Energy and Buildings, 1 (1977) 141 - 145 141

© Elsevier Sequoia S.A., Lausanne -- Printed in the Netherlands

Solar Heating and Night Radiation Cooling

by a Roof Radiation Trap
B. GIVONI
Buidling Research Station, Technion --Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa (Israel)

The paper describes a new system, the terns available t o d a y are appreciably more ex-
R o o f Radiation Trap, which utilizes solar pensive than conventional air-conditioning.
energy for heating o f buildings in winter and One o f the reasons for the high cost of pre-
nocturnal radiation for cooling in summer. sent systems of solar cooling is the need to
The radiation trap consists o f fixed insulating obtain water at a very high temperature (for
layer separated from the flat roof and glazing, fiat plate collectors), of about 95 °C, to opera-
protected by hinged insulating panel, in the te the absorption cooling machine. Such col-
southern gap between the roof and the fixed lectors are expensive, and so are also the exist-
insulation. This fixed insulating layer is cover- ing absorption machines.
ed by corrugated metal sheets, painted white, Even for heating, the solar collectors have
which serve as nocturnal radiators in summer. to produce water at relatively high temperatu-
The radiation trap is integrated with the res because of the large temperature gradients
building, thermally as well as architecturally. which are required with conventional heat dis-
In winter the sun energy penetrates through tribution systems, such as radiators and fan-
the glazing and is absorbed directly in the coil units. The high collection temperature
roof, which serves as a combined collector, reduces, of course, the efficiency of energy
storage for one night and heat distribution collection.
system. One approach to a significant reduction in
The hot air in the space between the flat the cost of heating and cooling of buildings
roof and the fixed insulation is blown into a b y natural energies might be the utilization of
thermal storage o f gravel, under the floor or elements o f the building, for example the r o o f
inside the building. The stored heat is "recov- or the southern wall, as an integral part of the
ered" by forced convection during cloudy energy collection system. Elements of the
days. building, such as the ceiling and the floor, c a n
In s u m m e r the penetration o f solar radia- also be utilized as heat (or cold) distribution
tion during daytime is prevented by the hing- systems, taking advantage of their large areas
ed insulating panel. A t night the painted ex- which enable operation at very small tempera-
ternal metal layer is cooled by outgoing radia- ture gradients.
tion and the air under the corrugations is With respect to cooling, there are alternati-
blown into the space o f the radiation trap and ves of natural energies, other than solar radia-
cools the roof, which, in turn, serves as a heat tion, for example: night outgoing longwave
sink during the next day. Nocturnal evapora- radiation and night evaporative cooling. Sever-
tive cooling can supplement the radiant cool- al systems have been developed which use the-
ing. se "cold producing" natural energies for cool-
ing of buildings, such as the "Solaris" system
developed by Thomason [ 1 ] , and the Roof-
INTRODUCTION Pond developed b y Hay [2].
Some of the problems which are encounter-
"Conventional" solar heating and cooling ed in these systems, and which led to the de-
systems are based on water heating specialized velopment of the new system, the R o o f Ra-
collectors. In winter the h o t water heats the diation Trap, are discussed briefly.
building directly and in summer it activates In the Solaris system the two planes of a
an absorption cooling equipment. The sys- gabled r o o f are used respectively for winter
142

