ THERMOSYPHONIN5 CONVENTIONAL (d) THERMOSYPHONtNG mE-GLAZED CENTI COLLECTOR COLLECTOR

Fig. !. Schematic forms of thermosyphon air heater for a room, and their modes of operation.

220

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

cent of the average daily space heating requirements. Such 'open-loop' thermosyphon solar-energy air-heaters--a generic classification that excludes Trombe walls and units with appreciable integral storage--can be used in association with the space to be heated in various configurations. Comparative experimental observations 3 of the arrangements illustrated schematically in Fig. 1 showed that the conventional and centre-glazed collectors exhibited almost similar total daily efficiencies of up to 45 per cent. The conventional solar wall was only slightly less efficient ( ,-~40 per cent). However, due to the higher air flow resistance, and consequent lower collector heat removal factor, the S-loop solar wall was a further 10 per cent less efficient. Thus, the system shown in Fig. l(c) has considerable potential for use in heating'dormer' rooms of bungalows. However, that of Fig. l(d) may be preferred as it allows the inclusion of windows in the south-facing wall. This latter design may be modified so that the heated air is introduced at the base of the room where it is most required.

F L O W - C H A N N E L C O N F I G U R A T I ON An analytical comparison 4 of the performances of three types of airheating collectors, differing in location of the flow channel as shown in Fig. 2, suggested that type II performed better than type III for average air-stream temperatures below 38 C. For air-stream temperatures above 49 C, type III had a distinct advantage. Both yielded higher efficiencies than type I. However, type I requires less materials for construction, incurs a lower initial cost and performs well with less maintenance when installed. 5.6 Charters et al. 7 used a numerical method to predict the preferred locations of the air-channels for the same three configurations. They concluded that the design choice should be dependent upon the collector's length, and noted that the stagnant (or near stagnant) air layer employed in the type III collector (to stabilise the glass cover-plate's temperature) deserves consideration for adoption in all collectors with long flow ducts. It has been suggested that the critical collector length, for which a stagnant gap type becomes advantageous over the doublechannel type collector, is 3 m. s Its effectiveness could be further enhanced by incorporating, in the trapped air layer, a convection-suppression device, such as a glass honeycomb, between the absorber and the glazing. 9 That it is advantageous to separate the flow channel from the external

Solar-energy stimulated, open-looped thermosyphonic air heaters

TPI YE DET I C R I S LT N N OA I O

221

AS RE BO BI PA E LT D TP S C A N L N- A SHN E
T y p = ,I DIRECT l~lqNl ATlnkl x

3UBLE- P A S S C H A N N E L

DET I C R

B C - A SH N E A KP S C A N L

Fig. 2.

Flow channel inclined configurations: the large arrows indicate the air-flow directions.

environment by a sealed air space has also been concluded by Garg and Rani. 1 It was shown that higher collector efficiencies are obtainable using double, rather than single, glazing, particularly for large temperature differences between the collector inlet and the ambient environment. However, if any further layers of glazing are added, usually the savings from reduced thermal losses are more than offset by the cost of the extra glazing and its associated reduction in solar radiation transmission. The numerous interacting design parameters involved in flat-plate collectors complicate the selection of an optimal arrangement. For example, a computer simulation of the thermal behaviour of a solar wall during the worst month of the Australian winter of 1974 showed that the collector performance with double glazing was only marginally better than with single glazing. ~1 However, it was noted that this may have been explained by the relatively mild Melbourne winters and the relatively poor transmissivity of the glass used.

222

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

Hollands and Sheuen ~2 compared various flow-passage geometries on the basis of the same pressure drop suffered by the air flowing through the collector and the same mass flow rate per unit area of the collector. They found that the overall heat transfer coefficient between the absorbing surface and the air stream could be as high as 300 per cent that for a flat-plate. It was also noted that, when the length of the collector airflow passage was less than about 1 m, the rate of heat transfer from a flat absorber plate per unit area of plate increased rapidly with further shortening of the length of the air-flow passage.

