Design and construction of a residential solar heating and cooling system

The first integrated system providing heating and cooling to a building by use of solar energy has been designed and installed in a residential-type building at Colorado State University. Solar heated liquid supplies heat to air circulating in the building and to a lithium bromide absorption air conditioner. Service hot water is also provided. Approximately two-thirds of the heating and cooling loads are expected to be met by solar energy, the balance by natural gas. The paper contains details of design and principles of operation. A breakdown of actual costs of the equipment and its installation is also provided.     

Status and prospects of local solar heating and cooling systems

In this paper, a state-of-the-art of solar heating and cooling systems is presented. Solar air heaters and different types of solar water collectors are discussed in detail. Storage systems including water, rocks, and heat-of-fusion salts are described as are space heating systems employing solar air heaters, in conjunction with rock or heat-of-fusion salt storage, and the use of water collectors plus hot water storage for space heating and domestic hot water. An indication of the commercialization of various space-heating systems and broad economic projections are presented. The three major solar cooling methods—absorption cooling, solar mechanical systems, and those involving humidification-dehumidification cycles—are also discussed in detail. Finally, an overview of solar heating and cooling activities in Kuwait is also given.     

夏季降温的太阳房实验分析

对建造在南宁市西郊的一座被动式太阳房在夏季运行时的实验数据进行了分析，其屋顶集热表面在夏季夜间能产生一定的致冷效果。所制取的冷空气不但在夜间可以对该太阳房起到降温的作用，并且可以储藏起来以供白天降温使用。     

太阳能冷热电联供分布式能源系统的研究

以太阳能应用为背景，讨论了能够实现独立建筑冷热电联供的两种分布式能源系统的原理。以太阳能作为唯一热源，用于加热气体工质，进行闭式Brdyton循环发电。其透平释放的余热通过余热制冷方式供冷或通过换热器直接供热．可实现独立建筑的冷热电联供。当把燃料电池系统和该热动力系统组合起来，则可实现白天和夜间连续的独立建筑冷热电联供。该系统不消耗化石能源，无污染，能源利用效率高，具有进一步理论研究的价值和推广应用潜力。     

太阳能地板辐射系统用于夜间采暖时系统性能的实验研究

利用太阳能集热器制得低温热水作为地板辐射采暖系统的热源,是一种清洁、节能、舒适的采暖方式。在南京地区搭建了太阳能地板辐射采暖系统实验台,系统运行策略为白天集热、夜晚采暖,通过实验得到了集热器集热效率、地板进出水温度、室内不同朝向围护结构温度、不同高度的空气温度等参数,最后对系统的性能进行了概括和总结。     

Performance analysis on a building-integrated solar heating and cooling panel

The solar heating and nocturnal radiant cooling techniques are combined aiming at a novel solar heating and cooling panel (termed as SHCP) to be easily assembled as construction components for building roofing or envelope and also compatible with surroundings for its versatile coating colors, which can remove the double-skin mode from conventional solar equipment. SHCP has two functions for heating and cooling collecting. In this paper, the heating and cooling performances were analyzed in detail based on a small scale experimental system and effects of air gap and coatings were investigated. The results show that in sunny day of extreme cold January in Tianjin, China, the daily average heat-collecting efficiency is 39% with the maximum of 65%, while in sunny night during hot seasons the average cooling capacity can reach 87 W/m². When two different coatings were sprayed on SHCP without air gap, its heating and cooling performances were all analyzed, the daily average heat-collecting efficiency was 39% and 27% with the maximum points of 65% and 49%, respectively, and the cooling capacity was almost the same of 30 W/m² in January.     

Solar heat pump systems for domestic hot water

Vapour compression heat pumps can upgrade ambient heat sources to match the desired heating load temperature. They can offer considerable increase in operational energy efficiency compared to current water heating systems. Solar heat pumps collect energy not only from solar radiation but also from the ambient air. They can operate even at night or in totally overcast conditions. Since the evaporator/collector operates at temperatures lower than ambient air temperature it does not need glazing or a selective coating to prevent losses. Currently, however, they are not used much at all in domestic or commercial water heating systems. In this paper comparison is made of a conventional solar hot water system, a conventional air source heat pump hot water system and a solar heat pump water heating system based on various capital city locations in Australia. A summary is given of specific electricity consumption, initial and operating costs, and greenhouse gas generation of the three systems dealt with in this paper. The ultimate choice of unit for a particular location will depend heavily on the solar radiation, climate and the local price paid for electricity to drive or boost the unit chosen.     

