Patent ID: 7089706

Claim:
A covering component for protecting outer surfaces of buildings from atmospheric agents, comprising a first sheet ( 7 ), the first sheet being a metal sheet and designed to be exposed to sunlight, an insulating mass ( 8 ) placed under the first sheet ( 7 ), and a heat exchanger ( 7 – 9 , 11 , 12 ; 7 , 8 , 10 – 12 ) comprising at least a passage channel ( 7 B), the passage channel being an integral part of the covering component ( 4 ) and being designed to be part of a solar energy heating system for a heat conveying fluid, the passage channel ( 7 B) having an inner and an outer surface wherein said heat conveying fluid flows within said inner surface, characterized in that the passage channel comprises a first rib ( 7 B) of the first sheet ( 7 ) including a cross section opening towards the insulating mass ( 8 ), the outer surface of the passage channel thus formed by the first rib ( 7 B) being almost completely exposed to sunlight, wherein the first sheet extends in a longitudinal direction substantially from an upper end to a lower end of the height of a respective vertical wall ( 2 ) of a building ( 1 ), or substantially from a top edge to a lower edge of the pitch ( 3 ) of a roof ( 1 ) of the building ( 1 ) and wherein the heat exchanger ( 7 – 9 , 11 , 12 ; 7 , 8 , 10 – 12 ) further comprises a cover made of transparent material ( 11 ) arranged above the first sheet ( 7 ), allowing the first sheet ( 7 ) to be heated by direct sunlight irradiation, the cover ( 11 ) delimiting together with the first sheet ( 7 ) at least part of a hollow space ( 12 ) into which the first rib ( 7 B) projects, such that air within the hollow space ( 12 ) is heated by exposure to sunlight, thus yielding heat to the first sheet ( 7 ) and the first rib ( 7 B) thereof.