Analytic model for passively-heated solar houses-1. Theory

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19 Scopus citations

Abstract

A simple analytic method for the prediction of the long-term thermal performance of passively-heated solar houses is presented. The treatment includes a new coarse method for "energy bookkeeping" and the use of a distribution function which represents the frequency of occurrence of different values of the solar load ratio. Due to its generality, this formalism is applicable to any passive heating element. As specific examples, the cases of direct gain and water wall houses are treated in detail. Relative to the parameterization of computer simulation results, this method offers the user a design tool that can be used to predict, in closed form, the thermal effect on the house of different building and climatic parameters and is not restricted to a "reference" building. Agreement with published numerical simulation results in satisfactory. The presentation is divided into two separate papers: a users guide for the reader who may not be interested in the details of derivation and validation, and the present paper, in which the theory is presented in detail.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)331-342
Number of pages12
JournalSolar Energy
Volume27
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1981

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • General Materials Science

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