Thermal performance of phase change material energy storage floor for active solar water-heating system

The conventional active solar water-heating floor system contains a big water tank to store energy in the day time for heating at night, which takes much building space and is very heavy. In order to reduce the water tank volume or even cancel the tank, a novel structure of an integrated water pipe floor heating system using shape-stabilized phase change materials (SSPCM) for thermal energy storage was developed and experimentally studied in this paper. The thermal performances of the floors with and without the SSPCM were compared under the intermittent heating condition. The results show that the Energy Storage Ratio (ESR) of the SSPCM floor is much higher than that of the non-SSPCM floor; the SSPCM floor heating system can provide stable heat flux and prevent a large attenuation of the floor surface temperature. Also, the SSPCM floor heating system dampens the indoor temperature swing by about 50% and increases the minimum indoor air temperature by 2°C–3°C under experimental conditions. The SSPCM floor heating system has a potential of making use of the daytime solar energy for heating at night efficiently.     

太阳能空调综合系统在住宅小区应用的可行性探讨

经济性是制约太阳能空调普及推广应用的难题。文中介绍了一种太阳能空调和热水站综合系统方案，即在居民住宅楼的屋顶布置太阳能集热器阵，结合地源水低温热源系统，建设全年供应全体住户生活热水的太阳能热水站，以及夏季和冬季供应顶一、二层住户空调冷、热水的综合系统．提出了一种双效与单效耦合的板壳式溴化锂吸收式制冷机循环方案，白天日照时段采用双效循环运行并进行蓄热，而在其余时段切换为单效循环利用蓄热运行。该方案不仅效率高、而且其单位体积蓄能罐的蓄能密度极大，可实现无需用辅助能源而完全靠太阳能进行昼夜空调。由于综合利用系统中集热器的投资费用被所有热水用户分摊，空调用户的投资可很快从节省的电费中得到回收。     

Thermal performance of phase change material energy storage floor for active solar water-heating system

The conventional active solar water-heating floor system contains a big water tank to store energy in the day time for heating at night, which takes much building space and is very heavy. In order to reduce the water tank volume or even cancel the tank, a novel structure of an integrated water pipe floor heating system using shapestabilized phase change materials (SSPCM) for thermal energy storage was developed and experimentally studied in this paper. The thermal performances of the floors with and without the SSPCM were compared under the intermittent heating condition. The results show that the Energy Storage Ratio (ESR) of the SSPCM floor is much higher than that of the non-SSPCM floor; the SSPCM floor heating system can provide stable heat flux and prevent a large attenuation of the floor surface temperature. Also, the SSPCM floor heating system dampens the indoor temperature swing by about 50% and increases the minimum indoor air temperature by 2°C–3°C under experimental conditions. The SSPCM floor heating system has a potential of making use of the daytime solar energy for heating at night efficiently.     

A highly-advanced solar house with solar thermal and sky radiation cooling

A unique energy-independent house (‘HARBEMAN house’; HARmony BEtween Man And Nature) incorporating solar thermal, underground coolers, sky radiation cooling, photovoltaic electricity generation and rain-water collection was built in Sendai (latitude; 38° 17′00″ north and longitude; 140° 50′14″ east), Japan during July, 1996. The average solar energy received on a horizontal surface there in January is 7900 kJ/m²/day. This paper reports the experimental results since September 1996 to date. The annual variations of water temperature in the underground main tank, heating /cooling/domestic hot water demands, collected and emitted heats by solar collector and sky radiator, were measured. The paper also clarifies the method of computer simulation results for the HARBEMAN house and its results compared with the annual experimental data. The proposed HARBEMAN house, which meets almost all its energy demands, including space heating and cooling, domestic hot water, electricity generated by photovoltaic cell and rainwater for standard Japanese homes. The proposed system has two operational modes: (i) a long-term thermal energy storage mode extending from September to March and (ii) a long-term cool storage mode extending from April to August. The system is intended to utilize as little energy as possible to collect and emit the heat. This paper also clarifies the primary energy consumption, the external costs (externalities) and the means for the reduction of carbon-dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The primary-energy consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions of the proposed house are only one-tenth of those of the conventional standard house. Moreover, the thermal performance of this house will be compared with the results of the IEA solar low-energy house TASK 13. Finally, this paper validates the external costs of this house, which have been intensively discussed in recent years in European countries. The present energy-sufficient house will be attempting in 21st century to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which will be one of the key factors for mitigating global warming.     

