On the Influence of Solar Radiation on Heat Delivered to Buildings for Heating

Tomasz Cholewa,Andrzej Smolarz,Alicja Siuta-Olcha,Agnieszka Malec,Krystian Łygas,Łukasz Guz,Piotr Wolszczak,Marzenna R Dudzińska,Piotr Muryjas

doi:10.3390/en14040851

Tomasz Cholewa, Andrzej Smolarz + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14040851

Copy DOI

Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Feb 6, 2021
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Lublin University of Technology

Abstract

Nowadays, the attention of designers and service providers is especially focused on energy efficiency and integration of renewable energy sources (RES). However, the knowledge on smart devices and automated, easily applicable algorithms for optimizing heating consumption by effectively taking advantage of solar heat gains, while avoiding overheating, is limited. This paper presents a simple method for taking into account the influence of solar heat gains in the form of solar radiation for the purposes of forecasting or controlling thermal power for heating of buildings. On the basis of field research carried out for seven buildings (five residential buildings and two public buildings) during one heating season, it was noticed that it was justified to properly narrow down the input data range included in the building energy model calculations in order to obtain a higher accuracy of calculations. In order to minimize the impact of other external factors (in particular wind speed) affecting the heat consumption for heating purposes, it was recommended to consider the data range only at wind speeds below 3 m/s. On the other hand, in order to minimize the impact of internal factors (in particular the impact of users), it was suggested to further narrow down the scope of the input data to an hour (e.g., 10–14 in multi-family residential buildings). During these hours, the impact on users was minimized as most of them were outside the building.

Highlights

Regarding climate change and emission of greenhouse gases, the use of renewable energy sources (RES), such as solar radiation, in buildings is very common nowadays [1,2]
Solar radiation may be used in buildings in the form of active systems, such as flat solar collectors [3], but is recommended especially if used passively without special additional investment and exploitation cost
This may be, for example, passive heating through glazing [4], which may reduce the heat used for heating in the winter season [5]

Summary

Introduction

Regarding climate change and emission of greenhouse gases, the use of renewable energy sources (RES), such as solar radiation, in buildings is very common nowadays [1,2]. Solar radiation may be used in buildings in the form of active systems, such as flat solar collectors [3], but is recommended especially if used passively without special additional investment and exploitation cost This may be, for example, passive heating through glazing [4], which may reduce the heat used for heating in the winter season [5]. Due to solar heat gains, the overheating may occur in buildings during heat waves [6] or normal exploitation during the summer period [7,8], and during the winter season [9] This may be due to inaccurate control methods of heat supply to a room or building, which does not fully or properly take into account the presence and influence of solar gains on energy consumption, which was shown in the example of co-heating tests [10].

Objectives

Methods

Results