Honeycomb roof cover system for passive solar space heating

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of the passive space heating characteristics of an air-filled honeycomb placed on the concrete roof-top of a building. In particular, the solar transmittance and heat losses through the honeycomb cover system have been investigated to estimate the solar collection efficiency and heat retention duration of the system. Numerical calculations are carried out for a typical winter day in New Delhi (28°N). and a relatively colder day in Boulder (40°N). It is found that the honeycomb cover system considerably increases the heat collection efficiency of the roof. It also reduces the nocturnal heat losses to enable longer heat retention. The system is more effective in colder climates.