I've been thinking about this for a while and have decided to incorporate one or more Trombe Walls in my new house. I haven't even decided on a floor plan yet, so I should be able to come up with a design that's compatible with this type of heating.
It works like this:
The southern wall of the house will be windowed. The Trombe Wall will be built indoors, running parallel to the windows about 8 inches away. It will be made of masonry about twelve inches thick. Its outer side will be painted black. Vents with fans at the bottom will blow cool air into the space between the Trombe Wall and the windows. Vents at the top of the Trombe Wall will blow warmed air into the room.
The home will be situated such that the Trombe Wall won't receive sunlight in the summer. That can be done with roof overhangs, outside shades or storm windows. In the summer, when the sun rises higher in the sky, its light will stay off the Trombe wall and keep the house from overheating.
Ideally, my wife and I will find a home design we like that has external southern walls where windows aren't desired. There are always a few of those. Too many windows are sometimes annoying! Those walls would be good choices for a full height Trombe Wall.
If there aren't any, then we can put in half-height Trombe Walls with ordinary windows above them. There's nothing that says a Trombe Wall has to run from floor to ceiling. It just won't produce as much heat if it is shorter.
From what I'm reading, this inexpensive, completely passive device can GREATLY reduce my need for heat when I'm up North. Sure, I'll have trees and wood-burning stoves, but what happens if oil is unavailable? What happens if I'm old and not up to cutting firewood? A Trombe Wall is effortless. It just exists, and warms the house on every sunny winter day... and that night, too.
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