ABSTRACT
The paper describes the design strategy of a ‘window plus’ assembly aimed primarily at the Scottish domestic housing market. The ‘plus’ is firstly simple integrated components to allow variable U-value – e.g. from night to day, winter to summer, overcast to sunny; and secondly a small thermosyphoning solar air collector to preheat air for ventilation. Both have user-friendly manual controls. This is one of the first projects undertaken by the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) at the Mackintosh School of Architecture. Preliminary results from mock-ups of the collector, on a 2nd floor facade facing 10° north of west and with alternative perforated absorber materials, are encouraging and a complete south-facing window assembly to an occupied test cell is planned for 1994–95.
