Finding the wall U value in problem 7.

8
Component x k U R
th,stud
R
th,ins
thermal conductivity unit conductance unit thermal
resistance
unit thermal
resistance
inches BTU in / hr ft
2

o
F BTU / hr ft
2

o
F hr ft
2

o
F / BTU hr ft
2

o
F / BTU
outdoor surface 6.000 0.17 0.17
siding 1.230 0.81 0.81
plywood 1.600 0.63 0.63
framing 3.5 0.82 0.234 4.27
insulation 3.5 0.25 0.0714 14.00
gypsum board 2.220 0.45 0.45
indoor surface 1.460 0.68 0.68
7.01 16.74
Thermal conductivity or unit conductance values from "thermal properties of
building materials" table in ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook
Topic06 Solar2012
1
ME414/514 HVAC Systems Topic 6

Solar Energy

Why worry about solar radiation in HVAC? The cooling load increases dramatically
with sunshine.

In the electromagnetic spectrum, the visible spectrum spans wavelengths from 0.4 to 0.7
m, and the thermal band spans wavelengths from 0.1 to 100m. The maximum
emission of the sun occurs at a wavelength very close to the center of the visible
spectrum (0.55 m, green).



Total (global) irradiation G: This is the total thermal radiation (incoming from the sun).
It includes all angles, all wavelengths, and all sources. The units are BTUh/ft
2
or W/m
2
.
Different fractions of the irradiation are reflected, absorbed, and/or transmitted by a solid
depending on the material properties: reflectivity, absorptivity, and transmissivity.
From the 1
st
Law of Thermodynamics,

+ + =1

Topic06 Solar2012
2



Blackbody: a blackbody is a perfect absorber and a perfect emitter
=1 =0, and =0

Emissive power is the rate of energy emitted (the rate of energy release because of the
radiation temperature of the body) over all wavelengths, over all directions. This is a
total, multidirectional value.

1 10
7
1 10
6
1 10
5
0
5 10
12
1 10
13
1.5 10
13
2 10
13
Wavelength (m)
S
p
e
c
t
r
a
l

B
l
a
c
k
b
o
d
y

E
m
i
s
s
i
v
e

F
l
u
x
1.71392e+013
0.0029193
e ,
i
T
s
e ,
i
T
1
1e-005 1e-007
i


The figure above shows the spectral (wavelength) dependence of blackbody emissive
power. Objects at roomtemperature do glow; but our eyes cant see them because they
are emitting energy in the infrared range. The spectra that our eyes perceive (0.4 to 0.7
m) are reflected from surfaces receiving thermal radiation emitted at high temperature
(leaves are green because they reflect green light). Exceptions are, for example, the
cherry-red glow of cast iron at temperatures high enough to permit brazing.
Topic06 Solar2012
3

Wiens Displacement Law: The maximum emissive power along any isotherm in the
previous plot can be calculated by:

(m) T(K) =2898 mK

For an example, our skin temperature is ~80F, which corresponds to a peak emissions
wavelength of about 10 m (which we cannot see). Hence, objects at room temperature
in buildings are still emitting thermal radiation, even though we cannot see it.

Solar Geometry

The earth revolves around the sun. It also rotates as it revolves. In solar radiation
analysis, it is convenient to consider the earth as fixed with the sun moving through the
sky. In HVAC analysis, it will be important to locate the sun at any given time of the
day.

Path of the sun on December 21
st
, the winter solstice. Solar
position is shown for noon. Note the length of the shadow
on the N side of the house. Compare with the sketch below
on J une 21
st
.
Topic06 Solar2012
4

Path of the sun on J une 21
st
, the summer solstice. Solar
position is shown for noon. Note that it is possible to have
solar gain on N facing walls in the summer when the sun
rises N of due E and sets N of due W. Is the solar gain on
the S side of the house more direct in winter or in summer?

