Technical evaluation of a solar heating system having conventional hydronic solar collectors and a radiant panel slab. Final report

A simple innovative solar heating design (Solar Option One) using conventional hydronic solar collectors and a radiant panel slab was constructed. An objective of hybrid solar design is to combine the relative advantages of active and passive design approaches while minimizing their respective disadvantages. A test house using the Solar Option One heating system was experimentally monitored to determine its energy based performance during the 1982-83 heating season. The test residence is located in Lyndonville, Vermont, an area which has a characteristically cold and cloudy climate. The two story residence has a floor area of about 1400 square feet and is constructed on a 720 square foot 5.5 inch thick floor slab. A 24 inch packed gravel bed is located beneath the slab and the slab-gravel bed is insulated by two inches of polystyrene insulation. The test building is of frame construction and uses insulation levels which have become commonplace throughout the country. The structure would not fall into the superinsulated category but was tightly constructed so as to have a low infiltration level. The building is sun-tempered in that windows were concentrated somewhat on the South side and all but avoided on the North. A solar greenhouse on the more » South side of the building was closed off from the structure permanently throughout the testing so as to better observe the solar heating invention without confounding variables. The monitoring equipment generated an internal gain of about 17,000 BTUs per day, roughly the equivalent of occupancy by two persons. A full description of the experimental testing program is given. System efficiency and performance are reported. « less