The general trend, as we see, has been that of a "prolonged summer". Many even crowded beaches and holiday resorts just two weeks ago. Extreme to extreme, now we will plausibly experience a wave of cold and bad weather with equally anomalous connotations.
The contingent situation of energy crisis requires alternative solutions to heat our homes. One of these is quite interesting and unusual: it's called R'booster, and transforms a metal cladding into a heat exchanger: heated walls? More or less.
What is R'Booster?
It doesn't matter what your home is made of: R'booster promises to warm it up. In fact, this system harnesses the power of solar energy without using any photovoltaic panels. Its strong point is a coating that concentrates light and allows you to generate more the energy.
The cladding of these walls can heat up to 60°C when it's only 10° outside: in other words, it's like having a radiator as big as the entire wall of a house. Or as big as ALL the walls in the house.
How do "solar walls" work?
The system works on all metal cladding, old or renovated, and transforms the building into a heat exchanger. The coating absorbs solar energy which, via a air system it recovers the heat to put it back into the building.
Seen from the outside, R'Booster looks like a classic metal cladding, with the difference that an electro-galvanized steel plate is glued behind it before installation. This detail allows air to circulate through the channels inserted into the fitting. The air then heats up in contact with the sheet metal. A fan is installed behind the cladding to redistribute the air in the building.
Someone on our Facebook page (generally those who won't read the article) is already squawking things like "walls at 60 degrees? But this way people get fried at home!".
Apparently this is not the case. The system heats in winter and cools in summer: in the first case the air can be re-injected via an aerothermal solution, an air handling unit or even a heat pump. In the second case, as soon as the temperature fluctuates between 12 and 16°C during the night… The system is activated and blows fresh air into the buildings.
How much ?
Here come the sad notes. For some time now, the first "tooth" to remove is not tiny. Air Booster, the manufacturer of R'Booster, estimates the installation cost between 20.000 and 25.000 euros: with the savings obtained, the return on investment would be between 2 and 7 years.
The company declares a striking total savings of 83% on bill costs, and considering that the power in winter is 600Wp/m², it declares a yield 3 times greater than a photovoltaic system. Don't shoot the pianist: the data belongs to the company, I pass them on to you as I receive them!
Among the possible applications, even those in the agricultural sector: covering the walls of storage silos with this solar coating can allow cereals, wood, pellets and more to dry faster, naturally taking care not to toast them.
