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Author
Shingleton, J. G. | Cassel, D. E. | Overton, R. L.
Title
Air Leakage in Residential Solar Heating Systems.
Coporate
Mueller Associates, Inc., Baltimore, MD
Sponsor
National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC Department of Energy, Washington, DC Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC
Report
NBS GCR 81-302
February 1981
Distribution
Available from National Technical Information Service
Contract
NBS-78-3534
Keywords
residential buildings; air flow; heat transfer; thermal efficiency; performance evaluation; computerized simulation | solar collectors | solar energy
Identifiers
solar heating systems; air infiltration; solar collectors; rock beds
Abstract
A series of computer simulations was performed to evaluate the effects of component air leakage on system thermal performance for a typical residential solar heating system, located in Madison, Wisconsin. Auxiliary energy required to supplement solar energy for space heating was determined using the TRNSYS computer program, for a range of air leakage rates at the solar collector and pebble-bed storage unit. The study included the effects of heat transfer and mass transfer between the solar equipment room and the heated building, and also determined the effect of reduced air infiltration into the building due to pressurization by the solar air heating system. A simple method of estimating the effect of collector array air leakage on system thermal performance was evaluated, using the f CHART method.