Adapted Trombe wall now used for both heating and cooling buildings

The Trombe wall ventilation system (to the left) has through a research project been modified to be used both for heating and cooling using renewable energy sources. Photo: Insaf Ben Othman Researcher Marwa Dabaieh from Lund University in Sweden has come up with a way to adapt the so-called Trombe wall - a passive solar building design from the 19th century - to not only heat but also cool buildings, while drastically reduce associated carbon emissions. The new design is now being tested by locals in Saint Catherine, Egypt. "In Egypt, fossil fuels account for 94% of all energy. There is therefore a great need for innovative energy solutions to reduce carbon emissions that can also be used in rural communities which do not always have electricity", says architectural researcher Marwa Dabaieh who divides her time between Lund University and the British University in Egypt. The vented Trombe wall is an old, yet still popular passive construction technique that hardly requires any energy. Marwa Dabaieh has continued to develop this technique so that it can be used for not only building heating, but also cooling - providing a comfortable indoor temperature all year around.