Thermal Efficiency of a Solar Wall in Tunisia

Abstract

Passive solar heating systems are very attractive because of their exploitation of solar energy which is available and abundant. A passive solar system contributes with storage and direct gain to heat a building without the use of mechanical equipment. This investigation is a verification of the Trombe wall efficiency in Tunisia via an experimental study on a real building with a specificity of the local weather. The experimental study was carried on a south wall under real scale in the laboratory of thermal processes in the Center of Research and Technology of Energy (CRTEn) in Borj Cedria. During two different winter periods (January and April), the thermal performance of the wall was investigated using the collected data of velocity and temperature at different positions of the wall. The heat gain through the wall was calculated and the efficiency was found to decrease from January period (45%) to April period (31.7%). The results show that the Trombe wall ensures free heat in winter and can greatly increase the energy efficiency of a building. Thus, the Trombe wall integration to the building design offers many opportunities to take advantage of the Tunisian moderate climate.