Analysis of a Trombe Wall Prototype with Thermal Energy Storage and Air Vent Management

Thermal energy storage (TES) mediums can be integrated into Trombe walls to improve the utilization of solar energy to offset building energy loads.The vents at the top and bottom of a Trombe wall can be used to manage the flow of heated air through a Trombe wall to store and deliver thermal energy to match the demand profile in buildings.Herein we investigate the thermal energy stored in fire-clay bricks as a sensible storage medium integrated into a scaled Trombe wall prototype.After 3.8 hours under a solarsimulated light source at an intensity of ~325 W/m 2 , ~33 MJ/kg is stored in the fireclay bricks when the vents are open.In comparison, ~37 MJ/kg is stored in the fireclay bricks under similar experimental conditions when the vents are closed.During the discharging phase, which begins when the light source is turned off, it takes ~3.5 hours for the amount of thermal energy stored in the fireclay bricks to decrease by 50% when the vents in the Trombe wall prototype are open.On the other hand, it takes ~4.4 hours for the amount of thermal energy stored in the fireclay bricks to decrease by 50% when the vents are closed.Improved management of solar thermal energy in Trombe walls can reduce the carbon footprint of residential and commercial buildings.