The radiant heat captured by a passive air solar collector during a day divides itself into three fractions, of which one is transmitted by conduction to the backside, one is collected by the convective air flow, and the last one is lost through glazing. Some calculations of heat transfer taking place in a collector in 24-h periodic regime have been done with different combinations of the values of the relevant thermo-physical variables. Calculation results were the fractions of energy transmitted to the internal room through the wall by conduction and with the air flow by convection, and lost through the glazing. The results give rise to a correlation among non-dimensional variables, which may clarify the influence exerted on heat transfer phenomena by the physical variables considered. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.