Abstract: A shading and heating insulating device, especially for greenhouses, has two films of flexible plastic material interconnected to form a type of pouch enclosing a hollow space, which is preferably divided into a plurality of tunnels. A supply pipe is operatively quick-coupled to one end of a distribution conduit, the jacket of which is operatively connected to one edge of the hollow space for feeding a pourable heat insulating material into the hollow space. A return pipe may be operatively quick-coupled to a collection conduit, the jacket of which is operatively connected to an opposite edge of the hollow space for withdrawing the pourable insulating material out of the hollow space and returning it to a storage container. When the hollow space is empty, the pouch may be rolled up, for example by rotating one of the conduits, or the pouch may be folded after release of at least one quick-coupling member.

Abstract: A solar energy converter which can be used as a solar collector or for the direct mounting on a building for the heating of the interior thereof through a wall of the building has a light transmissive layer spaced from this wall and provided on its inner side with an absorptive surface at which incident solar energy is transformed into heat. One or more solar structures between this layer and the wall contain a chemico-physical phase transformation medium capable of storing latent heat when thermal energy is produced at the absorptive surface and adapted to release this heat through the wall or to a heat carrier fluid which can be passed through a space formed by the solar structure.