Patented in USA China and Europe

Architect Steve Bourne, the inventor of Solar-FIN designed this hotel to show how the invention will look in practice.

The façade is clear glass and the Solar-FIN energy controller is behind this, either combined with normal windows or standalone.

During the day the Solar-FIN panels absorb solar energy and saves it for use as required.

At night the panels can be opened to cool the building by radiating heat to the night sky.

The Solar-FIN panel connects to the building structure when required to heat or cool the thermal mass of the building.

The cost is similar to a curtain wall and so as a standalone system payback in energy saving is immediate Steve Bourne BA Hons Dip Arch RIBA HKIASteve studied at the Oxford School of Architecture

Solar-FIN: a simple leap forward in building design

Nature is the most efficient collector of energy: A simple flower opens and closes with the sun to collect energy. So why can’t buildings do the same? And store this energy?

By simple rotation of the Solar-FIN insulation collectors are either exposed to the sun as required to gain heat. To cool the building at night again the insulation can be opened so that the collector can be cooled by radiating heat to the night sky. Potential heating is up to 1000kw/m2 and cooling is 100 W/m2

To retain and protect the heat or cold collected the insulation is closed. The secret of the system is that the insulation always retains its integrity, overcoming all the problems of previous systems.

Furthermore with new patented technology the Solar-FIN collector can be connected to the building structure when required either to heat or cool the building, transferring heat or cold to the building mass through highly conductive steel reinforcement to the concrete thermal mass storage medium.

For long term heat or cold storage either hot or cold air in excess of the daily requirements can be transferred to underground storage media.

Fast space heating and cooling can be achieved by integrating convection systems.

Solar-FIN can be combined with other solar technologies to produce electricity, hot water and air with no detriment to its performance.

Building orientation and angle

For maximum efficiency the building should have the following characteristics:-

Roof: this is the best place to put the system.

• For heating the roof should be inclined to the same angle as the latitude and so say for London the pitch would be 28 degrees.

• For cooling the roof should be flat so that it radiates to the night sky with the outer glass removed/open

Façade: An inclined façade will be more efficient.

However for practical reasons the façade may be vertical in which case the orientation will be south east or south west (Northern hemisphere)as the sun is lower offering a more efficient angle of incidence, and still picking up the maximum heat at noon.

The following diagrams illustrate the working of the system in plan and section. For ease of illustration the section shows a façade but this also equally applies to a roof.

SE and SW facing facade

The components of the Solar-FIN system

A collector: This can be a simple circular concrete column or beam for cost effective solutions as it has good thermal mass and is easy to make. Other storage mediums could be water as this is easy to move and transfer heat to storage tanks for use later. Substances that change state have potential significant latent heat storage capacity.

Rotating insulation: Polyurethane or other stiff insulation with a reflective facing will be mounted on a “lazy susan” type turntable and can be rotated with ease manually or with a motor. The joints will be sealed on all sides to prevent air movement.

Insulation of the collector: the collector has to be isolated from the structure to avoid over heating or cooling. It is critical to the success of the system that heat is moved only as required.

Connector: This invention simply connects the collector to the building mass through the reinforcing bars which are extremely good conductors of heat. For the pick up and distribution of energy the contact area should be large as possible to maximize transmission. The component could be a simple screw or a hydraulic cylinder.

All of the components are simple to make and assemble and are inexpensive.

Elements of the Solar-FIN system: The collector and rotating insulationOne element only is shown for simplicity. This can be on a roof or a wall.

The key to control of the system is that the insulation (shown in green) can rotate either exposing the collector to the sun or the night sky, or protecting the collector from heat gain or loss. The rotating insulation gives the user the option to collect or dissipate heat as required.

Plan

In section, the collector is a heat storage medium insulated from the structure, but can be connected as required to the reinforcing bars to transfer heat or cold to the structure. This is a patented method and overcomes the problem of heat or cold being transferred to the structure when it is not required.

Heat collectionWhen the sun shines the Solar-FIN collector heats up. Importantly the inside of the building is protected from this heat by the insulation which is at the rear of the collector AND between the collector and structure. The air gap also becomes hot because of the green house effect.

Plan

HeatingWhen heat is required in the building the insulation is rotated to protect the collector from outside and to radiate the heat internally. The second invention now is used: a connector physically joins the collector to the reinforcement of the building so that heat is passed into the thermal mass of the structure by conduction.

Plan

In section the patented Solar-FIN connector moves to make physical contact between the collector and the steel reinforcement of the slab so that the heat collected is conducted to the general building thermal storage mass.

Protection from over heatingDuring long hot periods the insulation protects the building from overheating. The air gap can be ventilated expelling (or if required using or storing) air that can be over 80 degrees centigrade. The collector remains cool and can pick up excess heat from the interior or the thermal mass of the structure.

Plan

Cooling.The collector is warm either heated by the interior( lights, equipment and people) or purposely taking heat from the structure using the Solar-FIN connector between the reinforcement and the collector. There are now several ways the collector can dissipate the excess heat.

Plan

Cooling by radiationA clear night sky is a perfect receiver of radiant heat. An example of this is in desert conditions where overnight the land can cool to freezing point by the morning despite the very high day time temperatures. The system is more efficient with the glass opened.

