Natural ventilation by using PV blinds glazed solar chimney wall under the tropical climate conditions of Thailand

Abstract This paper reports experimental comparative investigation of the thermal performance between the PV blinds glazed solar chimney wall (The PV blinds-GSCHW) and the single glass window (SG) wall. The PV blinds-GSCHW is designed to generate ventilation, reduce heat gain and produce hot water. Its dimensions are 0.06 m height and 0.50 m width. It is composed of 0.006 m thick external and internal clear glasses, 0.08 m air gap and two 0.24 x 0.12 m 2 openings located at the bottom of room side glass pane and at the top of ambient side glass pane. In the air gap, six PV blinds and black-painted pipes were integrated. The 50 cm long black-painted pipes of 0.01 m diameter were installed behind the PV slats to produce 10 litters hot water approximately. The dimensions of SG are 1.0 m. x 0.50 m with 0.006 m glass plane. Each configuration was installed at the south facade of a small house of 4.05 m 3 and tested under the climate of Bangkok. The experimental results revealed that indoor temperature of the PV blinds-GSCHW room was much less than the SG room. The PV blinds-GSCHW could induce ventilation, produce domestic hot water and reduce heat from sunlight whereas the daylight was sufficient and nearly the same as that provided by the single glass window room. Consequently the PV blinds-GSCHW offers a new design alternative for architects and engineers to reduce indoor temperature and induce good ventilation which can be integrated into houses and buildings.