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Energies
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Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings
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Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2020) | Viewed by 15265

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Senhorinha de Fátima Capela Fortunas Teixeira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Production Systems, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Interests: numerical modeling and optimization; two-phase flow; CFD modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rising energy consumption mostly in developing countries impacts the supply fossil fuel sources, causing a negative environmental impact. Solar thermal energy can be an alternative for many applications in both the domestic and industrial sectors. In addition to traditional low temperature heating, solar energy can be of great interest in the process industry, space heating amongst others. In addition, the development of solar concentration technologies has opened the door for competitive power generation. New materials play an important role in expanding the role of solar energy into new applications and improve the efficiency of energy conversion and storage. Furthermore, the integration of solar with fossil fuel technologies enhances the reliability and scope of energy supply. Finally, the development of low-cost solar energy may bring access of energy supply to undeveloped regions.

Thus, to further spread the technologies and methods related to solar energy application in buildings, this Special Issue, entitled “Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings”, has been proposed for the international journal Energies, which is an SSCI and SCIE journal (2018 IF = 2.707). This Special Issue mainly covers original research and studies related to the abovementioned topics, including, but not limited to, solar cells and material, building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T), solar-assisted heat pumps, passive solar energy technologies, solar lighting, distributed energy systems, optimization of solar thermal systems, and so on. Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

I am writing to invite you to submit your original work to this Special Issue. I look forward to receiving your outstanding research.

Prof. Dr. Senhorinha Teixeira
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Solar-assisted heat pump
  • Solar water heater
  • Solar energy passive technologies
  • Energy storage technologies
  • Distributed energy systems
  • Energy efficiency in buildings
  • Energy and comfort in buildings
  • Solar energy for power
  • Optimization
  • Stirling engines
  • High temperature solar
  • New materials