WIDTH OF AIR C H A N N E L Generally, assessments of the optimal air-stream channel gap width, for type I collectors (see Fig. 2) have been based on empirical analyses. A numerical solution of the heat transfer equation for one-dimensional laminar flow 13 indicated that the collector performance was relatively insensitive to the air-gap width and that the optimal width falls within the 3 to 7 cm range, over which the variation in collector efficiency is relatively small. This may be compared with the results from a theoretical study 14 which suggested that, in order to obtain least convection losses and shading of the absorber surface by the sides of the collector, a gap of between 4 and 5 cm should be maintained between the absorber and the cover glazing. By contrast, Reno 15 concluded that the optimal width is rather smaller, at around 2.5 cm, although with relatively little variation in instantaneous collector efficiency occurring for air channel widths in the range 2-5 cm.

ABSORBER SURFACE Fins are frequently attached to the absorber plate in order to reduce the temperature difference between the air-stream and the absorber surface without unduly increasing the pressure differential for air flows through the collector. Sobel and Buelow 16 performed an experiment to determine the change in performance of a collector when the air flow was perpendicular with, rather than parallel to, the absorber's corrugations. These unglazed collectors were constructed simply by adding a metal sheet behind a metal roof to form a duct through which air was blown.

Solar-energy stimulated, open-looped thermosyphonic air heaters

223

Inlet and outlet temperatures and the air-flow rate were measured and the efficiency evaluated. Approximately a 10 per cent improvement resulted when the convecting air flow was perpendicular with, rather than parallel to, the corrugations. The absorber with the flow parallel to the corrugations exhibited a lOper cent improvement in performance compared with that achieved with the flat-sheet absorber. The performances of different collector designs have been predicted ~7 by solving simultaneously the equations obtained from the energy balances for each of the collector components. It was concluded that the efficiency of a flat-plate collector could be increased by about 20 per cent by the attachment of staggered fins to the flow side of the absorber plate, the fins being orthogonal to the convecting flow. An optimal fin spacing was found to be between 1 and 3 cm. This prediction was corroborated by experiments on a collector with such a finned absorber. ~8 A maximum of 23 per cent increase in efficiency over that for a plane absorber in similar circumstances was recorded. A simple analytical model, ~9 developed to investigate the effect of increased heat transfer area on a forced circulation solar-energy air heater, was used to compare the performances of both a V-corrugated surface and a rectangularly finned surface with that of a flat surface. It was found that an increase in heat transfer area led to a rise of operating efficiency, particularly for the finned surface. Efficiency also rose upon increasing the number of fins per unit width of the collector, although this assertion was not investigated for fin spacings smaller than 3.5 cm. D I M E N S I O N S A N D F O R M OF E N T R A N C E A N D EXIT DUCTS The over-riding consideration when designing inlet and outlet ducts is to minimize the pressure losses which occur within the flows near these stations. It is recommended~ 5 that the inlet and outlet ports should extend the entire width of the collector, with a height of 17.5 to 30 cm. Also, rightangled bends of the flow should be minimized. So the ports are slanted and/or sheet metal should be used to curve the entrances and exits for the air stream. A N A L Y T I C A L STUDIES In the Akbari and Borgers model 2 for the behaviour of a naturally convecting solar-energy air-heater, the air flow was assumed to be laminar

