USING SOIL AND FOUNDATION STRUCTURES AS HEAT COLLECTOR AND THERMAL STORAGE IN SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS

The purpose of the present paper is to look at the possibilities of utilizing the surrounding ground soil and existing foundations of a building structure as a heat collector and storage element in a solar energy system. The paper covers the (1) mechanism of soil-heat interaction, (2) factors affecting soil thermal properties and (3) illustrates concepts in the design of a simple soil thermal storage unit.