Heating of Spaces : Calento SLG

Calento SLG : Solar Air Heating of Spaces

The Calento SLG solar air collector was designed to provide warm air to space even under the harshest Canadian climate. On cold, sunny winter days, the collector delivers warm, free solar-heated air into the building or process, thereby saving on gas or electricity, year after year.

How the Solar Collector Works (in Recirculation)

Description

The SLG is a closed-loop collector. The air is typically drawn in from the bottom, led through the panel to collect the sun’s heat and delivered into the building space at a higher temperature. Even on a sunny, but cold (-20°C) winter day, the Calento SLG will still deliver warm above the space setpoint.

For engineers : Trigo Énergies’s first design objective is to offer a collector that delivers useful solar-heated air on the coldest (often the sunniest) days of winter. To achieve that, the SLG is covered by a 7-wall polycarbonate with a low thermal transmittance of 1.1 W/m²K while boasting a very respectable light transmittance of 65%. 

The result is that on cold, -20°C sunny days, the collector can still deliver warm solar air back into the building or process. In summer, air remains still in the collector, ready for the next call for heat. The Calento SLG can also be fitted with an outside air intake and be used as an outside air preheater.

For architects : The outside cover of the Calento SLG is made of vertical, multi-wall polycarbonate panels that interlock into each other. The entire wall area covered with the Calento SLG ends up being an even and smooth vertical surface, with a silky, slightly translucid look. The inside of the collector, including heat panels and framing, comes standard with a dark blue color, originating from the physical vaapor deposition solar-coating process.

The polycarbonate panels are co-extruded with a protective film to safeguard them against exposure to ultra-violet radiation, extending their life and performance with natural aging. Framing is designed to allow the thermal expansion and retraction.