Energy : Active Solar
system in Building
Building Science II
Prepared by:
Asst. [Link] Amatya Shrestha
Department of Architecture,nec
Method of Solar system in a Building
1. Active solar heating & cooling system
Active solar technologies usually consist of a solar
collecting device that is designed to capture the sun’s
energy; it can be used to store or transfer heat energy
1. Solar electric energy
PV cell for electrification
2. Solar thermal energy
Space heating and cooling, cooking, dryers etc.
Active Solar Heating
1. Solar electric Energy :PV cell
PV stands for photo (light) and voltaic (electricity)
Direct conversion of solar energy to useful electricity
Uses photo-electric effect.- i.e. emission of free
electrons
Active Solar Heating
1. Solar electric Energy :PV cell
Solar cell with silicon crystal change light energy to
electric energy
Electricity generated is stored in battery for future
use
Active Solar Heating
1. Solar electric Energy :PV cell
Uses
Household: lighting, TV, other equipments
Rural industry: sewing machine, calculator
Telecommunication: lighting
Agriculture: electric fencing, street lighting, water pumping
Active Solar Heating
1. PV cell
Advantages:
Use no fuel
Environment friendly
Low maintenance
Economical
No need of central grid
Active Solar Heating
1. PV cell
Disadvantages:
High initial cost
Requires supporting equipment
Need skill technicians
low voltage problem
Active Solar Heating
2. Solar Thermal Energy
Devices for active use of solar into thermal energy
Solar water heater
Solar cooker
Solar drier
Solar collectors and storage techniques
Solar collectors
are the key component of active solar-heating
systems
Solar collectors gather the sun's energy, transform its
radiation into heat, and then transfer that heat to a
medium (water, air).
Types of solar collectors for heat
There are several types of solar collectors
1. Flat-plate collectors
2. Evacuated-tube collectors
3. Integral collector-storage systems
1. Flat-plate collectors
Flat-plate collectors are the most common solar
collector for solar water-heating systems in homes and
solar space heating
A typical flat-plate collector is an insulated metal box
with a glass or plastic cover (called the glazing) and a
dark-colored absorber plate
These collectors heat liquid or air at temperatures less than
180°F
1. Flat-plate collectors
Liquid flat-plate collectors
Liquid flat-plate collector heat liquid as it flows
through tubes in or adjacent to the absorber plate.
The simplest liquid systems use potable household
water, which is heated as it passes directly through
the collector and then flows to the house.
Air flat-plate collectors
Air flat-plate collectors are used primarily for solar
space heating
The absorber plates in air collectors can be metal
sheets, layers of screen, or non-metallic materials
The air flows pass the absorber by using natural
convection or a fan
Because air conducts heat much less readily than
liquid does, less heat is transferred from an air
collector's absorber than from a liquid collector's
absorber, and air collectors are typically less
efficient than liquid collectors.
Air flat plate collectors
2. Evacuated-tube collectors
The collectors are usually made of parallel rows of
transparent glass tubes
Evacuated glass tubes are the absorber of the solar
water heater. They absorb solar energy converting it
into heat for use in water heating
Each evacuated tube consists of two glass tubes made
from extremely strong borosilicate glass
The outer tube is transparent allowing light rays to
pass through with minimal reflection
2. Evacuated-tube collectors
The inner tube is coated with a special selective
coating which features excellent solar radiation
absorption and minimal reflection properties
The top of the two tubes are fused together and the
air contained in the space between the two layers of
glass is pumped out while exposing the tube to high
temperatures
2. Evacuated-tube collectors
This "evacuation" of the gases forms a vacuum, which
is an important factor in the performance of the
evacuated tubes which eliminates conductive and
convective heat loss due to its insulating property
2. Evacuated-tube collectors
[Link] collector-storage systems (ICS)
In integral collector-storage (ICS) systems,
cold water first passes through the solar collector,
which preheats the water, and
then continues to the conventional backup water heater
ICS systems are simple, reliable solar water heaters.
However, they should be installed only in climates
with mild freezing because the collector itself or the
outdoor pipes could freeze in severely cold weather
Some recent work indicates that the problem with freezing
pipes can be overcome in some cases by using freeze-
tolerant piping in conjunction with a freeze-protection
method
[Link] collector-storage systems (ICS)
Integral collector-storage systems (ICS)
Concentrating Collectors
Concentrating Collectors are oriented to track the
sun so that the beam radiation will be directed onto
the absorbing surface which can be used for cooking
as well as electricity generation.
For e.g. solar cookers like Focusing solar cookers are
used for cooking whereas
Concentrating Solar Power systems,
Solar Power Tower systems use concentrated solar radiation as a
high temperature energy source to produce electrical power.
Concentrating Collectors
Types of Concentrating solar collectors:
1. Parabolic Trough solar collector system
2. Parabolic dish
3. Solar Power system
Concentrating Collectors
Types of Concentrating solar collectors:
1. Parabolic Trough solar collector system
•This type of collector is generally used in plants
•A trough-shaped parabolic reflector is used to
concentrate sunlight on an insulated tube or heat
pipe, placed at the focal point, which transfers heat
from the collectors to the boilers in the power
station.
