Solar HeatingIn 1948, the first U.S. house to be completely solar heated was occupied in Dover, Mass. The experiments were sponsored by Amelia Peabody. For the architect, Eleanor Raymond (1888-1989), the design of the Dover Sun House was one of her most ambitious works. The heating system, designed by Dr. Maria Telkes from the MIT Solar Laboratory, used black sheet metal collectors to capture solar energy, stored by the phase-change of sodium sulphate decahydrate in "heat bins". Fans distribute the heat as needed. Maria Telkes (1900-95) was a Hungarian-American physical chemist and biophysicist, dubbed "the Sun Queen" for her solar research, developed solar distillation of sea water for fresh water, solar ovens, and many other solar projects. |
