A validated design simulation tool for passive solar space heating: Results from a monitored house in West Lothian,Scotland

Abstract

Determining the availability of renewable sources on a particular site would result in increasing the efficiency of buildings through appropriate design. The overall aim of the project is to develop a pioneering software tool allowing the assessment of possible energy sources for any building design project. The package would allow the user to simulate the efficiency of the Passive Solar Space Heating referred in the Low and Zero Carbon Energy Sources (LZCES) Strategic Guide stated by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2006) and the Building Regulations. This research paper presents the tool for modelling the passive solar sources availability in relation to low-carbon building. A 3-month experimental set up monitoring a solar house in West Lothian, Scotland, was also undertaken to validate the simulation tool. Experimental and simulation results were found in good agreement following a one-to-one relationship demonstrating the ability of the newly developed tool to assess potential solar gain available for buildings. This modelling tool is highly valuable in consideration of the part L of the Building Regulations (updated in 2010).

Keywords

Building design Combination selection Efficiency Renewable energy Simulation Solar air heater

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

DHW

Yang

Lam

. Impact of climate change on energy use in the built environment in different climate zones – A review. Energy 2012; 42(1): 103–112.

Levermore

. A review of the IPCC assessment report four, part 1: the IPCC process and greenhouse gas emission trends from buildings worldwide. Build Serv Eng Res Technol 2008; 29: 349–361.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Conservation of Fuel and Power in new dwellings. Approved document, Part L1A, ODPM, The Building Regulations, London, 2010.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Conservation of Fuel and Power in existing dwellings. Approved document, Part L1B, ODPM, The Building Regulations, London, 2010.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Conservation of Fuel and Power in new buildings other than dwellings. Approved document, Part L2A, ODPM, The Building Regulations, London, 2010.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Conservation of Fuel and Power in existing buildings other than dwellings. Approved document, Part L2B, ODPM, The Building Regulations, London, 2010.

Sartori

Napolitano

Vossc

. Net zero energy buildings: A consistent definition framework. Building Environ 2012; 48: 220–232.

CWF

Kim

. Low carbon housings and indoor air quality. Indoor Built Environ 2012; 21(1): 5–15.

Boyle

. Renewable Energy, Power for a Sustainable Future, 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

10.

Chesné

Duforestel

Roux

. Energy saving and environmental resources potentials: Toward new methods of building design. Building Environ 2012; 58: 199–207.

11.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Low or Zero Carbon Energy Sources: Strategic Guide, The Building Regulations 2000, ODPM, London, 2006.

12.

The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers, CIBSE. Test Reference Years (TRYs) and Design Summer Years (DSYs) Hourly Weather Data Set (14 sites). London, CIBSE, 2006.

13.

The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers. CIBSE Guide C: Reference Data. CIBSE Knowledge Portal, London, 2007 (ISBN: 9781903287804).

14.

Kopp

Lean

. A new, lower value of total solar irradiance: Evidence and climate significance. Geophys Res Lett 2011; 38: L01706–L01706.

15.

Muneer

. Solar Radiation and Daylight Models, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.

16.

Duffie

Beckman

. Solar Energy Thermal Processes, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1974.

17.

Muneer

. Windows in Buildings: Thermal, Acoustic, Visual & Solar Performance, Oxford: Architectural Press, 2000.

18.

Kreider

Kreith

. Solar Energy Handbook, New York: Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, 1981.

19.

Woolf HM. On the Computation of Solar Evaluation Angles and the Determination of Sunrise and Sunset Times. Houston, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Report, NASA, 1968.

20.

Muneer

Maubleu

Asif

. Prospects of solar water heating for textile industry in Pakistan. Renew Sustainable Energy Rev 2006; 10(1): 1–23.

21.

The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers. CIBSE Guide A: Environmental Design, 7th edn. London, CISBE, 2007.

22.

Muneer

Kubie

Grassie

. Heat Transfer, a Problem Solving Approach, London: Taylor and Francis, 2003.

23.

GREEN BIM blog. Green Design with Building Information Modeling and analysis tools, www.greenbim.blogspot.com.es/2007/07/tas-building-simulation-software.html (accessed January 24, 2013).

24.

Environmental Design Solutions Limited. TAS software, www.edsl.net/main/Software.aspx (accessed January 24, 2013).

25.

University of Cambridge. Energy modelling and building physics resource base, www-embp.eng.cam.ac.uk/software/iesve (accessed January 24, 2013).