224

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

and compressible, and described by the simplified coupled m o m e n t u m and energy equations. These governing equations were set up in dimensionless form and solved using a finite-difference procedure. This study considered the velocity profiles normal and parallel to the direction of the air flow, the pressure drop in the entry section and the effects of dissimilar but uniform channel surface temperatures for a wide range of flow rates and temperatures. Several correlations were developed to enable the performance characteristics to be estimated given the channel thickness, height and surface temperatures. These results were subsequently presented graphically, 21 so permitting rapid estimates of convective heat transfer performances to be made for design purposes. They found satisfactory agreements between the theoretical predictions and the experimental data for laminar flows. Tichy 22 pointed out that the Akbari and Borgers model assumed no flow losses in the channel entrance and exit other than the exit dynamic head (i.e. a heat loss coefficient, k, of unity), whereas the actual coefficient for combined inlet and exit losses was probably within the range 2 < k < 5. It was noted that to include these inlet and exit losses in the Akbari and Borgers evaluation would be excessively costly in terms of computer time. Thus an approximate method was proposed for analysing the air flows" in this, the governing equations were linearized. A complicated but closedform of the solution to the problem was obtained by which parametric studies could be readily performed inexpensively. This was then used to study the effects of inlet and/or exit losses for the channel air flow. For a loss coefficient, k, of 5, the flow rate was reduced by 70 per cent relative to the case when k equals unity. The model gave predictions which were in good agreement with the Akbari and Borgers rigorous solution for the case of no inlet or exit flow losses. Azimov and Avezov 2a predicted the airflow velocity as a function of aerodynamic resistance of the system and the temperatures of the absorber surface and transport medium. The overall fluid flow resistance coefficient, k, was taken to be 3.5, and this was made up from coefficients of 0-5 at the inlet, 1"0 at the outlet and 1'0 for each bend in the transport medium flow (allowing for the bends at the building inlet and outlet). This compares well with the range 2 < k < 5 suggested by Tichy. 22 A simple computer program, entitled T A P F L O W , 24 was developed for the design of vertical back-pass open-loop thermosyphon solarenergy air heaters. When an experimental validation of the T A P F L O W

Solar-energy stimulated, open-looped thermosyphonic air heaters

225

program was undertaken,15 the value for the combined loss coefficient used, namely k = 3.8, corresponded to that for relatively smooth input and output ducts. This value was found to be unduly optimistic and gave exaggerated performance figures. The value of k was 11.8 for the particular collector tested in the validation programme. This indicates the effects of the inlet and outlet ducts on the collector's performance.

F L A P VALVES The inclusion of a flap valve in the air-flow circuit is essential to prevent heat losses due to nocturnal reverse circulation (for those systems in which the room to be heated is not at a much higher level than the collectors). However, such devices can be extremely restrictive to direct flows. To reduce such flow losses, a vertically hanging damper, constructed of light plastic film, was recommended by Tichy, 25 who found it to be an extremely effective device--see Fig. 3. However, this
WOE O DN C LE T R OL C O FA E RM

-IANGING THIN .IGHTWEIGHT )LASTIC SHEET

METAL MOUNTING

Fig. 3.

Schematic diagram of the simple 'leUer-box type' flap-valve incorporated in the upper chalmel from the collector of the experimental unit.

should be contrasted with the opinion, expressed in a compilation of American solar energy engineers' practical experiences, 26 namely, 'Universal concern was noted as to the lack of reliability of back-draught dampers: they leak !' This indicates the need for careful design to ensure reliable performance.

226

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL U N I T (See Fig. 4) The open-loop thermosyphon solar-energy air-heater test cell was located on the Solar Energy Annexe, at the edge of the airfield at Cranfield Institute of Technology, Bedford, Great Britain, i.e. at 54 N latitude and 111 m above mean sea level. The site was not overshadowed at any time, and the local conditions were not significantly affected by industrial airborne pollution. The associated data acquisition system was located within the Annexe. The 1.4 m 2 area front-pass collector, inclined at an

~"

50cm

Fig. 4. The experimental unit used in this investigation with the absorber surface whose fins are aligned parallel with the naturally convecting air-stream--i.e, the "vertical-fin' arrangement.

Solar-energy stimulated, open-looped thermosyphonic air heaters

227

angle 60 to the horizontal, was glazed with a film of fluorinated ethylene-propylene, and the back of the collector was insulated by a 7 cm thick slab of expanded polystyrene. The bottom inlet and top outlet ducts were 8 cm across and extended the width of the collector. The flow channel depth was 4 cm. The absorber configuration could be changed by removing the cover, then substituting the new collector surface, and replacing the cover. Copper/constantan thermojunctions measured the air-stream temperatures at the inlet and outlet and at five equally separated vertical positions along the centre line of each absorber plate. A 0.14 m 3 capacity wooden box, similar to that which held the collector, simulated the heated (admittedly very small) room: it was lined with a 5 cm thick layer of expanded polystyrene and covered externally with reflective foil. Centrally positioned along the major axis of the chamber was a length of thin wooden dowelling to which were attached four equally separated copper/constantan thermojunctions. Heat could be extracted from the air by a spiral coil of 1 cm diameter copper tubing, placed at the base of the cell and connected to a cold-water supply. The insulant, its reflective coating and the copper cooling coil facilitated the control of the working-space temperature. The system enclosing the environment to be heated was placed upon the supporting framework and the collector laid flush over it. The three absorber surfaces studied were manufactured from 1.6 mm thick light aluminium alloy. The surfaces when in use were (i) plane, (ii) horizontally finned and (iii) vertically finned. The fins, in both cases, protruded 2.5 cm proud of the base surface and were spaced 3 cm apart. Each absorber surface was primed and coated with matt black paint.