heating (souther slope) and for summer cool- cool ambient air and the relatively low resis-
ing (the northern slope). In this system water tance to this heat exchange.
trickles d o w n the valleys of corrugated alu- The efficiency of the energy storage is also
minum sheets forming the roof's surfaces. The reduced as a result of the large area and the
southern slope is blackened and is covered wind infiltration between the water bags and
with glazing, while the northern slope is the movable insulating panels. Another factor
exposed. which limits the storage capacity, as well as
When this system operates in its heating the degree of thermal control obtainable
mode, water evaporates on the solar collect- with this system, is the fact that the heat flow
ing surface and the vapor is condensed on the occurs directly between the water bags and
cooler internal surface of the glazing and the the indoors, without any time lag or a possibi-
heat transfer involved in this process limits lity to collect and store heat when the indoor
the efficiency of the system. As the evapora- temperature reaches the upper limit of therm-
tion rate increases rapidly and progressively al comfort. This factor makes it impossible to
with temperature, the efficiency drops d o w n collect solar heat during a sequence of warm
markedly as the temperature of the heated days, especially in the fall and spring, and to
water increases. store it for several days for utilization during
In a study b y Martin and Field [3] the effi- a cold spell.
ciency of trickling water collectors was As a result of the problems discussed
compared with that of other collectors and above, the usefulness of the roof ponds, with
was found to be much lower. the model applied in Atascadero, is limited to
Another system which utilizes the roof as regions with a mild climate.
an integral part in the collection and storage
of natural energies is the roof-pond of H. Hay,
which has been implemented in his building THE R O O F R A D I A T I O N T R A P
in Atascardero, California. In this system the
roof is horizontal and made of steel sheets. A system which uses the roof for heating
Over the roof there are transparent PVC bags and cooling has been developed b y Givoni
filled with water, over a black PVC sheet [4, 5]. In this system, which has been called
which rests over the roof. The water bags are the " R o o f radiation trap", solar energy for
insulated b y a transparent plastic sheet. Mov- winter heating is absorbed directly at the
able insulating panels are opened and closed roof's surface beneath a fixed insulation layer.
mechanically and regulate the heating and Part of the heat is transferred into the occupi-
cooling of the water and the roof below, ed space by conduction across the roof, with
which serves as a heating-cooling panel for the a time lag which can be predetermined b y the
house. thermal time constant of the roof. The other
In winter the insulation panels are open part of the collected solar energy is transfer-
during the day and closed during nights and red by convection, from the hot air space bet-
cloudy weather, insulating the water bags. In ween the absorbing r o o f and the insulating
summer the procedure of operation is revers- layer, to a thermal storage {gravel) under the
ed, exposing the water bags to the sky at floor of the building or inside the occupied
night and protecting them from the sun dur- space.
ing the day. The "radiation t r a p " is constructed over
Two factors limit the efficiency of this the r o o f (in the case o f a flat roof) or as an
system. The efficiency of solar energy collec- integral part of the r o o f (in the case of a gabl-
tion in winter is limited b y the low elevation ed or pitched roof). This radiation trap (Fig.
of the sun and the resulting reduced intensity 1) consists of a vertical (or slightly inclined)
of radiation over the absorbing surface, as well glazed plane facing south, and a north sloping
as the significant reflection of the low sun (inclined) insulated plane which extends over
from the plastic surface. the glazing so that in summer the glazing is
The second factor limiting the efficiency of shaded while in winter the sun penetrates
this system is the high rate of heat loss during through the glass. Between the r o o f and the
the daytime, resulting from the large area o f insulation an air plenum is thus formed,
contact between the warm water bags and the where solar radiation is "trapped". The floor
 143

Night Radiation to Sky ~ ~ le~

._~ I ~ ~ ,~o~ ~/ \
c~ ~'~ %~,,~( /
o o
~ " ~ o ~~ ~ - - - ' ~ / ~ .~L~.~IUl '
~ M,,il:l
d~i~ion/~ Reflecting
"

1 I il ' l ~ ~'~" Black. . . .i~S~rfBce

.. . ~ ~inter.Open
~ ~ ~ - ,~ -,~ "~. . . . . . . !~:' " - " Summer-Closed
~'.I~ ; I ooo oo Cold Air • Summer Flow
[,J~ ;,il . . . . . Warm Air. Winter Flow
I: [ c .............. ;'1 m Insulation
I~l~ , . . w a r m / ~ o m Air i.'. I ~ Concrete
~1! ;~: to Rooms ~ I
rl~ ,~..-;I-%t ,~,I
J"7 ,,,~,...........~ : ........... ,.... ! : ' L Precalt Concrete Floor

17[
<
tI1i1'@1t11
- f ~ - F - G :~ , " ~ : ~ - - ~ ~
I~t~
Wire Mesh on Supports
Distribution Plenum under
Gravel

Fig. 1. The roof radiation trap.

