A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing Facades
The accurate distribution of solar energy on indoor walls is the basis of simulating the indoor thermal environment, and its specific distribution changes all the time due to the influence of solar azimuth and altitude angle. By analyzing the assumptions of each model, the existing solar energy dist...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Buildings |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/10/2659 |
| _version_ | 1797574465196916736 |
|---|---|
| author | Shunyao Lu Xiaoqing Huang Tao Chen Zhengzhi Wang |
| author_facet | Shunyao Lu Xiaoqing Huang Tao Chen Zhengzhi Wang |
| author_sort | Shunyao Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The accurate distribution of solar energy on indoor walls is the basis of simulating the indoor thermal environment, and its specific distribution changes all the time due to the influence of solar azimuth and altitude angle. By analyzing the assumptions of each model, the existing solar energy distribution models are eight kinds in all and are divided into three categories. The solar radiation models in TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, and Airpak software all use the absorption-weighted area ratio method, which assumes that a single interior surface is a whole, but the detailed assumptions of the models used in the three software are different. In the Radiosity-irradiation method, the indoor surfaces are discretized into small surfaces for calculation. The calculation accuracy of solar radiation distribution indoors can be controlled by the number of discrete small surfaces. The Radiosity-irradiation method is implemented by using Matlab software programming in this paper. Through the numerical calculation and analysis of typical cases, the solar distribution results of the absorption-weighted area ratio method and the Radiosity-irradiation method all show the asymmetry. The asymmetrical ratio of direct solar radiation varies during the time between 7.96–9.89, and the minimum turns up at 11:30 in the summer solstice. The asymmetrical ratio of diffuse solar radiation is 3.23 constantly. The asymmetrical ratio of total solar energy is mainly influenced by the direct and diffuse solar feat gain and its value changes in the range from 3.4 to 4.45 in the summer solstice. Calculation comparison and error analysis on the solar radiation models used in TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, and Airpak software are conducted. There are significant errors in the simulation results of all three software. TRNSYS has the highest error among the three software as its results do not change over time. For EnergyPlus, the distribution ratio of floor 1 is too large. Airpak has the smallest error, but the solar radiation distribution ratios of the indoor surfaces near the south glazing facade are underrated, especially the indoor surfaces that have not been exposed to direct solar radiation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:22:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d28ede372df441ad9f6dde052be37841 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:22:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-d28ede372df441ad9f6dde052be378412023-11-19T15:57:33ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-10-011310265910.3390/buildings13102659A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing FacadesShunyao Lu0Xiaoqing Huang1Tao Chen2Zhengzhi Wang3School of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211167, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211167, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211167, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211167, ChinaThe accurate distribution of solar energy on indoor walls is the basis of simulating the indoor thermal environment, and its specific distribution changes all the time due to the influence of solar azimuth and altitude angle. By analyzing the assumptions of each model, the existing solar energy distribution models are eight kinds in all and are divided into three categories. The solar radiation models in TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, and Airpak software all use the absorption-weighted area ratio method, which assumes that a single interior surface is a whole, but the detailed assumptions of the models used in the three software are different. In the Radiosity-irradiation method, the indoor surfaces are discretized into small surfaces for calculation. The calculation accuracy of solar radiation distribution indoors can be controlled by the number of discrete small surfaces. The Radiosity-irradiation method is implemented by using Matlab software programming in this paper. Through the numerical calculation and analysis of typical cases, the solar distribution results of the absorption-weighted area ratio method and the Radiosity-irradiation method all show the asymmetry. The asymmetrical ratio of direct solar radiation varies during the time between 7.96–9.89, and the minimum turns up at 11:30 in the summer solstice. The asymmetrical ratio of diffuse solar radiation is 3.23 constantly. The asymmetrical ratio of total solar energy is mainly influenced by the direct and diffuse solar feat gain and its value changes in the range from 3.4 to 4.45 in the summer solstice. Calculation comparison and error analysis on the solar radiation models used in TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, and Airpak software are conducted. There are significant errors in the simulation results of all three software. TRNSYS has the highest error among the three software as its results do not change over time. For EnergyPlus, the distribution ratio of floor 1 is too large. Airpak has the smallest error, but the solar radiation distribution ratios of the indoor surfaces near the south glazing facade are underrated, especially the indoor surfaces that have not been exposed to direct solar radiation.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/10/2659glazing facadesolar energy distributionindoor thermal environment asymmetrysimulation software |
| spellingShingle | Shunyao Lu Xiaoqing Huang Tao Chen Zhengzhi Wang A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing Facades Buildings glazing facade solar energy distribution indoor thermal environment asymmetry simulation software |
| title | A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing Facades |
| title_full | A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing Facades |
| title_fullStr | A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing Facades |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing Facades |
| title_short | A Comparative Study on the Distribution Models of Incident Solar Energy in Buildings with Glazing Facades |
| title_sort | comparative study on the distribution models of incident solar energy in buildings with glazing facades |
| topic | glazing facade solar energy distribution indoor thermal environment asymmetry simulation software |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/10/2659 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shunyaolu acomparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades AT xiaoqinghuang acomparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades AT taochen acomparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades AT zhengzhiwang acomparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades AT shunyaolu comparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades AT xiaoqinghuang comparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades AT taochen comparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades AT zhengzhiwang comparativestudyonthedistributionmodelsofincidentsolarenergyinbuildingswithglazingfacades |