I N S T R U M E N T A T I ON The data recorded in the experiments included the temperature-time histories at various heights in the model room, as well as the variations of the total global insolation on the plane of the collector and the ambient temperature. The total radiation incident on the collector surface was measured with a Moll-Gorczynski pyranometer, mounted in the same plane as the collector (i.e. at a tilt angle of 60 degrees to the horizontal). This second class pyranometer (according to the International Pyrheliometer Scale of 1956) was located above the collector, free from shadows and isolated from conductive heat leaks. The pyranometer's

228

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

receiving surfaces were covered with two concentric, ground and polished glass hemispherical domes, 2mm thick, and having an effective transmission range of 2.5 nm to 300 nm. The second hemisphere blocked the radiation exchange between the thermopile and the outer dome, thereby facilitating a marked increase in stability. As the surface of the junctions of the thermopile was rectangular, particular care was taken during installation with respect to orientation. With this instrument, 96 per cent of the complete response to a sudden change of insolation occurred within 30s. The instrument also suffered from slight zerodepression errors and its accuracy was approximately 0.2 per cent. The acquisition of 'simultaneous' data for this investigation was accomplished, using a Fluke 2200B data logger, all within a period of 40 s. Output signals from the Moll-Gorczynski pyranometer and the thermojunctions were fed directly into the data logger.

RESULTS A N D DISCUSSION A typical pattern of system temperature variations with insolation and ambient temperature for a plane surface absorber is illustrated in Fig. 5. The variation of the collector's instantaneous efficiency with the applied
INSOLATION AMBIENT TEMPERATURE . . . . 100 COLLECTOR I MEAN PLATE TEMPERATURES I AIR OUTLET t AIR INLET ..... 800 ..................

'E 3=

~0

60

,WV
//

,f/VkA
... " ......

600

~oo z

~o

5
d
200 z

d
0 O0 02 0A
06

08

10

12

14

16

11~

20

22

2~.

LOCAL TIME (HOURS)

Fig. 5. Diurnal/nocturnal variation of collector's temperatures with insolation and ambient temperature for the plane absorber surface at 60 inclination to the horizontal for the 6th July 1983.

Solar-energy stimulated, open-looped thermosyphonic air heaters

229

conditions can be represented to a first approximation by the Hottel-Whillier-Bliss 27 equation:

(1)
where the collector heat removal factor, F, is defined as the ratio of the actual rate of useful heat collected to that which would be harnessed if the entire absorber surface was at the average air-stream temperature. Because there is always a temperature differential between the air and the absorber surface, F < 1. Thus, a plot of the efficiency of the collector versus the factor [(T,. - T a ) / I A ] should be a straight line of gradient F U with a positive intercept of Fret on the efficiency axis. Experimental results for the three absorber surfaces are plotted in this manner in Fig. 6 for a
FIN CONFIGURATION FINS ALIGNED PERPENDICULAR TO FLOW FINS ALIfiNED PARALLELTO FLOW NO FINS EXPERIMENTAL DATA o REGRESSION LINE

O7

z i.u N\ "~

N%

~o6

S
t,o 7

",,,A
\ \\ NN \\

0 02

00g '

0 '06

Tm- Ta , ( Kin-2W-1 ) IA

Fig. 6.

Collector characteristics for different types of absorber surface.

