SIMSHAC-a simulation program for solar heating and cooling of buildings

Abstract

A dynamic simulation model for use in analyzing the performance of specific designs of solar-heated-and- cooled buildings has been developed. The name of the program is SIMSHAC, an acronym for SImulation Model for Solar-Heated-And-Cooled buildings. To use the design program, one has merely to specify the components (that is, each subsystem; for example, collectors, storage units, splitting and mixing valves, house heating and cooling loads, auxiliary heating, auxiliary cooling, heat exchanger, etc.), and the manner in which they are connected and all initial conditions. Program SIMSHAC then writes the program for the specific system to be analyzed. Each subsystem is described by a set of time-dependent differential equations or, possibly, algebraic equations. System state variables include tempera ture, mass flow rate, and enthalpy. The model can handle three types of incident solar radiation data models. These are (1) deterministic (e.g., an algebraic-equation sun model), (2) random simulation (e.g., a model based upon cloud-cover statistics), and (3) actual tabulated input information based upon collected solar data for a specific site. The model has been used for the analysis of five different types of buildings in five locations within the United States. The types include single-family residences, small businesses, three-story apartments, schools, and mobile homes. The locations considered are Atlanta, Georgia; Madison, Wisconsin; Wilmington, Delaware; Mobile, Alabama; and Santa Maria, California. The program has also been used to simulate the solar- heated-and-cooled experimental laboratory presently being built by the National Science Foundation on the campus at Colorado State University.