Solar time is the time used in all of the sun-angle relationships. It is related to the local
time of day by the following equation (equation 6.3 in the text):

Solar time standard time =4 (L
st
L
loc
) +E

Where:
L
st
is the standard meridian for the local time zone
L
loc
is the longitude of the location in question (longitudes are in degrees west)
E =equation of time (in minutes) determined from the figure below or from the
following equation:

E =229.2 (0.000075+0.001868 cos(B) 0.032077 sin(B) 0.014615 cos(2B)
0.04089 sin 2B))

Where
B =(n-1) 360/365
n =day of the year

The equation of time is plotted below. It is also graphed as the analemma on the very last
page of these notes for Topic 6. There are other Equations of Time (including one in the
book; results from that expression are in the table at the end of the notes).
Topic06 Solar2012
5
Plot of the Equation of Time.

Solar geometry: angles of your location

Latitude , the angular location north or south of the equator, north positive,
-90 lat 90 (47 latitude N in Moscow, Idaho)
Hour angle , the time of day, the angular displacement of the sun east or west
of the local meridian due to rotation of the earth on its axis at 15 per hour, morning
positive, afternoon negative.
The Earths rotation is 15/hour, 360/day
Noon: =0
Each morning hour: - 15
Each afternoon hour: +15
For example, at 11:00 am, =-15.
Declination , time of year, depends on the day of the year, this is the angular
position of the sun at solar noon (i.e., when the sun is on the local meridian) with respect
to the plane of the equator, north positive; -23.45 d 23.45; the neutral plane occurs at
the equinoxes. Refer to the solar figures,
The sun is higher in the sky in the summer, and lower in the winter. At the
neutral point, =0 on the vernal and autumnal equinox. The declination tells you how
high the sun is at noon relative to this neutral plane.
You can also find the declination from the analemma. This graph lists the
declination along the LHS. Or, use the following equation:

=arcsin(-sin(23.45) cos(( 360 (n+10) ) / 365.25)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
1000
500
0
500
1000
E B n ( ) ( )
n
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Topic06 Solar2012
6

Where n is the day number, n =1 on J anuary 1
st
, n =31 +28 =59 on February 28
th
.

Latitude, hour angle, and declination are called fundamental solar angles. In actual
applications, these angles are not the most convenient set to use. It is more
understandable if the suns position is expressed in terms of angles relative to a point on
the earths surface. We need two angles for the suns location:

Solar geometry: angles for the suns location

Azimuth
s
, the suns E-W location, zero due south
The azimuth angle of the sun,
s
, is measured from due south (where
s
=0). By
convention, angles to the E are negative, angles to the W are positive. In the summer,
s

can be greater than 90.
Altitude , angle of the sun above the horizon
The solar altitude angle, is measured from the horizon where =0, positive
upward, 0 90. In the text, Figure 6-5 also shows the zenith angle,
s
. The zenith
angle is measured from the pole (it is the polar angle in spherical coordinates) and it
complements the altitude.
Use the following equations to relate the altitude and azimuth
s
to the
fundamental angles latitude , hour and declination :

sin() =cos() cos() cos() +sin() sin() =cos(
s
)

sin(
s
) =cos() sin() / sin(
s
) <<=this is the expression in the book and it is suspect

s
=sign() arccos{[sin() sin() sin()] / [cos() cos()]} this reproduces Fig. 6.6a

To find the altitude and the azimuth, then, you need the latitude (easy), and declination
(easy, just use the day number) and the hour angle (tricky because theres standard time,
daylight savings time, time zone longitude, and the apparent speed of the sun because of
the non-circular Earth orbit).

We need to find the SOLAR time of day in the civilization-imposed local time zones.
Because of established time zones and daylight saving time, solar time and clock time
may be very different.

L
st
is the standard meridian for the local time zone.

Greenwich Meridian =0
MT =105W
PT =120W

L
loc
is the longitude in degrees west.
The relationship between solar time and clock time is given as:

Solar time standard time =4 (L
st
L
loc
) +E
Topic06 Solar2012
7

where standard time must be corrected for daylight savings time, and there are 4 minutes
per degree. For 2001, Daylight Savings Time starts on April 1
st
and ends on October
28
th
. Spring ahead turn clocks ahead one hour in April. To correct DST to ST, subtract
1 hour.

