Performance Evaluation of PV-trombe Wall for Sustainable Building Development

Abstract

This paper presents, a detailed simulation model of a single room building integrated with PV Trombe wall (PV-TW). Performance is evaluated in terms of room temperature, cooling load and PV efficiency by varying the air flow velocity for three different PV-TW Glazing types (i.e. Single Glazing, Double glazing, Double glazing filled with gas (Argon)). Simulation was done on TRNSYS software having inputs parameter as climatic conditions, building construction details, thermal properties of materials, detail of PV-TW and orientation of the building were inserted. By varying the air flow velocity and comparing the results of all three types of glazing it was found that PV Double glazing filled with argon shows significant results in reduction of cooling load of building, mean air duct temperature. Reduction of mean air duct temperature results in lowering of PV cell temperature which enhances the efficiency of PV panel. Also maximum room temperature reduction was found while using a double glass filled with argon PV-TW, which further reduces thermal load of the building. Air flow velocity shows significant effect on the performance of PV-TW up to certain values after which its effect stagnates and no further improvement was shown in all three types of PV-TW.

A state of the art review of PV‐Trombe wall system: Design and applications

“…The results were revealed that a conflict effect of the glass cover in terms of the indoor thermal comfort and electric generation. Irshad et al presented a simulated model of a room with PV‐TW system. The performance was evaluated for three different PV‐TW glazing types (i.e., single glazing, double glazing, and double glazing filled with argon).…”

“…It was assumed that the air movement through air duct is composed of natural and forced circulating effect. Accordingly, the following formula was derived to estimate the air velocity ( V a) through the air duct: Δ P is the head of pressure delivered by DC fan, which is a function of the instantaneously consumed power by DC fan. The manufacturer of DC fan usually specifies this formula.…”

“…The airflow in the air gap of Trombe wall is induced due to the buoyancy effect. Irshad et al presented a simulated model of a room with PV‐TW system by varying the air flow velocity. It showed significant effect of air flow velocity on the performance of PV‐TW up to certain values after which its effect stagnates and no further improvement was shown in all three types of PV‐TW.…”

Periodic modeling of semi-transparent photovoltaic thermal-trombe wall (SPVT-TW)

“…Further, it is possible to save annual cost of heating. Irshada et al (2015) have developed the model and simulated for a single room integrated with Photovoltaic Trombe wall (PV-TW) and evaluated the performance in terms of room air temperature, cooling load and efficiency of PV module for different PV-TW glazing type like single glazing, double glazing, double glazing filled with gas (Argon). Finally, they concluded that maximum room air temperature reduction was found while by using a double glass filled with Argon PV-TW.…”

Numerical and Experimental Investigations of Composite Solar Walls Integrating Sensible or Latent Heat Thermal Storage

“…It was subsequently redesigned as an architectural element by F. Trombe and J. Michel [11], as frequently acknowledged in published papers on: Trombe wall, Trombe-Michel solar wall, or composite solar wall. In current research dedicated to energy and environmental contexts, passive solar wall techniques are more relevant than ever, leading to the development of various passive configurations, namely: (a) the classical Trombe wall: engineering techniques [12], theoretical and experimental investigations of heat transfer [13], comparison of the effects of air flow rate between the one-dimensional and two-dimensional models [14], and the numerical study of thermal performance [15]; (b) the PCM Trombe wall: clay bricks integrating PCM macro-capsules functioning as the storage wall [16], thermal performance of a PCM storage wall in temperate and hot climates [17], a simulation study of building walls using the collector-storage wall integrating PCMs [18], a summary of the investigation and analysis conducted on systems incorporating PCMs as storage elements [19], the heat storage wall of the studied building ventilation using black paraffin wax [20], and experimental investigations of PCM wall thermal performance improved by delta winglet vortex generators [21]; (c) a composite Trombe wall with or without PCM: the numerical study of a composite Trombe wall model both with and without PCM in relying on the Dymola/Modelica software [22], numerical studies of the comparison between two walls using sensible heat (with concrete as the storage wall) by means of TRNSYS software [23], experimental studies on the energy performance of a composite Trombe wall using concrete blocks as the storage element [24], an experimental study of a small-scale Trombe wall integrating the brick-shaped packages of PCM (hydrated salt) [25], and a theoretical study of a solar wall collector system on thermal performance [26]; and (d) a photovoltaic (PV) Trombe wall: applied in a one-room building model using TRNSYS software [27,28], a numerical study using FORTRAN to simulate the influence of photovoltaic glazing on the thermal and electrical performance of a photovoltaic-Trombe wall [29], a PV-Trombe wall assisted by a DC fan [30], a numerical study of the two-dimensional model of a PV glass panel [31,32], validation of the energy modeling of a building using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and comparison of the system with a PV panel, single glass and double glass [33,34], experimental and numerical studies during winter correlated with a south facade design [35], and a numerical study of the periodic modeling o...…”