Scholarly record
DYNAMIC THERMAL RESPONSE OF AN ALUMINIUM TROMBE WALL UNDER REAL CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
Abstract
The dynamic thermal behaviour of Trombe wall systems ultimately determines whether they contribute meaningfully to indoor comfort, yet this dimension of performance is frequently treated as secondary to seasonal energy balances or efficiency ratios. In real buildings, however, comfort depends not only on the amount of heat captured, but also on the timing of heat delivery, which becomes particularly relevant under the diurnal solar cycles characteristic of passive systems. The present study examines the time-domain response of an unventilated aluminium Trombe wall installed in a residential building in Varna, Bulgaria, using continuous measurements spanning the full heating season from October to April. Solar excitation is represented by the moment of maximum solar elevation, while system response is defined through the back-surface temperature of the absorber. Daily time-lag and decrement-factor values are extracted from measured temperature cycles and aggregated into seasonal statistics. The analysis yields a mean seasonal time lag of 1.18 ± 1.14 h, reflecting a rapid yet consistently delayed response typical of high-diffusivity metallic absorbers. The decrement factor of 1.02 ± 0.44 indicates limited amplitude attenuation, suggesting that thermal stabilisation is governed primarily by phase shift rather than strong damping. These findings demonstrate that even a lightweight aluminium Trombe wall can exhibit coherent dynamic behaviour over an extended heating season and highlight the relevance of time-domain performance indicators in the evaluation of passive solar systems.
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References10
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