230

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

natural circulation air-flow rate of 0.0112 kgs -~. By contrast with the observations of Sobel and Buelow, ~6 surprisingly little difference in instantaneous collector efficiency was observed as a result of different alignments of the fins to the naturally convecting air-stream. However, the addition of fins did provide a significant increase in the collector efficiency compared with that for a plane surface at all the considered collector temperatures. An investigation was undertaken to determine the thermal response period to changes in the applied conditions. For a step decrease in the insolation, a time constant was defined as the period taken for the temperature difference between the absorber plate and the ambient environment to fall to 0.368 (i.e. l/e) of its initial value. For a step increase in the insolation, there was not a single datum temperature towards which the temperatures would approach asymptotically for all three absorber surfaces. Thus it was not possible to obtain time constants in a similar way to that employed for temperature decreases. An alternative time constant was thus defined as the period that elapsed from exposure to the insolation until the temperature difference between the absorber plate and the air-stream at the outlet became constant. The insolation level used was 400 W m - 2 and the time constants thus determined are shown in Table 1. A simple flap-valve, as illustrated in Fig. 3, was incorporated into the unit to prevent heat losses from the room due to nocturnal reverse thermosyphonic circulations. Figure 7 shows the profiles of the
TABLE I

Behaviours of Different Collector Surfaces When Subjected to Step-Changes ill the Insolation
Absorber plate con]~'guration Response period for the plate to a step increase of zero to 400 W m -z in the insolation (s)
600 4-_ 16

Relaxation period of the plate to a step decrease of 400 Wrn -2 in the insolation (s)

Flat surface Finned surface with fins aligned parallel with the convecting flow Finned surface with fins perpendicular to the convecting flow

I 380 ___30

660 + 18

1 320 + 33

960 + 18

1 560 ___35

Solar-energy stimulated, open-looped thermosyphonic air heaters

15

231

I,--

PRESENT DATE,21-22 JUNE 1983 MEAN~SHT "TIME AMBIENT TEMPERATURE10"C

05

\
03:00HRS 23~OOHRS 21:00HRS

is

//

1900HRS

"~ "~ ~I
z

WITHOUT FLAPVALVE DATE, 5-6 JULY 1983 MEANNIGHT-TIME AMBIENT TEMPERATURE8 "C

05

0'

- -

'

10

2'0

30 TEMPERATURE, "C) (

: : ~ ~

COLLECTOR ~MULATED ROOM

Fig. 7. Nocturnal variation of system temperature profiles. temperature variations with height in the system through two nights during which approximately similar ambient conditions prevailed. Both profiles are for the collector with a plane absorber surface, the only difference being the presence of a flap-valve in the flow circuit. As can be seen, the simulated room was maintained at a higher temperature when the flap-valve was in the flow circuit. This confirms that a simple lightweight flap effectively prevents nocturnal reverse circulations and the ensuent additional heat leaks.

232

B. Norton, S. D. Probert

DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS The responses of the flat surface and the finned surface on which the fins were aligned to the convecting air stream were almost similar. However, the response of the surface with the fins perpendicular to the flow was markedly slower. It is thus preferable to employ the latter type of surface in collectors on buildings experiencing rapid insolation changes in order to ameliorate the effects on the internal environment. The simple flap valve was found to perform effectively. However, before it is adopted commercially, a study of its long-term reliability and durability should be undertaken.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The financial support of the Science and Engineering Research Council and the Waterloo Grille Company, Benfleet, Essex, is appreciated. The assistance of Mr D. C. Wharton in undertaking some of the experiments is also gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES 1. B. King, Architects Department, Essex County Council, Private communication, 1982. 2. W. S. Morris, Natural convection systems with storage, Proc. Third National Passive Solar Conj~,rence, San Jose, Cal!]'ornia, USA, 1979, pp. 241-5. 3. W. S. Morris, Natural convection solar collectors, Proc. Second National Passive Solar ConJerence, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1978, pp. 596-601. 4. D.J. Close, Solar air heaters for low and moderate temperature applications, Solar Energy, 7(3)(1963), pp. 117-24. 5. A. T. Wilson and B. L. Stickney, An experimental comparison of retrofit vertical air collectors, Proc. Fifth National Passive Solar Conjerence, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA, 1980, pp. 1042-5. 6. D. A. Hagan, B. Wadsworth and L, Palmitter, Preliminary results of thermosyphon air panels retrofit, Proc. Fifth National Passive Solar Conference, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA, 1980, pp. 1046-50. 7. W. W. S. Charters, T. W. Lira and Y. C, Tong, The design evaluation of flatplate solar air heater absorbers by digital computer, Mech. and Chem. Eng. Trans., Inst. Eng., Australia, MCS(1) (1972), pp. 55-8.

