Trombe Walls have proven to be effective in heating. If you were to build a passive solar house on a three to six foot concrete slab taking advantage of a large thermal mass, would this satisfy most of the heating/cooling requirements of the house?


Ian Marr·May 11, 2020Architect

First of all, a thick concrete slab isn’t a trombe wall nor will it act like one under most conditions.

Next, you’re dealing with concrete, basically a ceramic, so heating or heat dissemination is easier than cooling. Heat radiates in and then radiates back out at roughly the same rate. Take too long and it will radiate out the other side (roughly 1 hour for 6″-12″ of thickness).

So, this version can work where you have warm/hot sunny days and cold nights. But you need to be able to control the sun exposure, and it might get uncomfortably warm in the evenings nearing nightfall as your thermal mass radiates heat.

In theory, this is a great system controlled by deciduous trees and drapes during the course of the seasons. But passive systems, in practice, tend to require a lot of work from the users. Operating windows and landscaping correctly to get the right conditions.

this has become a small niche group for houses and buildings in general when air conditioning systems are so easy and relatively cheap.

Things are moving towards low energy or extreme efficiency systems with good automated control systems. Here in California I’m pretty much waiting for HVAC requirements to get so high that we are looking at sterling engine heat pumps (unless something better comes along). People want strong heat in cold areas and strong cooling in warm areas. And they want it on demand, not slowly adjusting over the course of the day, and definitely without any uncomfortable periods.


Robert Wolff·May 12, 2020

Don’t forget that location is important. A Trombe walk could easily provide most of your heating requirements in Miami FL. In Fairbanks AK, not a chance.UpvoteReplyRuben Alaniz·May 11, 2020

I think you hit it on the head. It will be driven by customer demand. We use it here, but more of a luxury build and always has a back up HVAC system to help out during severe weather.

Why was architectural engineering needed to study interior design?

Architectural engineering is light on building design when compared to architecture. The rest of the training is in the building systems. Structural engineering is about on pare with architecture, but electrical, mechanical and plumbing engineering training goes farther.

Now, why would you need to know this? (Keep in mind that interior designers should be able to change walls and finishes and are not just interior decorators.) When changing/ modifying interior spaces you need to be able to identify which building elements you can change and which you can’t. Also, you need to know enough about them so you can accommodate them in your design.

No one is asking you to design a structural wall or sewer pipe, but they do expect you to be able to identify them (and know if you can change them).

What is the most common phase of matter on Earth?

Ian Marr·June 25, 2020Architect

There are several ways to answer your question.

The whole earth? The mantle makes up the bulk of the Earth, so liquid.

From the ground up? By volume? That would be the atmosphere mostly, so gas.

From the ground up? By mass? Either liquid (the oceans) or solid (solid matter) depending on how you define things.


David Smith·June 25, 2020

Ahh, not so fast. You have forgotten temperature and pressure. By the time you get down to the Nickel-Iron core, we are dealing with a gas which is under hypercritical pressure The so called solid core is this same hypercritical gas so compressed that it behaves as if it were solid. The temperature is so high that chemical bonds are completely unstable, so technically it is a PLASMA. It is an interesting property of plasmas, that their electical resistance is close to zero. Very nearly superconductive. Have you noticed that when a household filament lamp bulb fails, it often takes out the house fuse. The electric arc created as the filament fails has a much lower resistance than the intact filament. It is this very high conductivity of the Nickel Iron core which is responsible for the Earth’s magnetic field, and the fact that the inner core behaves as if it were solid, which maintains the system of differential flow which sets up the self exciting electric generator, possibly driven by the Moon, which is responsible for the Earth’s magnetic field.

To make a staircase 117 inches high with just the runs, how far do I need to measure from the wall to the last tread at the base of the stairs?

You’re missing some information in your question.

In order to answer this question you need to have decided the number of treads and risers. At 117″ you can have risers at about 8″, but this is steep for most people (15 risers). Most residences are around 7″ (17 risers) to 6″ (20 risers).

You have one less tread than risers. We aren’t going to count the nosing (the part that sticks out past the riser). Again 10″ can work, but most people don’t like them. 11″ to 12″ for treads work well in most homes.

So, take your riser count. Minus one. Multiplied by your tread size.

You’ll get somewhere between 140″ (very steep) to 228″ (easy to walk up).

Also, be aware that there are a number of different ways to size stairs, and that this is just one that easier to explain and understand.

Is it cheaper to keep your house at a constant temperature?

No.

The cheapest method would be to adjust the temperature of your house the least amount possible.

Other than keeping your house at an extremely different temperature from its current one, constant temperatures require constant cycling of the system. Unfortunately, this is exactly what most thermostats are designed to do because they are easier to make and easier for people to operate.

Why are buildings in D.C. not tall?

A number of persons have covered this subject, but maybe I can address it a bit differently.

Pierre L’Enfant did the masterplan of Washington DC back right before 1800. This was to be the great city of the west with every detail mapped out including all future buildings and monuments. At this point, a ten story building was gargantuan and considered unappealing to most. As such, they weren’t really apart of the plan.

A hundred years later elevators are commonplace in large buildings and allowances were made for taller buildings, provided they stayed within defined proportion (hence the 130′ limit).

Washington DC was designed as an eternal city. It’s just that 200 years later we can see that there are a number of things they didn’t see coming. Like tall buildings with elevators. Otherwise, Washington DC is exactly what L’Enfant imagined: a city as a monument.