Energetic performances of an optimized passive Solar Heating Prototype used for Tunisian buildings air-heating application

This paper deals with the energetic performances of a Solar Heating Prototype (SHP) conceived in our laboratory to prevail the Tunisian households’ air-heating needs. The conceived SHP mainly consists of a flat-plate solar collector, solar hot water tank and an active layer integrated inside a single room. Firstly, a complete model is formulated taking into account various modes of heat transfer in the SHP by means of the TRNSYS simulation program. To validate the TRNSYS model, experimental tests under local weather conditions were performed for 2 days spread over 2 months (March and April 2013). Predicted results were compared to the measurements in order to determine the accuracy of the simulation program. A parametric study was then achieved by means of the TRNSYS program in order to optimize SHP design parameters (Collector area, collector mass flow rate, floor mass flow rate, storage tank volume and thickness of the active layer). The optimization of all design parameters shows that to achieve a maximum performances from the SHP it is essential to use a solar collector with an area equal to 6 m2 area, a collector mass flow rate equal to 100 kg h−1 and a hot water storage tank with a capacity equal to 450 l. Concerning the floor heating, the optimal values of mass flow rate and the active layer thickness are 200 kg h−1 and 0.06 m, respectively. The long-term SHP performances were afterward evaluated by means of the Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data relative to Tunis, Tunisia. Results showed that for an annual total solar insolation of about 6493.37 MJ m−2 the average solar fraction obtained is about 84%. The results show also that the request of auxiliary energy is limited to the cold months of the year chiefly from December to Mars. The results show also that the SHP reduce the relative humidity inside the monozone room of about 40%.