Performance analysis & energy benefits of a desiccant based solar assisted trigeneration system in a building

In this paper, performance details and operational benefits of a large scale solar trigeneration system that provides for solar assisted desiccant cooling, heating and hot water generation installed in a teaching institute building have been reported. A two-rotor desiccant system designed for handling 12 000 m3/hr of air was integrated into existing plant to provide a net reduction in energy consumption over the pre-existing heating ventilation and air-conditioning and domestic hot water systems. The system is controlled and monitored by a building management system which has been used to investigate and analyse the typical system behaviour. Heat from solar energy contributed consistently to reduce gas usage for water heating and on an annual basis showed a reduction of 21% of consumed energy. The solar energy contribution for space heating varied over winter months and during some months it was observed to contribute more than 50% of the total energy requirements for space heating. Under suitable ambient conditions, approximately 35% of total building cooling load was met by the solar driven desiccant cooling system. Continuous monitoring has also helped understand some of the operational issues of the system.     

Theoretical and experimental studies on collector/storage type solar water heater

Extensive theoretical and experimental studies on a built-in-storage solar water heater which was developed earlier by Garg in India, are carried out. In this water heater the absorber plate performs the dual function of absorbing the solar energy and storing the heated water. In the theoretical study, the transient performance of the system is predicted by solving the mathematical models consisting of energy balance equations which are written on different collector nodes by considering their capacity effects and various heat loss effects. These equations are converted in the finite difference form and then solved by digital computer. Solar radiation and ambient temperature are represented by Fourier series in the theoretical analysis. Its night cooling drawback is somehow checked by covering the collector system by an insulation cover during cooling hours and also by using a insulated baffle plate inside the tank adjacent to the absorber plate. It is observed that by using the insulation cover, the collector performance can be improved by 70 per cent. Use of baffle plate improves the performance during day as well as night time.     

Performance of a dual-purpose solar continuous adsorption system

A conceptual design and performance of a dual-purpose solar continuous adsorption system for domestic refrigeration and water heating is described. Malaysian activated carbon and methanol are used as the adsorbent–adsorbate pair. The heat rejected by the adsorber beds and condensers during the cooling process of the refrigeration part is recovered and used to heat water for the purpose of domestic consumption. In a continuous 24-h cycle, 16.9 MJ/day of heat can be recovered for heating of water in the storage tanks. In the single-purpose intermittent solar adsorption system, this heat is wasted. The total energy input to the dual-purpose system during a 24-h operation is 61.2 MJ/day and the total energy output is 50 MJ/day. The latter is made up of 44.7 MJ/day for water heating and 5.3 MJ/day for ice making. The amount of ice that can be produced is 12 kg/day. Using typical value for the efficiency of evacuated tube collector of water heating system of 65%, the following coefficient of performances (COP's) are obtained: 44% for adsorption refrigeration cycle, 73% for dual-purpose solar water heater, 9.1% for dual-purpose solar adsorption refrigeration and 82.1% for dual-purpose of both solar water heater and refrigerator.     

Cooling potential of ventilated PV façade and solar air heaters combined with a desiccant cooling machine

Thermal energy collected from a PV-solar air heating system is being used to provide cooling for the Mataro Library, near Barcelona. The system is designed to utilise surplus heat available from the ventilated PV facade and PV shed elements during the summer season to provide building cooling. A desiccant cooling machine was installed on the library roof with an additional solar air collector and connected to the existing ventilated PV façade and PV sheds. The desiccant cooling cycle is a novel open heat driven system that can be used to condition the air supplied to the building interior. Cooling power is supplied to the room space within the building by evaporative cooling of the fresh air supply, and the solar heat from the PV-solar air heating system provides the necessary regeneration air temperature for the desiccant machine. This paper describes the system and gives the main technical details. The cooling performance of the solar powered desiccant cooling system is evaluated by the detailed modelling of the complete cooling process. It is shown that air temperature level of the PV-solar air heating system of 70 °C or more can be efficiently used to regenerate the sorption wheel in the desiccant cooling machine. A solar fraction of 75% can be achieved by such an innovative system and the average COP of the cooling machine over the summer season is approximate 0.518.     

A review for absorbtion and adsorbtion solar cooling systems in China

In the past decades, solar water collectors were installed for the main purpose of preheating domestic hot water or to cover a fraction of the space heating demand in China. However, solar cooling systems were constructed just for demonstration purposes. Since the building of the first solar-powered absorption cooling system in Shenzhen in 1987, there have been over 10 additional solar cooling demonstration projects constructed. In this paper, the most representative five projects including both absorption and adsorption cooling systems are introduced and summarized. From the demonstrations, solar absorption cooling systems have been shown to be more suitable for large building air-conditioning systems. Comparatively, solar adsorption cooling systems are more promising for small size air-conditioning systems. In order to attain high utilization ratio, it is highly recommended to design solar-powered integrated energy systems in public buildings. In addition, highly efficient heat pumps are considered as the most appropriate auxiliary heat sources for solar cooling systems, for the purpose of all-weather operation. In the 11th Five year research project (duration 2006–2010), solar cooling technologies will be further investigated to achieve a breaking through in the integration of solar cooling systems with buildings.     

