DIY TROMBÉ WALL
The D.I.Y. Trombé kit, is very low budget way to improve the comfort in people's homes. It is based on the classic and proven Trombé Wall principle explained in the added images. It is transparent sheet in front of a wall with thermal mass. The sun heats the air in between the wall and the sheet and causes it to rise. This motion can be used in summer to extract warm air out of your home. Both ventilating and cooling it at the same time. By reversing the system it functions as a heater in winter. Using nothing but the heat of the sun.
It answers to the need of more comfort for the people living in informal settlement but can, off course, also be used in new homes like RDP and social housing. The principle is not new, but the innovation is that with this low budget D.I.Y. manual it is available to everyone.
The materials used can have a low environmental impact. The wood should be sustainably grown to lower the impact. The corrugated sheets, of which one is transparent, could be made of a bio-based plastic. The use of mostly local soil for the earth rammed wall is a very sustainable way of creating thermal mass. It is more environmentally friendly than bricks or concrete. It is easier to build and besides the thermal qualities it also improves the ventilation and humdity in homes. The ventilation tubes can be made with PVC pipes or if it is financially possible these should also be made out of bio-plastics.
This is a concept design and still needs to be tested before appliance.
