Simulation Analysis on the Solar Heating System Combined with Tabs in Lhasa, China of Annex 59

Abstract

Lhasa, at high altitudes, in the west of China, is in a cold region, but with an annual total solar radiation as much as 7.2GJ/m2. Conventional water solar collectors and water pipes have the risk of burst in the severe cold. In this paper, a building heating system combining solar air collector with thermally activated building system (TABS) is proposed in Lhasa, China. To analyze the performance of the solar heating system in intermittent operation, a numerical model was built using the finite difference method for TABS and the state-space method for the reference building in Lhasa. The systematic simulations show that the indoor air temperature could be maintained at 17-24°C for 24hours with the TABS in intermittent operation at an average outdoor air temperature of -3°C. The air solar collector of an area of 1m2 could undertake the heat load of a building area of 3-4 m2 in Lhasa without any other heat source.