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 4011 KiB  
Article
Numerical Modeling and Optimization of an Air Handling Unit
by José Lopes, João Silva, Senhorinha Teixeira and José Teixeira
Energies 2021, 14(1), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010068 - 25 Dec 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4247
Abstract
Concerns about the efficiency of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning systems, including Air Handling Units (AHUs), started in the last century due to the energy crisis. Thenceforth, important improvements on the AHUs performance have emerged. Among the various improvements, the control of the [...] Read more.
Concerns about the efficiency of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning systems, including Air Handling Units (AHUs), started in the last century due to the energy crisis. Thenceforth, important improvements on the AHUs performance have emerged. Among the various improvements, the control of the AHUs and the redesign of the fans are the most important ones. Although, with increasingly demanding energy efficiency requirements, other constructive solutions must be investigated. Therefore, the objective of this work is to investigate, using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, the fluid flow inside an AHU and to analyze different constructive solutions in order to improve the AHU performance. The numerical model provided a reasonable agreement with the experimental results in terms of air flow rate, despite the assumed simplifications. Regarding the constructive solution concept, the CFD results for the two different flow control units (FCUs) showed improvements in terms of fan static pressure rise. Under real conditions, improvements of 15.1% when compared with the case without the FCU were obtained. Nevertheless, it was concluded that the axial component of the air velocity, at the fan exit, can have a determinant impact on the FCU viability. Finally, an improved FCU geometry, with a new body shape, which resulted in an additional improvement of 6.1% in the fan static pressure rise. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings)
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23 pages, 4414 KiB  
Article
Multi-Objective Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems Applied to Portuguese Dwellings
by Ana Cristina Ferreira, Angela Silva, José Carlos Teixeira and Senhorinha Teixeira
Energies 2020, 13(24), 6739; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13246739 - 21 Dec 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2438
Abstract
Solar thermal systems have been widely used to increase energy efficiency in the building sector, since the use of renewable energy sources became one of the top priorities to meet environmental targets. The main objective of this study is the thermo-economic optimization of [...] Read more.
Solar thermal systems have been widely used to increase energy efficiency in the building sector, since the use of renewable energy sources became one of the top priorities to meet environmental targets. The main objective of this study is the thermo-economic optimization of solar thermal systems for residential building applications, considering a multi-objective approach. The simulations were performed through a MatLab code by implementing an elitist variant of Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NASGA-II). The solar collection area and the linear loss coefficient as well as the tank storage volume were defined as decision variables. A two-dimensional Pareto front was obtained, considering as objective functions the minimization of the annualized investment cost and the maximization of the solar collection efficiency. Based on the best trade-off between both objectives and considering that the solar thermal systems can operate for a period of at least 15 years, the Pareto analysis led to the conclusion that a system with an annualized investment cost between 270 and 280 €/year allows reaching a collection efficiency of 60%. After the analysis of the optimal solution points, a configuration was selected to estimate the system total purchasing cost: a panel with a solar area of 4.17 m2 and with a linear coefficient loss of 3.684 W/m2.K; a storage volume of 0.275 m3; and a pump flow rate of 0.1364 m3/h. For this configuration, we estimated a total purchasing cost of 2545.0 €, whereas the solar collector and the storage tank are the most expensive components, representing a share of 42% and 43%, respectively. These results represent a specific cost of 610.3 €/m2 per solar collection area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings)
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20 pages, 4083 KiB  
Article
Study on a Dynamic Numerical Model of an Underground Air Tunnel System for Cooling Applications—Experimental Validation and Multidimensional Parametrical Analysis
by Liang Tang, Zhengxuan Liu, Yuekuan Zhou, Di Qin and Guoqiang Zhang
Energies 2020, 13(5), 1236; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13051236 - 06 Mar 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2252
Abstract
The underground air tunnel system shows promising potentials for reducing energy consumption of buildings and for improving indoor thermal comfort, whereas the existing dynamic models using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method show computational complexity and are user-unfriendly for parametrical analysis. In this [...] Read more.
The underground air tunnel system shows promising potentials for reducing energy consumption of buildings and for improving indoor thermal comfort, whereas the existing dynamic models using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method show computational complexity and are user-unfriendly for parametrical analysis. In this study, a dynamic numerical model was developed with the on-site experimental calibration. Compared to the traditional CFD method with high computational complexity, the mathematical model on the MATLAB/SIMULINK platform is time-saving in terms of the real-time thermal performance prediction. The experimental validation results indicated that the maximum absolute relative deviation was 3.18% between the model-driven results and the data from the on-site experiments. Parametrical analysis results indicated that, with the increase of the tube length, the outlet temperature decreases with an increase of the cooling capacity whereas the increasing/decreasing magnitude slows down. In addition, the system performance is independent on the tube materials. Furthermore, the outlet air temperature and cooling capacity are dependent on the tube diameter and air velocity, i.e., a larger tube diameter and a higher air velocity are more suitable to improve the system’s cooling capacity, and a smaller tube diameter and a lower air velocity will produce a more stable and lower outlet temperature. Further studies need to be conducted for the trade-off solutions between air velocity and tube diameter for the bi-criteria performance enhancement between outlet temperature and cooling capacity. This study proposed an experimentally validated mathematical model to accurately predict the thermal performance of the underground air tunnel system with high computational efficiency, which can provide technical guidance to multi-combined solutions through geometrical designs and operating parameters for the optimal design and robust operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings)
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17 pages, 1802 KiB  
Article
A Multicriteria Methodology to Select the Best Installation of Solar Thermal Power in a Family House
by Jaroslav Košičan, Miguel Ángel Pardo and Silvia Vilčeková
Energies 2020, 13(5), 1047; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13051047 - 26 Feb 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2714
Abstract
Solar thermal power is nowadays one of the trendiest topics in the construction industry, and it represents a valuable energy source of heating that reduces energy consumption. As solar panels produce heating during the day and consumers demand calefaction during the whole day, [...] Read more.
Solar thermal power is nowadays one of the trendiest topics in the construction industry, and it represents a valuable energy source of heating that reduces energy consumption. As solar panels produce heating during the day and consumers demand calefaction during the whole day, we use standby tanks (for domestic hot water) and buffer tanks (for heating) for storage. The latest developments improved the efficiency and useful life while reducing the volume of tanks. So, the presented research work deals with analyzing the solar thermal power in a family house. This work presents a method to create a decision support system to compare solar energy systems in houses from economical, technical, availability, and environmental concerns. The weights of the criteria selected considering the analytical hierarchy process are computed. Parameters required for energy production calculations (location, temperature, etc.) and energy consumption (inhabitants, outdoor temperature, etc.) are summarized. It can be stated that a universal best solar thermal scheme does not exist, as energy consumption depends on the other features and limits as well as energy production, geographical latitude of the location, and so forth. According to results, Case 3 (a gas boiler and a combination tank) is the best alternative for reducing the energy required, CO2 emitted, the best energy efficiency of the installation, and the lowest transmission losses. In other scenarios when the economic criteria are not so relevant, this should be the best case in the prioritization scheme. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings)
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Review

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33 pages, 955 KiB  
Review
Thermo-Hydraulic Performance of Solar Air Collectors with Artificially Roughened Absorbers: A Comparative Review of Semi-Empirical Models
by António Araújo
Energies 2020, 13(14), 3536; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13143536 - 09 Jul 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2810
Abstract
Due to the poor thermal characteristics of the air, the absorber roughness of solar air collectors is commonly artificially increased in order to enhance the heat transfer to the air stream. However, this is also accompanied by an undesirable increase in the pumping [...] Read more.
Due to the poor thermal characteristics of the air, the absorber roughness of solar air collectors is commonly artificially increased in order to enhance the heat transfer to the air stream. However, this is also accompanied by an undesirable increase in the pumping power due to increased friction losses. As a result, several authors have experimentally investigated several ways of maximizing the heat transfer while minimizing the friction losses of different absorbers, resulting in the development of semi-empirical functions relating the Nusselt number (a measure of heat transfer) and the friction factor (a measure of friction losses) to the Reynolds number and the roughness parameters considered for each absorber. The present paper reviews, considering the publications from the last ten years, these semi-empirical functions. Moreover, the optimum roughness parameters and operating conditions of the absorbers were estimated by finding the maximum values of two performance parameters (the thermo-hydraulic efficiency and effectiveness), calculated using the semi-empirical functions, in order to classify the absorbers in terms of their energy characteristics. This approach proves to be a rather effective way of optimizing the roughness characteristics of solar air collector absorbers. It is also concluded that, considering the range of absorbers analyzed here, generally, multiple V-shaped ribs with gaps provide the most effective roughness geometry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems for Buildings)
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