Thermal design of a modern, two floor, zero energy house in a desert compound

Abstract

The paper presents a thermal analysis and design of a fully equipped, air-conditioned, zero energy house located in a desert compound at 24.5° latitude. Unlike previous designs the home is two floors high, which makes the balancing of energy supply and demand even more challenging. The roof of the house carries an array of retractable Photovoltaic modules and cover. During day light hours the modules convert the incident sun energy into useful electrical power, while shielding the roof from direct sun-radiation. At night time, the roof cover and modules are retracted to expose the roof to the cool night-sky, thus enhancing cooling. The paper employs time-dependent modeling of Solar input and heat transfer to predict the roof, wall and window temperature distributions and cooling loads, as well as energy generated by the modules. With the aid of battery storage, the modules provide the entire energy needs of the house. The paper displays the results of energy balances for three key days of the year which demonstrate that the proposed two floor design is indeed capable of operating without external energy. © 2010 IEEE.