of this radiation trap (which is the r o o f o f the may be stored for use on cold nights or during
building) is painted black and acts as a solar cloudy days and also the rate of energy flow
energy absorbing surface. The inclined insulat- into the rooms may be controlled. On the
ed layer is covered b y sheets of corrugated other hand, the cost involved in such a system
metal, preferably painted white with a plastic is evidently greater.
paint, to increase its emissivity. This external The partition of the flow of the collected
layer is used for summer night cooling, as will energy between the conductive and convecti-
be described below. ve modes depends on two factors: the thermal
Such radiation traps can form one unit over resistance of the r o o f and the rate of air flow
the whole r o o f (in small buildings) or several between the radiation trap and the thermal
units of successive triangles covering the roof, storage.
partially or totally. The units can also be pre- It is possible to determine the thermal pro-
fabricated. perties of the r o o f in such a way that the
Thermal storage is provided partly b y the pattern of heat flow b y conduction from the
r o o f itself, when it is of high heat capacity r o o f to the space below it will follow the heat
(e.g. concrete), or in a specialized space filled requirements of the occupants.
with gravel, under the floor of the building or For example, when the glazed area is
inside the occupied space. Gravel thermal sto- oriented due south the peak of the temperatu-
rage is provided because the heat flow is re wave of the roof, and of the air in the space
effected b y air flow. between the r o o f and the insulation, occurs
a b o u t noon. On the other hand, heating requi-
rements depend on the occupancy pattern.
WINTER HEATING For example, in residential buildings peak de-
mand may occur in the evening when the out-
Solar radiation which penetrates through door temperature drops d o w n b u t the occu-
the glazing during the day in winter heats the pants still do not retire.
upper surface of the r o o f and also, b y convec- It is possible to control the pattern of the
tion, the air above it. Part o f the energy ab- heat flow from the r o o f into the occupied
sorbed at the r o o f is transferred to the rooms space, b y specifiying the heat capacity of the
below b y conduction through the roof, and roof, in such a way that peak heat flow will
the ceiling is transformed in this way into a coincide with the time of peak demand.
radiant heating panel. The storage potential of the r o o f is limited
A complimentary w a y of operating the sys- b y the relationship b e t w e e n the ceiling tempe-
tem consists in drawing the h o t air from the rature and the c o m f o r t requirements of the
r o o f trap to a thermal storage unit {gravel or occupants. Heat can be stored in the r o o f
containerized water) located in the basement only as long as the indoor thermal conditions,
or within the building. In this w a y energy air temperature as well as the radiant tempera-
144

CONTROL OPTIONS

Several design options can be considered

with regard to the details and operational pro-
-- ~ ~. \ \ /
cedure of the radiation trap.
One option is the location of movable insu-
lation. A hinged insulating panel can be located
either outside or inside the glass area (i.e. ex-
ternal or internal) {see Fig. 2).
At an external location, such a panel is
suitable mainly for seasonal control. When
closed during the summer, heat gains through
the glass are avoided. When open for winter
operation, the panel may act as a reflector,
thus enabling to increase the a m o u n t of ra-
diation eventually admitted into the air ple-
num.
An external insulation panel is the most
efficient barrier against heating effects in sum-
mer since it avoids penetration of solar radia-
tion into the air plenum. In addition, its use
as a reflector in winter can increase the energy
gain by about 30% and should not be over-
looked. However, from the point of view of
Fig. 2. Different possibilities for the location of construction and material costs this solution
moveable insulation in the radiation trap. will be more expensive than the provision of
an internal insulation panel, since it has to
rature, do not exceed the upper limit of withstand wind forces and other weathering
thermal comfort. When this limit is reached factors. It is also limited to regions where
the collected heat should be directed mainly snow is not expected.
to the thermal storage. This can be achieved At an internal location, the insulation is
to some extent by increasing the rate of air protected from the wind and thus can be
flow between the radiation trap and the much lighter than an external panel. As a
thermal storage. However, the efficiency of result it can be operated, not only on a
this mode of control is limited. seasonal, but, in winter, also on a diurnal basis
A more efficient m e t h o d , although also (i.e. open during the day and closed during
more expensive, of controlling the partition the night). In this way a higher efficiency,
of the heat flow between conductance to the from the energy conservation viewpoint, can
space below and convection to the storage be achieved.
can be obtained by the provision of a hinged Internal insulating hinged panels can be
insulating panel inside the radiation trap, as provided in two positions: either adjacent
is described below. In Fig. 1 a schematic sys- to the glass, and thus insulating the whole
tem of r o o f radiation trap and underfloor air plenum and the roof, or over the roof it-
gravel thermal storage is shown. self, thus leaving unprotected the air plenum
When the roof is made of concrete it may above it (see Fig. 2).
serve as a significant thermal storage by itself. When positioned adjacent to the glass the
Its thickness can be designed so that the time area of the panel is minimal (equal to the
lag of the temperature wave will result in peak glass area). In addition, in summer it protects
heating during the evening. the whole air plenum from overheating. On
When the r o o f is made o f a lightweight ma- the other hand, in winter it enables heat flow
terial with low thermal capacity, the heating from the roof into the air plenum and provi-
of the living space is immediate. On the other des a larger area for heat loss.
hand, at nights, energy from the storage unit When the hinged insulating panel is posi-
has to be used. tioned over the roof its area is much larger
 145

