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Solar Energy

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Building Refurbishment for Energy Performance

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

European Directive 2010/31/CE on energy efficiency in the buildings sector provides for significant actions for the reductions in energy consumption, and Directive RES 2009/28/CE stimulates the use of energy from renewable sources in order to meet such objectives. The chapter presents indications about the use of solar radiation for the energy requalification of buildings based on the results of research activities. Simplified evaluation methods are presented with the aim to verify the available potential energy, for the production of sanitary hot water, for winter heating and for the production of electrical energy, by means of systems, which use conventional solar collectors placed on the surfaces of the building shell, in particular on the roof slopes. In order to evaluate the energy improvement linked to the solar gain through the windows, the direct gain is evaluated by means of an accurate calculation model of the solar gains, which uses the coefficient of effective absorption of the entering radiation. With regard to sunspaces, some aspects of the thermal analysis, of the evaluation of the solar energy absorbed by the sunspace and by the adjacent room and of the benefits obtainable in terms of a reduction in the thermal requirements of the adjacent spaces are discussed. Finally, a discussion is presented regarding the possibility of using phase change materials (PCM) for the refurbishment of lightweight buildings. This technique allows for the improvement of the response of the building to solar gains, thus providing better thermal comfort in summer. In order to facilitate comprehension, the topics are supported by calculation methods and accompanied by numerical examples.

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Abbreviations

A c :

Collection surface area (m2)

a w :

Azimuth (°)

C eq :

Equivalent specific heat capacity of PCM (J/kg K)

\( c_{\text{p }} \) :

Specific heat of the air (J/kg K)

\( \bar{E}_{\text{ass}} \) :

Daily average monthly solar energy absorbed by an internal space (J)

E i :

Daily average monthly energy incident on the external glazed surface (J/m2)

f :

Glazed fraction of a wall (-)

f c :

Corrective factor (-)

F R :

Removal factor of the thermal collector (-)

F′:

Efficiency factor of the thermal collector (-)

g :

Total solar gain for normal incidence of the glazed system (-)

G c :

Solar global irradiation on a surface (W/m2)

G e :

Solar power entering in an environment through the glazed surface (W/m2)

h c :

Convective thermal exchange coefficient (W/m2 K)

I bo :

Direct solar irradiation on the horizontal plane (W/m2)

I do :

Diffuse solar irradiation on the horizontal plane (W/m2)

\( \dot{m}_{\text{v}} \) :

Ventilation flow rate (kg/s)

P cel :

Electrical power supplied by the PV cell (W)

\( Q_{\text{ai}}^{ + } \) :

Heat transferred by convention to the internal air (J)

Q i :

Incident solar energy on the sunspace shell (J)

Q ass :

Solar power absorbed by the internal environment, or net solar gain (W)

Q as,s :

Solar energy absorbed in the sunspace (J)

Q p :

Lost thermal power of solar collector (W)

Q sol :

Daily average monthly solar gain through the glazed surfaces (J)

Q tr :

Transmitted solar energy through the sunspace shell (J)

Q u :

Useful thermal power of solar collector (W)

R b :

Inclination factor of direct solar radiation (-)

\( \bar{R}_{\text{b}} \) :

Monthly direct radiation inclination factor (-)

R d :

Inclination factor of diffuse solar radiation (-)

R r :

Inclination factor of reflected solar radiation (-)

T a :

Outdoor air temperature (K)

T as :

Air temperature in the sunspace (K)

T c :

Average temperature of the PV cell or panel (K)

T i :

Internal surface temperature (K)

T p :

Peak melting temperature of PCM (K)

\( \bar{T}_{\text{p}} \) :

Average temperature of the thermal solar collector absorbent plate (K)

U :

Thermal transmittance (W/m2 K)

α :

Absorption coefficient of solar radiation (-)

α cav :

Effective absorption coefficient of the internal environment (-)

α i :

Absorption coefficient in the solar band of the ith surface (-)

α f :

Solar absorption coefficient of the floor and of the walls (-)

α m :

Average absorption coefficient of the opaque surfaces of the internal environment (-)

α s :

Effective absorption coefficient of the sunspace (-)

α w :

Solar absorption coefficient of the walls (-)

β :

Inclination (°)

Δt:

Time interval (s)

η :

Efficiency (-)

η u :

Utilisation factor (-)

η u,v :

Utilisation factor imputable to ventilation (-)

Ï„ :

Transmission coefficient of solar radiation (-)

Ï„ b :

Transmission coefficient of the direct solar radiation of the glazed system (-)

Ï„ d :

Transmission coefficient of the diffuse solar radiation of the glazed system (-)

Ï„ g :

Transmission coefficient of the reflected solar radiation of the glazed system (-)

ψ :

Glazed fraction of the room (-)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy

    G. Oliveti, N. Arcuri, M. De Simone & R. Bruno

  2. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    L. Marletta & G. Evola

Authors
  1. G. Oliveti
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  2. L. Marletta
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  3. N. Arcuri
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  4. M. De Simone
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  5. R. Bruno
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  6. G. Evola
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. Arcuri .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Civil and Architecture Engineering Dept, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Anna Magrini

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Oliveti, G., Marletta, L., Arcuri, N., De Simone, M., Bruno, R., Evola, G. (2014). Solar Energy. In: Magrini, A. (eds) Building Refurbishment for Energy Performance. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03074-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03074-6_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-03073-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-03074-6

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

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