Investigation on a Passive Solar House Equipped with Water Thermal Storage Wall

Abstract

The numerical simulation method is employed in this paper to study the indoor thermal performance of an existent passive solar house, south internal wall of which is equipped with water thermal storage tanks. The actual measured meteorological data of 2010 in Tianjin is applied in this study to obtain the hourly indoor temperature, and the indoor condition is assessed by the adaptive thermal comfort model. The results indicate that, cooling measures are not required during the summer in Tianjin weather condition when the water thermal storage wall is used combined with natural ventilation technology, thermal storage effect of the wall can reduce the indoor maximum temperature of 4 °C while increase the minimum temperature of 3°C, and make regulation of the heating system simple and feasible in the winter.