Simulation Study on a Net-Zero Energy House with Solar Air Collectors

All fresh air solar heating systems are prevailing in Japan. While air collector systems are free from freezing in cold weather and the heated air can be used directly for space heating, in the all fresh air heating system the solar collector inlet temperature is the outdoor air temperature and usually lowers than the room air temperature. However, considering the two stage solar collectors composed of a pre-heat collector and a glazed collector, the inlet air temperature of the glazed collector is similar to the room air temperature by the pre-heat collector. The air duct system is simplified because it is not necessary to provide the return air path. This system is possible to provide both solar heat and power when the photovoltaic (PV) modules are put on the pre-heat collector. In this study, the possibility of a net-zero energy house using the solar air heating system with the optimal control methods is examined using the simulation program EESLISM (Udagawa, Satoh, 1985).