Thermal Performance of Building under Two Ideal Heating Patterns

Abstract

Recently researchers have proposed innovative solutions aiming to improve the energy performance of building envelope components such as Trombe walls, ventilated storage walls. The principle of all the innovative systems can be simplified as heat/cold sources in walls. However, the thermal performance and energy savings potential of the innovative heating walls comparing to the traditional heating pattern with heat sources in room air are still lack of clarification. In this paper, the thermal response of an ideal building model under two ideal heating patterns, are analyzed by using a simple thermal and airflow macroscopic model. The analytical formulas for indoor air temperature and thermal mass temperature are also derived to identify the critical parameters that affect the levels and fluctuations of them. By numerical calculation, it can be observed that the indoor air temperature under HP1 quickly falls down as the heat source removed and has big variation, while the results of HP2 look favourable with less variation, and the mean air temperature during the non-heating period is higher than that of HP1. This implies that the heating pattern HP2 has the potentials to create a stable indoor thermal environment.