(equal to the roof area). On the other hand, it ed. During the day, air drawn through the
provides better protection from heat loss dur- cool storage unit may thus be cooled, and
ing winter nights, although it is less effective even partly dehumidified, and then used to
against heat gain in summer. In addition, it cool the rooms.
may provide for a certain means of energy Such a system has the advantage that the
flow control: when closed, heat conduction same storage medium, as well as the same me-
through the r o o f is minimized and thus, when chanism for energy transport and distribution,
the r o o m below has reached its comfort tem- are used b o t h for summer and winter opera-
perature, all the energy penetrating into the tion.
radiation trap can be drawn into the storage
unit.
Instead of one panel, the insulation can be PRELIMINARY TESTING AND DESIGN OF A
designed as a series of hinged panels, openable F U L L SCALE BUILDING
at a suitable angle during the day in winter.
The system has been under experimenta-
tion at the Building Research Station,
SUMMER COOLING Technion, Israel, on a small-scale model. A
full scale single storey building which will
R o o f radiation traps for winther heating utilize the r o o f radiation trap for heating and
can be used in combination with summer cooling is being designed and will be built
night cooling by outgoing radiation (see Fig. next year in Israel.
1). The results of the model testing and the
Under favorable climatic conditions a cor- detailed design of the building will be pre-
rugated metal sheet located over the north sented in subsequent papers.
sloping panel of the r o o f trap will be cooled
by night outgoing longwave radiation so that
its temperature can be lowered b y several REFERENCES
degrees below the temperature of the ambient
air. Air allowed to flow under this corrugated 1 H. E. Thomason, Solar space heating and air-condi-
sheet is consequently cooled. Preliminary ex- tioning in the Thomason home, Solar Energy, 4
periments undertaken at the Building Re- (1960) 11-19.
search Station, Technion, during the summers 2 H. Hay, The California Solarchitecture House.
of 1975 and 1976, showed that air flowing UNESCO International Congress: "The Sun in the
Service o f Mankind", Paris, July, 1973.
under a white corrugated metal sheet exposed 3 R. L. San Martin and G. J. Field, Experimental per-
to the night sky, was cooled b y about 4 - 5 °C formance of three solar collectors, Solar Energy,
below the D.B.T. of the outside air and for 17 (1975) 345-349.
certain periods even to 1 - 2 °C below the 4 B. Givoni, Man, Climate and Architecture, Applied
W.B.T. (following condensation o f excess Science Publishers, London, 2rid edn., 1976.
5 B. Givoni, M. Paciuk and S. Weiser, Natural Ener-
water vapor). gies for Heating and Cooling o f Buildings -- Anal-
This air may be drawn by means of a fan ytical Survey. Research Report 017-235, Building
into a storage unit where gravel will be cool- Research Station, Technion, Haifa, 1976.