A passive house with seasonal solar energy store: in situ data and numerical modelling

Joshua Clarke, Shane Colclough, Philip Griffiths, James McLeskey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper presents parametric analysis of solar collector area and solar energy storage volume for a passive house in Galway, Ireland. Using the simulation tool Transient System Simulation Tool (TRNSYS), a model was developed to represent a 215m2 home built to Passivhaus standards and incorporating a 10.6m2 solar thermal collector and a 23m3 solar thermal storage tank. This model was validated through comparison with data collected in situ from the operation of the home over the period of 1 year. Once validated, the model was used to investigate the effect of varying solar collector area and solar energy storagevolume on the fraction of heat demand met by solar energy. Results indicate that increasing collector area from 10.6 to 20m2 could increase total solar fraction from 0.47 to 0.63, decreasing fossil-fuel-derived energy demand at the home under study by a further 30%.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-50
JournalInternational Journal of Ambient Energy
Volume35
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 12 Mar 2014

Keywords

  • solar heating
  • solar combisystem
  • solar thermal storage
  • Transient System Simulation Tool (TRNSYS)

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