Bioclimatic Prosthesis: Experimental dataset for a low-cost Trombe wall to existing social housing refurbishment for an intermediate valley (Chillán) city in the south of Chile

Abstract

This dataset is part of the article entitled “Design and experimental study of a low-cost prefab Trombe Wall to improve indoor temperatures in social housing in the Biobío Region in Chile” [1,2]. The dataset represents the outcome of experimental measurements during a 1-year monitoring campaign to assess the performance of an adaptable and low-cost prefabricated Trombe Wall (TW) with a vertical water storage system. The experiments include periods with mobile insulation during winter nights and external shading during summer which were added to test their effect on the thermal performance.Temperature sensors were used to measure and compare the temperature in two test cells: one with and one without the TW. Following the National Chilean Standard [3], the experiment was done in the interior valley (Chillan), a Mediterranean climate (Csb), according to the Köppen climate classification [4].The two test cells were designed to represent the most used area of a social housing unit in combination with the most widely used type of window in north façades in the region. One test cell was built exactly as the social housing unit, while the second test cell included a low-cost Trombe wall. Five temperature sensors were installed in the test cells.The thermal performance of the TW was monitored and analysed for the first time in Chile, providing insights in the thermal performance of the TW and proving the potential effectiveness of seasonal variations to improve winter and summer performances.

Keywords

• Low-cost Trombe wall
• Solar wall
• Passive solar energy
• Temperature sensors
• Prefabrication
• South of Chile