Energy and economic analysis of an integrated solar absorption cooling and heating system in different building types and climates

The use of solar energy in buildings is an important contribution for the reduction of fossil fuel consumption and harmful emissions to the environment. Solar thermal cooling systems are still in their infancy regarding practical applications, although the technology is sufficiently developed for a number of years. In many cases, their application has been conditioned by the lack of integration between cooling and heating systems. This study aims to evaluate the potential of integrated solar absorption cooling and heating systems for building applications. The TRNSYS software tool was used as a basis for assessment. Different building types were considered: residential, office and hotel. The TRNSYS models are able to run for a whole year (365 days), according to control rules (self-deciding whether to operate in heating or cooling modes), and with the possibility of combining cooling, heating and DHW applications. Three different locations and climates were considered: Berlin (Germany), Lisbon (Portugal), and Rome (Italy). Both energy and economic results are presented for all cases. The different local costs for energy (gas, electricity and water) were taken into account. Savings in CO₂ emissions were also assessed. An optimization of solar collector size and other system parameters was also analysed.     

On the study of applications of solar thermal energy for mobile homes

A great deal of work has been done in the study of applications of solar thermal energy for conventional site-built houses; however, little effort has been directed to the study of these applications for mobile homes although they account virtually for a large portion of low cost single family homes. Mobile homes are different from the conventional home and building in configuration, structure, arrangement and cost. The concept and criteria of designing a solar space heating/cooling system for mobile homes differs somewhat from that of a conventional site-built house or building. The mobile home is a low-cost housing. The solar system developed for mobile homes should be really low in cost before it can appeal to the mobile home community. This paper presents the unique characteristics of mobile homes and their impacts on the design/selection of its solar space heating/cooling system and system for supplying domestic hot water. A typical model mobile home is selected for investigation of the solar system design for four representative climatic regions (cool, temperate, hot-humid and hot-arid) of this country. Economical feasibility study is also discussed. A low-cost solar collector is suggested and its estimated performance is presented.     

Performance of solar assisted heatpump systems in residential applications

In this experimental study, several solar-assisted heating and cooling configurations have beenconsidered for a basic system comprised of a two-speed heat pump, photovoltaic (PV) arrays, solar thermal collectors, and thermal storage. The objective of the study was to determine the performance of the PV arrays at decreased insolation, the effects of air preheat by solar thermal energy on heat pump operation, and cooling system performance under two different configurations. During the entire operation, the PV arrays converted 4.7 per cent (9.5 MWh) of the incident solar insolation to d.c. power, of which 54.6 per cent was used by the residence. This contributed 23.4 per cent of the total house electrical demand. The remaining 45.4 per cent of the output was fed to the utility, indicating the arrays and the heat pump were not properly sized with each other. Based on results from the winter heating operation, it is shown that for the particular heating system consdered, the best performance is attained when the solar heating is used alone. By using the heat pump as a booster, the remaining available solar energy left in the storage tank can be used with good seasonal performance factor. Summer cooling operation consisted of two sequential cooling configurations. In the first cooling test, the heat pump was operated to either the house or storage when the PV array generation level was greater than the energy demand of the heat pump and associated equipment. When the array output level was less than the cooling system demand, the operating strategy was that of an off-peak cooling operation to chill the water storage. Utilization of chilled water storage was not realized in the first cooling test because of the inherent inefficient design of the Tri-X coil. The capacity at low-speed heat pump operation was too small to effect significant cooling of the water loop; whereas high-speed heat pump operation in attempting to chill water (fan operation absent) caused frosting of the coil. The heat pump was utilized only to maintain chilled water storage in the second cooling test, without heat transfer through the Tri-X coil. Cooling system performance obtained in cooling test 2 using the Ametex exchanger was considerably improved over the test 2 performance with the Tri-X coil.     

太阳能吸收式空调系统的经济性分析

针对一个特定的对象,进行了太阳能吸收式空调系统寿命周期内的模拟计算及影响因素的分析,结果表明：（1）单纯太阳能空调（无采暖与热水供应）的经济性很差,太阳能空调与供热的复合系统的经济性要优于单纯的太阳能空调系统;（2）太阳能采暖与空调的复合系统,采暖与供冷的负荷比对系统的经济性有很大影响,即使在最佳的负荷比时仍无法和常规的系统竞争;（3）太阳能与生活热水系统的负荷系统中,热水负荷所占比重越大,经济性越好,当太阳能空调使用生活热水系统夏季多余的热量时,太阳能空调系统经济上可以和天然气锅炉＋电动制冷机竞争,并具有很好的节能性和环境效益。