Sensitivity study of an opaque ventilated façade in the winter season in different climate zones in Spain

Energy efficient buildings need to take advantage of any renewable energy available. An opaque ventilated façade (OVF) is a kind of façade that absorbs solar energy and transfers it to the ventilation system. This way, the sensible ventilation load of the heating system can be reduced in the winter season. The energy saving of this system depends strongly on the weather variables, mainly solar radiation on the façade, ambient temperature and wind speed. In order to find the most convenient locations where the best OVF efficiency can be obtained, its performance has to be studied along a complete season. For this purpose in this study a sensitivity analysis with the most important weather variables was carried out and the energy saving values in 12 locations in Spain in the winter were evaluated using a numerical model previously validated with experimental data. The results showed that although the most influential weather variable was solar radiation, a combination of high temperatures and low wind speeds can also lead to important energy saving values. It was found that the most convenient locations for installing an OVF were those with low and medium winter severity climates, namely, in the southern and coastal regions of Spain (zones A3, B3, B4, C3 and C4)

Assessment of displacement ventilation systems in airborne infection risk in hospital rooms

Efficient ventilation in hospital airborne isolation rooms is important vis-à-vis decreasing the risk of cross infection and reducing energy consumption. This paper analyses the suitability of using a displacement ventilation strategy in airborne infection isolation rooms, focusing on health care worker exposure to pathogens exhaled by infected patients. The analysis is mainly based on numerical simulation results obtained with the support of a 3-D transient numerical model validated using experimental data. A thermal breathing manikin lying on a bed represents the source patient and another thermal breathing manikin represents the exposed individual standing beside the bed and facing the patient. A radiant wall represents an external wall exposed to solar radiation. The air change efficiency index and contaminant removal effectiveness indices and inhalation by the health care worker of contaminants exhaled by the patient are considered in a typical airborne infection isolation room set up with three air renewal rates (6 h-1, 9 h-1 and 12 h-1), two exhaust opening positions and two health care worker positions. Results show that the radiant wall significantly affects the air flow pattern and contaminant dispersion. The lockup phenomenon occurs at the inhalation height of the standing manikin. Displacement ventilation renews the air of the airborne isolation room and eliminates the exhaled pollutants efficiently, but is at a disadvantage compared to other ventilation strategies when the risk of exposure is taken into accoun

Techno-Economic Assessment of Heat Transfer Fluid Buffering for Thermal Energy Storage in the Solar Field of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants

Currently, operating parabolic trough (PT) solar thermal power plants, either solar-only or with thermal storage block, use the solar field as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) thermal storage system to provide extra thermal capacity when it is needed. This is done by circulating heat transfer fluid into the solar field piping in order to create a heat fluid buffer. In the same way, by oversizing the solar field, it can work as an alternative thermal energy storage (TES) system to the traditionally applied methods. This paper presents a solar field TES model for a standard solar field from a 50-MWe solar power plant. An oversized solar model is analyzed to increase the capacity storage system (HTF buffering). A mathematical model has been developed and different simulations have been carried out over a cycle of one year with six different solar multiples considered to represent the different oversized solar field configurations. Annual electricity generation and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) are calculated to find the solar multiple (SM) which makes the highest solar field thermal storage capacity possible within the minimum LCOE

Energy saving potential of a hybrid HVAC system with a desiccant wheel activated at low temperatures and an indirect evaporative cooler in handling air in buildings with high latent loads