Parabolic trough solar collector system
Concentrating Collectors
3. Solar Power tower system
A power tower is a large tower
surrounded by small rotating
(tracking) mirrors called
heliostats.
These mirrors align themselves
and focus sunlight on the
receiver at the top of tower,
collected heat is transferred to
a power station below.
Other types of cookers and driers that
use solar energy are:
Focusing Solar Cookers
used for cooking
These are oriented to track the sun so that the beam
radiation will be directed onto the absorbing surface
which can be used for cooking
Other types of cookers and driers that
use solar energy are:
Box Cookers
As higher temperatures are often required for the
cooking of food, box cookers usually have reflectors to
increase the amount of radiation that enters the
collector.
Cabinet Type Solar Drier
These are generally used for drying various vegetables.
Integrated Energy Systems for Buildings
Integrated Energy Systems are the systems that
bring together or unify different energy systems
The efficiency of building energy systems can be
significantly increased by integrating different
energy conversion systems
Integrated Energy Systems for Buildings
Integrated systems for cooling; heating and
power for buildings incorporate multiple
technologies for providing energy services to
a single building
Integrated systems
reduce energy costs,
improved power reliability
increased energy efficiency
improved environmental quality
Integrated Energy Systems for Buildings
Life Cycle Costing
The term “Life Cycle Costing” includes all those
techniques that take into account both initial costs
and future costs and benefits (savings) of an
investment over some period time
Life cycle costing is a value for method of
tracing the cost consequence of various
alternative investment projects with long life
span
Life Cycle Costing
It is one method being widely used for an evaluation
of building investment projects as well as energy
plan projects like micro hydro project, new civil
construction project etc.
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC is a method of evaluating alternative building
investment project based on
initial cost
operational cost
maintenance cost
over the whole economic life of the project
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
For new buildings, TLCC technique is used to evaluate
the options concerning
Design
site condition
material
on the basis of total life cycle cost
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
Purpose of TLCC
To predict overall cost of the project
To refine design maintaining quality and function at
its best with lower cost
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC = Initial cost + Future cost +Salvage value
Initial costs
Cost directly related to project, like land, design,
installation of services and construction, furnishing for
occupants etc.
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC = Initial cost + Future cost +Salvage value
Initial costs :
It can be divided into two categories;
a. Energy cost – this includes probable operating
cost to cool, heat and lights the building,
b. Non energy cost – it comprises the maintenance
cost, repair and replacement cost.
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC = Initial cost + Future cost +Salvage value
Future costs :
Operation cost:
Difficult to predict
Assumptions made about use, occupancy etc.
Example: lights and heating, cooling devices
installed are used for how many hrs a day and its
corresponding expenses.
Repair and Maintenance cost:
Predicted on the basis of statistical data.
Differences in actual and estimated cost.
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC = Initial cost + Future cost +Salvage value
Salvage Value :
value of an assets at the end of the economic life for
study period, i.e, land value, metal value of factory,
workshop, etc.
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC Analysis Process
Establishment of objective to be served and define its scope
and limitation
Analysis and selection of option
Assumptions of costs like discount rate, inflatation rate,
economic life etc
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC Analysis Process
Compilation of data (Initial cost, future cost and salvage
value)
Conversion of all cost into common base.
Total Life Cycle Costing (TLCC)
TLCC Analysis Process
Example: turn all into dollars
Calculate LCC for all alternatives
Comparison of all alternatives regarding LCC
Selection of lowest price with high return or saving
Application of TLCC
The following application are the most common:
Building Design
energy conservation
rehabilitation
building code
1. Building design
The optimum building design, according to TLCC
technique, is that which minimizes initial and future
cost of the building over its life time.
The optimum housing design has many components
i.e. initial cost, maintenance cost, operating costs,
management cost, etc to determine the optimum
design: one has to minimize the life cycle costs with
respect to each of these components.
1. Building design
For example:
1. For new buildings
the LCC technique can be used to evaluate the options
concerning design, sites and materials on the basis of
life cycle costs for building energy efficiency.
2. For exiting buildings
How to select the best energy conservation feature
among various options,
How much investment should be made in a single
energy conservation feature, and
Which is the most desirable combination of various
energy conservation feature.
2. Energy Conservation:
It means to choose the best option among various
options of the energy conservation measure which
gives maximum saving in the form of reduction in
life cycle cost.
For example:
The application of the LCC technique to energy
conservation is related to determining the optimum
level of the chosen energy conservation measure
Life cycle cost comparison between solar heating
system by solar panels and conventional heating
system by fuel or coal
Problem of TLCC
The following application are the most common:
Estimating Costs
Prediction Errors
• Measurement and sampling errors
• Errors in assumptions
Advantages of TLCC
Provide opportunity to select most economical
possible design
Gives information about overall cost of project
Helps to decide that an old building should be
rehabilitated or replaced by new one
Advantages of TLCC
In terms of energy application, helps to decide the
maximum energy conserving option with lowest cost
and high saving
Helps to decide either to choose mechanized air
conditioning or high class glazing systems
THANK YOU