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8. W. W. S. Charters and R. W. G. MacDonald, Heat transfer effects in solar air heaters, Proc. ISES Conference, Paris, 1973, pp. 137-41. 9. K. G. T. Hollands, G. D. Raithby and T. E. Unny, Studies on methods of reducing heat lossesfrom flat-plate solar collectors, Final report, University of Waterloo Research Institute, Waterloo, Canada, 1976. 10. H. P. Garg and U. Rani, Loss coefficients from solar flat-plate collectors, Applied Energy, 6 (1980), pp. 109-17. 11. P. Ohanessian and W. W. S, Charters, Thermal simulation of a passive solar house using a Trombe-Michel wall structure, Solar Energy, 20 (1978), pp. 275-81. 12. K . G . T . Hollands and E. C. Sheuen, Optimisation of flow passage geometry for air-heating, plate-type solar collectors, ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 103 (1981), pp. 232-330. 13. O. A. Barra and E. P. Carratelli, A theoretical study of laminar freeconvection in one-dimensional solar induced flows, Solar Energy, 23 (1980), pp.211-15. 14. N. M. Nahar and H. P. Garg, Free convection and shading due to gap spacing between an absorber plate and the cover glazing in solar energy flatplate collectors, Applied Energy, 7 (1980), pp. 129-45. 15. V. Reno, Thermosyphoning air panels: Going with the flow? Proe. Sixth National Passive Solar Conference, Portland, Oregon, USA, 1981, pp. 149-53. 16. A. T. Sobel and F. H. Buelow, Galvanised steel roof construction for solar heating, Agricultural Engineering, 6 (1973), pp. 312 17. 17. B. E. Cole-Appel and R. D. Haberstroh, Performance of air-cooled flat-plate solar collectors, Proc. "Sharing the Sun', American Section of the International Solar Energy Society Conference on Solar Technologies in the Seventies, Vol. 2, Winnipeg, Canada, 1976, pp. 83 90. 18. B. E. Cole-Appel, G. O. G. Lof, L. E. Shaw and B. B. Fischer, The improt'ement of solar air collectors--Study and experimental research pro/ect, Final Report prepared under US Dept. of Energy Contract EY-76C-04-3713, Solaron Corporation, Denver, USA, 1978. 19. H. P. Garg, G. Datta and B. Bandyopadhyay, A study on the effect of enhanced heat transfer area in solar air heaters, Energy Conversion and Management, 23(1)(1983), pp. 43-9. 20. H. Akbari and T. R. Borgers, Free-convection laminar flow within the Trombe wall channel, Solar Energy, 22 (1979), pp. 165-74. 21. T. R. Borgers and H. Akbari, Free-convective energy performance of the Trombe Wall--Laminar and turbulent, Proc. Fourth National Passive Solar Co~7['erence, Kansas City', USA, 1979, pp. 221-5. 22. J. A. Tichy, The effect of inlet and exit losses on free-convective laminar flow in the Trombe Wall channel, ASME Paper, 82-WA/SoI-I, 1982. 23. O. Azimov and R. R. Avezov, Calculation of heat-transport-medium flow rate in heat receivers of passive solar heating systems, Geliotekhnika, 15(6) (1979), pp. 39-41. (In Russian.) 24. J. Kohler, TAPFLOW, Solar Age (May, 1981), pp.48-51.

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25. J.A. Tichy, Engineering evaluation of controls for passive solar heating and cooling systems, Proc. Second National Passive Solar Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1978, pp. 501-4. 26. D. S. Ward, H. S. Oberoi and S. D. Weinstein, How to solve materials and design problems in solar heating and cooling, Noyes Data Corporation, Park Ridge, New Jersey, USA, 1982. 27. W. G. GiUett, The equivalence of outdoors and mixed indoor/outdoor solar collector testing, Solar Energy, 25 (1980), pp. 545-8.