Solar Wall Panels

Solar Wall Panels ENERGY Solar 5-4-5 Add-on Solar wall panels, designed to replace the south-facing sidewall of metal buildings to create a solar heating system, are new from Gulf States Mfg., Starkville, Miss. The company says its sandwich wall panels can supply 40 to 60% of winter heating needs during daylight hours. The system can be tied into a heat storage system involving rock or some other heat storage medium. "The vertical south wall concept of solar heat collection," says a Gulf States spokesman, "is better than a roof collector. In winter, when the sun is low in the sky, its rays strike a vertical wall more directly than a roof. Then, in summer, with the sun high in the sky, there isn't as much unwanted heat buildup in the sidewall collector because of the sun's glancing angle." The solar wall is a sandwich with three components. The outer glazing is translucent fiberglass reinforced plastic Lascolite panels, manufactured by Lasco Industries of Anaheim, Calif. The panels provide optimum solar energy transmission, have exceptional weathering characteristics, and will not break or shatter like glass, according to the manufacturer. Solar energy passes through the outer panels and strikes an inner flat black absorber panel. Trapped heat is "wiped away" by air flowing between the outer panel and the black absorber. The third component of the sandwich wall is an insulating liner sheet behind the absorber. The solar panels install like conventional metal sheets. The heated air is pumped into the building's interior, or it can be integrated into the building's heating system. The panels can be installed on most metal buildings, and can be adapted to fit other types of structures with vertical south-facing walls, according to Gulf States Mfg. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gulf States Mfg., P.O. Box 1128, Starkville, Miss. 39759 fnh 601 323-80211.

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