Solar chimneys, double fac¸ades and Trombe walls are open
cavities designed to make use of solar energy for passive
heating, natural ventilation and in the case of double fac¸ade also
daylighting of buildings. A Trombe wall is a south-facing
thermal storage wall made of concrete or masonry blackened
and covered on the exterior by glazing. The storage wall
collects and stores solar energy to provide room heating in
winter or facilitate room ventilation in summer. A solar
chimney has a similar structure and working mechanism to a
Trombe wall but is mainly used for enhancing natural
ventilation of a building. A double skin fac¸ade of a building
consists of an inner and outer skin. It provides the building with
improved thermal and sound insulation compared with a
traditional glazed fac¸ade. It can also be used for natural
ventilation of the fac¸ade cavity or the building it is incorporated
with. Fig. 1 shows the three types of cavity for passive heating
and natural ventilation of buildings.