Solar air collector

Claim 1

Self-contained solar heat collecting unit adapted to be placed against a structure, said unit comprising an elongate enclosure having an inner backing and upstanding side walls whose interior surfaces are lined with insulation, and an outer transparent glazing, supported within said enclosure, an inner, elongate heat-conductive panel having an outer surface and an inner surface confronting and spaced from said backing, said panel being dimensioned to form with the insulation-lined interior surfaces of said backing and side walls, an elongate inner air plenum, a plurality of upstanding heat-conductive baffles mounted on said panel's outer surface in heat-conductive relationship therewith, and arranged thereon for creating air turbulence in a stream of air flowing in an end-to-end direction across said outer surface, an outer elongate solar collecting heat-conductive panel supported in said enclosure by said baffles, in heat-conductive relationship therewith, at a position spaced from said outer surface, said outer panel being dimensioned to form with said inner panel's outer surface and insulation-lined interior surfaces of said side walls, an elongate outer air plenum, means in said inner panel, adjacent one end of said unit, communicating said inner and outer plenums, and an inlet and an outlet adjacent the unit's other end communicating the exterior of said enclosure with said inner and outer plenums, respectively.