Plan

Cooling by ventilationThe air gap can be ventilated by opening louvers in the façade allowing cool air in which is then heated and rises due to the stack effect and can then be expelled outside. Wetting the collector improves this process due to the latent heat of evaporation.

By the morning the collector has been substantially cooled and it can be connected to the reinforcing bars to conduct cool into the thermal mass of the building. Also the collector will radiate cool and reduce air temperatures creating natural air currents.

Patent drawing showing on the left portion heat storage and transfer. The insulation is closed ( facing outside) so that the collector is radiating heat inside in a way controlled by an inner insulated wall that can be vented or opened to allow heat to the interior in a controlled way.

The right hand portion shows the insulation open so that the collector is being heated by the sun, but the interior is still well insulated.

Plan

Left side shows transfer of heat. The right shows night cooling.

Heat transfer using connectors between the collector and the reinforcing bars of the structure.Note that the inner wall moderates the heat or cold flow and can be the waterproof and airtight seal so that the outer glass wall can be deleted. This is more efficient for cooling purposes and makes the system extremely cost effective.

Plan

These sketches are for our computer test rig to ascertain the working performance of Solar-FIN. Here is the roof plan which is flat with no glass cover for cooling , and inclined with glass for heating. Fans are placed to send hot air through a long term storage facility, or to ventilate the façade or provide fast heating or cooling inside.

Inside as the Solar-FIN collector spans cross wall the top and bottom wall are connected and provide a heat sink, and are made to an optimum thickness to suit the climate. In a terrace house situation this is very efficient as each unit shares a heated or cooled wall. Windows can be placed as necessary.The end walls and under the floor are used for heat storage and either hot air can be pumped over a rock store or water circulated for long term heating or cooling. This store can be insulated from the living space .

This section shows a desert climate and the rock store will be cooled by air drawn in late at night to supplement cooling during the day. The Solar-FIN collectors will cool the heat sink side walls on a diurnal basis and act directly on the space from the roof. During the day photovoltaic's can produce electricity so the whole building is an energy generator 24/7.

In temperate climates the roof is inclined to match the latitude for maximum efficiency. The cross / side walls form the heat sink from the collectors and the end walls deal with long term heating or cooling as excess heat or cold is passed over the storage medium. Arrows show how air can bee introduced from outside and expelled or there can be internal circulation for quick convective heating or cooling

Summary

From the diagrams it is clear that the patented Solar-FIN system is able to collect, dissipate and store energy in a simple way with just two moving parts1. Rotating lightweight insulation.2. A mechanical connection between the collector and reinforcement.

• Heat or cold is collected and controlled simply and cost effectively.• Critically the building is always insulated.• The whole system can be linked to weather data so that the building not

only reacts to day to day needs but energy can be stored for future use.• All of the building methods are conventional and inexpensive. • As the system is the same cost as a curtain wall, payback is immediate. • Energy cost saving is about US $30/m2 / annum. We note that solar

voltaic cells take up to 20 years to payback the cost ; solar-fin starts saving money immediately.

• Heating and cooling buildings is one of the major energy expenses.• The system can also incorporate all of the existing solar technology. • The façade can be a super graphic that changes, with an advertising

income that further increases value. • Grants of about 20% of the cost of the system are often available.

The end result is a comprehensive and cost effective solution for managing the temperature of a building, which if combined with other systems will make a neutral carbon footprint perfectly feasible.

Combined solutions

• Cooling buildings is hard : the heat collected in the façade can be over 80 degrees centigrade and this can be used with heat pumps to very efficiently freeze the ground and this acts as a heat store, and can be used directly .

• Photo voltaic cells can be used on the Solar-FIN face to generate electricity. We have proprietary technology that can make this up to 80% efficient rather than current dismal 25 % efficient. (The same technology also boosts windmill performance from 17% efficient to 85% efficient.) The building then can become a net energy provider.

• Abundant hot air from the façade can be used for space and water heating, slow cooking and industries like laundries etc maximizing the potential of the free excess energy; this is ideal for the hotel and other industries.

10% of the World’s energy is used for heating and cooling buildings. Solar-FIN will make a substantial difference, saving energy and costs to any developer that uses it. Payback is immediate. A really SMART energy solution.

Solar-fin: the full potential

During the process of this invention all of the components have been kept simple and buildable in order to keep costs down. The building is used for thermal storage and this works well for some time and is very good with, say, a desert climate where the building cools at night and generates electricity during the day.

In our research we have found Zeolite pellets, which are now being made commercially. These “boil stones” store four times as much heat as water with little energy loss and offer enormous potential for long term heat storage. Water and rock heat storage are also simple and cost effective.

Solar-FIN solves the major energy consumption of heating and cooling buildings with offshoots of abundant hot air and water heating capabilities, simply and cost effectively, and can be combined with solar voltaic to produce electricity.

Being the same cost as a curtain wall, we trust that people will see that Solar-FIN’s payback is immediate with energy savings of a building that is proactive in heating and cooling, the highest energy usage in a building. Our hope is that by dealing with the most energy intensive issues each building can become its own power generation plant massively reducing world wide energy consumption.

Patented in United States of America, Europe and ChinaContact Steve Bourne email steve@designchambers.com.hkTel (852) 2110 6762

Solar-FIN is a copyrighted name