Bioclimatic Buildings with water wall solar system with bottles of polyethilene terephthalate (PET)

GELARDI, DANIEL, ; ESTEVES, A.; PULIAFITO, E.

Sommervilles College, Oxford Brookes University, Inglaterra

Congreso; Third International Conference on Sustainable Buildings for 21st Century Teaching in Architecture (TIA2000; 2000

Oxford Brookes University

Arid and semiarid regions of Argentina have large outdoor air temperature swings in winter and summer. In these zones, building should make use of the thermal mass in order to reduce temperature swings. Several materials can be used as thermal mass in walls of buildings: stone, reinforced concrete, adobe, solid cement block, brick, etc. Thick walls act as heat reservoirs to make thermal conditions more comfortable. In passive solar systems, water has been used as means of increasing thermal inertia of buildings. This consists of cans or drums of water stacked to forma thermal storage wall. Alternatively, vertical cylindrical tubes could be used. In this paper, we propose a passive solar system employing a water wall of discarded containers of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) to build walls adjacent to a window admitting solar energy. This system collects and transmits solar energy and light. Using paint we can control the light fraction enough to avoid overheating and glare. This system has several environmental advantages: it contributes to reduce waste disposal of containers, there are less environmental consequences in the manufacture of alternative materials to give thermal mass, reduced spending on fossil fuels, air and water pollution and soil degradation. It is particularly important in building construction in mountain areas, where it is difficult to carry solid materials. In this paper we demonstrate that thermal inertia and interior temperature behaivior are similar to typical local brick walls