FOR WOMEN American House Entirely Heated By Sun

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 May 1949, Page 8

FOR WOMEN American House Entirely Heated By Sun

Two American women, Dr Maria Telkes, research associate in metallurgy at Massachusetts, and Ali.ss Eleanor Raymond, an outstanding exponent of modern architecture, have designed a house which is entirely heated by the sun. The house was built last year in Dover, Massachusetts, and at Christmas time a family moved in. Engineers and architects are awaiting with interest the account of the practical living conditions experienced during the winter in this novel home, called the “Dover house.” During the last 10 years, houses have been built to derive the maximum warmth from the sun in winter whilst utilising eaves and shades to prevent excessive heat and sunlight in summer. Some architects have used glass to form a whole southern w? jl—i n the northern hemisphere the south wall absorbs the most heat from the sun—with all the main living rooms on this exposure. But as glass not only collects heat in the daytime but lets it out at night it was not found possible to dispense entirely with fire-places or furnace heating. Trapping Device The new experimental house has a device for trapping and storing heat extracted from the sun’s rays so that it will not become overheated when the sun is shining and suddenly cool off when the sun goes down. W. Clifford Harvey, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, reports: “The Dover house collects solar heat by luring sun rays through 10-foot high second-storey windows, trapping the solar energy behind the windows ih air ducts, and then blowing it through these ducts into chemical storage bins located on the first floor. In a few hours of sunshine, the chemical bins are said to be able to §tore up enough heat for warming theliouse over nearly two weeks of sunless days. This solar energy is collected and released into the rooms

by the alternate chemical process of melting and crystallising. Warm air from the sun, circulating around the cans of chemicals, melts the contents, which enables the chemicals to store heat at constant temperatures.”

Cost Less Than Coal The chemicals cost less than coal and once stored in the bin do not have to be replaced. There should then, however, be no further fuel bills. The design of a house using solar heating is quite different from that,of the conventional house. Large heat-collect-ing areas of glass are required, and these, in the Dover house, arexplaced on a second storey, with the living rooms, below, resulting in an unconventional design. But there are other possibilities of design and there seems no reason why the heat storage area should not be built separately from the house, or why one large plant should not be able to supply a whole community with stored solar heat. New Zealand architects and builders might well investigate these new methods of heating with a view to their application in a country so richly endowed with sunshine. Women’s Institutes

Kumara . Mrs D. Caithness presided oyer a good attendance at the May meeting of the Kumara Women’s Institute held recentlv. The president read the Dominion president’s letter. The golden thread talk was given by Mrs Birss. The lantern slides shown by Mr Evenden were enjoyed by all members present. _ , Competition winners were:—Tomato relish, Mrs Sinclair 1, Mrs Holmes 2, Mrs A. Caithness 3; best bloom. Mrs Reedy 1, Mrs Ollerenshaw 2, Mrs A. Caithness 3. A successful “bring and buy” was held in aid of women’s institute funds.

Dobson W.l. The monthly meeting of the Dobson Women’s Institute was held in the new hall, Mrs Mellet presiding over a large gathering. Mrs C. McPhie read the aspirations. A welcome was extended to Mrs Timlin, V. 0., and two new members. The motto was “May the wheels of friendship never grow rusty.” Mrs McCallum read the delegate’s report. Letters received from the English ImK were read. Competition results were: —Hotwater bag cover, Mrs Mellet 1, Mrs Finch 2; chrysanthemums, Mrs E. Duggan I, Mrs Deans 2. Mrs Pickering wen the “wandering two-shillings.” Mrs Timlin demonstrated the making of lampshades and picture frames with flowers. The roll-call was “Have I paid my sub.” Mrs E. Duggan won the social half-hour competition. Two items were given by Mrs Buchanan. The hostesses were Mesdames C. McPhie, S. Smith and Roberts. Last years aggregate winners were:—Cookery Mrs Batey; handcrafts, Mrs Beirne and Mrs Coutts. Mrs Mowbray Peters was presented with a gift for her services as treasurer for the past five years.