Air handling in buildings with high latent loads usually requires a high-energy cost to satisfy the user’s thermal comfort needs. Hybrid systems composed of desiccant wheels, DW, and indirect evaporative coolers, IEC, could be an alternative to direct expansion conventional systems, DX systems. The main objective of this work was to determine the annual energy consumption of a hybrid system with a DW activated at low temperatures and an IEC, DW-IEC system, compared to a DX system to serve air in a small building with high latent loads, such as spas. Several annual energy simulations for 6 climate zones were performed, analysing electric energy consumption, seasonal mean coefficient of performance, SCOP, and energy consumption per unit of dehumidified water, Econs, of each system. The simulations were based on experimentally validated models.The annual energy consumption of the DW-IEC system was lower than that of the DX system for the 6 climate zones, achieving significant energy savings, up to 46.8%. These energy savings resulted in better SCOP values for the DW-IEC system. Therefore, the proposed DW-IEC system has high potential to reduce energy costs, achieving the user’s thermal comfort

Performance of an unglazed transpire collector in the facade of a building for heating and cooling in combination with a desiccant evaporative cooler

Refurbishment of energy inefficient buildings is an effective way of reducing energy consumption in urban areas. This can be done by taking advantage of the renewable energy sources available, mainly, solar energy. Desiccant evaporative cooling combined with unglazed transpired collectors, UTC's, allows covering the heating demand in the cold season and cooling demand in the hot season. UTC's can be installed on the facades of buildings, meeting a double goal: refurbishing the building exterior and providing heating and cooling to indoor spaces. In this paper, a model of this system was implemented using TRNSYS and the energy savings obtained were evaluated in different climatic conditions, different façade orientations and different building shapes. The objective was to find the best conditions to install this system and estimating the energy savings that can be reached, and its costs. The results showed that the reduction of heating demand was possible in all climatic conditions, weakly depending on the shape and orientation of the UTC façade installed. Cooling was also possible, but it depended more on the shape of the building. The higher energy savings were found for the linear shape buildings. Therefore, refurbishment using a UTC façade could be an interesting alternative for energy saving throughout the year in these cases

First and second order simplified models for the performance evaluation of low temperature activated desiccant wheels

Hybrid systems with a desiccant wheel, DW, are an alternative to heating, ventilation and air conditioning, HVAC, commonly used systems for dehumidification and humidity control in rooms with high latent loads. Currently, the experimental methodology used to study the behaviour of a DW requires a high number of tests. The aim of this study is to obtain a DW empirical model which accurately represents the behaviour of a DW activated at low temperature, values below 60 °C, by conducting a reduced number of experimental tests. For this study, the statistical Design of Experiments technique, DOE, is used. The proposed models can be used to predict the influence of the inlet process air and inlet regeneration air, on the air process outlet temperature and humidity ratio. The accuracy obtained of the experimental models is more than acceptable, with R2 values greater than 97.4% for outlet temperature and 95.1% for outlet humidity ratio. The first order model was considered to be a good option due to the balance between accuracy and the low number of experimental tests required. However, the second order model allowed a deeper understanding of the behaviour of the air outlet conditions in the DW

Optimization of 100 MWe Parabolic-Trough Solar-Thermal Power Plants Under Regulated and Deregulated Electricity Market Conditions

Parabolic-trough solar-thermal power-plant investments are subordinate to radiation availability, thermal-energy storage capacity, and dynamic behavior. Their integration into electricity markets is made by minimizing grid-connection costs, thus improving energy-availability and economic-efficiency levels. In this context, this work analyzes the sizing-investment adequacy of a 100 MWe parabolic-trough solar-thermal power plant regarding solar resources and thermal energy into power-block availability for both regulated and deregulated electricity markets. For this proposal, the design of a mathematical model for the optimal operation of parabolic-trough power plants with thermal storage by two tanks of molten salt is described. Model calibration is made by using a currently operated plant. Solar-resource availability is studied in three different radiation scenarios. The levelized cost of electricity and production profit relating to the investment cost are used to analyze plant sustainability. Thus, the levelized cost of electricity shows the best plant configuration for each radiation scenario within a regulated market. For deregulated markets, the optimal plant configuration tends to enhance the solar multiple and thermal-storage capacity thanks to an increment on selling profit. The gross average annual benefit for electricity generation of deregulated against regulated markets exceeds 21% in all radiation areas under study