Design and Fabrication of a Rock BED Storage System for a Solar Air Heated Hospital at Goma-skardu, Pakistan

Abstract

A hospital at Goma, Skardu, located at 10,000 feet above sea level, was heated with the help of kerosene oil heaters in winter season by directly heating the air. This system produced excessive carbon mono oxide, carbon-di-oxide and hydrocarbon fumes due to shortage of oxygen at these heights. Most of the patients in the hospital have breathing problems that gets aggravated in the winter due to these harmful vapors. A solar hospital air heating system to warm the hospital day and night has been designed and installed at Goma which is a small town located at 35.6 ͦ Latitude and 77 ͦ Longitude. The design caters for provision of heat energy to the building through a combination of solar roof air collectors and Solar Wall (Trombe Wall). The system has been designed to meet building heating requirements over one night and even for a period of three consecutive days without sun. These snowbound areas of Pakistan have acute shortage of energy resources during extreme cold weather for warming their houses. The situation is further aggravated due to absence of road communication, additionally these energy resources are absolutely weather dependent. The local population would therefore resort to cutting trees for warming their house that result in deforestation and associated problems. A large number of factors affecting solar energy utilization have been addressed by construction of this solar heated building and storage system. This solar heated building and storage system is anticipated to act as a model for local residents and builders to follow based on its performance. This paper presents the design and construction of the project co-sponsored by Pakistan Science Foundation.