GBlist: re: Overheating a solarium

[Ovid Curmudgeonsen Metamorphoses II <_meta_4@excite.ca>]

Uneven Stephen wrote:

>We are contemplating building a solarium on the SW side our shop to >use as
a 'furnace' to accelerate the hardening of custom painted >window lineals. 

>1.6 m (5') wide and 25m (75')long room that you think would lead to >the
GREATEST amount of overheating. 

No sweat.

I think that I would make the thing as two separate units:

(1) A superinsulated "kiln compartment" in which the lineals 
    would be racked
                and
(2) A trombe-wall type solar collector compartment with a very  
    narrow air space, glazed sloped wall @ 60 deg from horizontal.
                with
(3) The Kiln Room at the top end of a thermosiphon loop
                and
(4) Reflectors (made from salvaged mirror or AOL CDs) to reflect light
    at the solar glazing to double the bang for the buck, if   
     necessary.

During overcast/non-gain  periods the Trombe wall portion would be
closed-off from the thermosiphon loop with insulated dampers so that as much
as possible of the fossil-fired generated back-up heat would be retained by
the kiln instead of being radiated out through the glass.

If the floor space is tight and the solarium must also serve as the racking
space, then perhaps the racks would be up near the apex of the space only
and insulated shutters would be an integral part design, possibly doing
double duty as reflectors (a la ZomeWorks) ?

--- * ---
Ovid Curmudgeonsen Metamorphoses II
(but you can call me Elvis)
Please visit: http://www.theHungerSite.com daily





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