Abstract
Underfloor heating systems provide comfort due to the natural heat flow distribution by a network of pipes, conventionally connected to a heat pump operating at low temperatures. To this extent, a renewable energy source could be an alternative solution. Acting as a case to investigate such systems, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus with a plethora of sunny days points to solar energy as the obvious solution. In this study, solar collector systems are recruited to supply the required heat for a typical Cypriot house, with the building’s foundation acting as a thermal energy system (TES) unit. The heat supply to the building can then be distributed with natural convection from the TES. The solar collectors and the building’s foundation system are studied with the aid of two software programs, namely TRNSYS and COMSOL Multiphysics. The former is used for the calculation of the heating and cooling load of the house as well as to estimate the energy provided by the flat plate solar collectors at specific conditions. The latter is then used to examine the TES unit with the heat gain/loss of the building. The obtained results, including analyses on the solar collectors’ area and the foundation thickness indicate that the suggested system would be able to sufficiently cover, partially or fully, the building’s heating load.
Highlights
Solar energy is a freely available source that can either be harvested for electricity or converted into thermal energy for heating purposes as well as for domestic hot water applications
Solar energy is used for domestic hot water (DHW) with the aid of solar collectors and thermosiphons, with a high percentage of application in sunny countries, both in summer and winter
A related noteworthy fact is that the maximum efficiency of a photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) system is at about 63% [1], solar flat plate collectors (FPC) at 80% [2], while that of photovoltaics (PV) for electricity production at 28%
Summary
Solar energy is a freely available source that can either be harvested for electricity or converted into thermal energy for heating purposes as well as for domestic hot water applications. A review on sensible heat storage materials can be found in [20], where it is stated that low cost, availability and good mechanical and thermal properties are among the advantages of using concrete as a TES unit. Since the concrete foundation block provides structural support and strength to the dwellings, it cannot be examined only as a TES unit, but as a hybrid system as well Such effects on the concrete properties as due to temperature changes have been presented in [27]. The use of high temperature concrete modules as TES unit of sensible heat in solar power plans has been examined in [28] and guidelines have been presented.
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