Modular solar energy-collecting enclosure element, and modular system for forming solar energy-collecting enclosures on buildings

Abstract

A solar energy-collecting modular element for enclosure, and modular system for forming solar energy-collecting enclosures in buildings is described. The modular solar energy-collecting enclosure element comprises an outer plate and inner plate, facing each other and joined together by at least one leak-tight joint line along a closed perimeter. One or both plates include one or more hollow conformations within the perimeter that form a circuit for a heat-carrying fluid with an inlet and an outlet. The joint line is at a distance from the downstream transversal edges from the outer and inner plates thereby providing an accessible gap between respective free outer and inner portions of the outer and inner plates downstream from the joint line. This accessible gap is adapted to be plug-connected to an upstream free portion of the outer plate of a similar adjacent modular element located downstream.

Description

SCOPE OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to a modular solar energy-collecting enclosure element provided with configurations for water-tight joining to other adjacent modular elements in both longitudinal and transversal directions, in relation to the possible flow of water over them, establishing water-tight joints in order to form a façade or roof of a building. This invention also relates to a modular system for forming solar energy-collecting enclosures on buildings, applicable to façades and roofs, which includes the modular solar energy collection enclosures of the invention, together with a plurality of supplementary roof elements provided with similar configurations for their water-tight joining, together with other structural elements. PRIOR ART [0002] The use in a building of panels that perform the functions of both closing off the building and that of collecting solar heat-energy is known. [0003] The document FR-A-2345672 describes a solar energy collector co...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The specification in this document does not describe nor suggest the use of said collector as a self-supporting element forming a roof and the mentioned joints between the plates using adhesive could turn out to be too weak if employed for this purpose.

As a solar energy collector, the construction using corrugated plates leaves all the ends of the channels open, which must be then connected by means of, for example, collecting and distributing ducts for collector operation, which entails a significant amount of work, which would increase the final cost of the product.

However, the welds, especially in the areas between the depressions, are quite difficult and slow to produce.

On the other hand, the seaming of only the peripheral edges does not ensure sufficient strength for the assembly to perform a function, for example, of self-supporting roof, nor does it guarantee the leak-tightness between the channels with the element serving as a solar energy collector.

Aforementioned drawbacks associated with welding persists in this construction; namely, the welding operation that is both costly in time and money, the difficulty in checking the leak-tightness and the excessive heating of the plates during welding.

In addition, the suggested press-formed shapes, which consist of separate squares or rectangles, geometrically distributed over the plates, do not provide any significant increase in the stiffness of each of the plates in any given direction, so that the increase in rigidity of the two joined plates is only the sum of strength of the two superposed plates without any two-dimensional cooperation between them in order to increase

Images