Or,

AST =LCT +TZ LONG/15 +EQT/60

Where: AST =Actual or Local Solar Time (hr 24 hr clock)
LCT =Local Clock Time (hr 24 hr clock)
TZ =Time Zone correction
LONG =longitude (degrees)
EQT =Equation of Time correction (minutes)

(Compare the above expression with the one for AST given earlier for solar time.)

The TZ is determined by dividing the degrees of longitude of the local Standard Time
Meridian (STM) by 15, taking values W of the Prime Meridian (0 longitude) as (+) and
east values as (-).

TZ Correction (hours)
Time Zone Standard Time Daylight Savings Time
Eastern +5 +4
Central +6 +5
Mountain +7 +6
Pacific +8 +7

The Equation of Time (EQT) is the amount of variation in the length of the solar day due
to the eccentricity of the earths orbit and tilt of its axis. The equation of time values are
tabulated at the end of the notes, are displayed on the analemma, or calculated from the
correlation included above.

We will do example calculations in class.

Solar Geometry angles for the surface orientation
Wall (or surface) azimuth:
p
(toward W or E) 0 is
due S, -E, +W
Wall-solar azimuth: (to W or E of the suns
location), this is the angle between the wall azimuth
and the solar azimuth. Make a sketch to find this
angle correctly. For example, for a wall azimuth of
45 and a solar azimuth 62 W of S, the wall-solar
azimuth is 17. See the sketch to the right:



Topic06 Solar2012
8

Surface tilt angle:
p
(angle from horizontal)
Vertical wall:
p
=90
Horizontal surface, face up:
p
=0
Horizontal surface, face down:
p
=180

Solar Geometry - solar incident angle:
i
**What we want!**
This is the angle between the surface normal and the incident rays from the sun.
cos(
i
)=cos() cos() sin(
p
) +sin() cos(
p
)

For a vertical wall:
p
=90 and cos(
i
) =cos() cos()
For a horizontal surface:
p
=0 and cos(
i
) =sin()

We need all these angles because we need to calculate the projected area of the surface
in the direction of incident radiation.


Solar radiation

A surface normal to the suns rays outside of the earths atmosphere will receive solar
radiation at a rate of:

Solar constant =I
o
=435.2 BTU/(ft
2
hr) =1,373 W/m
2


Because of the eccentricity of the Earths orbit, the solar constant varies depending on
the day of the year:

2
2 . 435
25 . 365
360
cos 033 . 0 1
ft h
Btu n
I
o

|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =


2
1373
25 . 365
360
cos 033 . 0 1
m
W n
I
o

|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =



Solar radiation strikes surfaces on Earth three ways: direct, diffuse, and reflected. The
total instantaneous rate of radiation striking a surface is given as I
glo
or global irradiance:

I
glo
= I
dir
+ I
dif
+ I
ref


Where
I
dir
=direct radiation on a surface
I
dif
=diffuse radiation on a surface
I
ref
=reflected radiation striking a surface

The solar radiation model we will use in class was developed in the 1970s by Prof.
Hottel at MIT (this model and the ASHRAE Clear Sky Model are old-fashioned; the solar
community uses weather data now). **Clear sky conditions are used so that heat gains
because of solar radiation are slightly overestimated.
Topic06 Solar2012
9

Direct Radiation





The values of a
o
, a
1
, k (and the correction factors r used to find the other three constants)
are given for different altitudes and climates in Table 6-2.

The correction terms for the solar constant in the above expression are for a black (and
clear or non-participating gas) and a grey (or participating) gas. Participating gases
absorb and scatter electromagnetic radiation. The degree of interference is strongly
wavelength dependent. Monatomic and diatomic gases (Ar, O
2
, N
2
) are considered non-
participating, whereas H
2
O and CO
2
have strong wavelength interference as seen in
Figure 6.12 .

Diffuse Radiation

For clear skies, the diffuse radiation can be estimated as:

( ) ( )
s dir o dif
I I I cos 2939 . 0 271 . 0 =


Reflected Radiation

Reflected radiation is a component of radiation on tilted surfaces.

( ) | |
p sky
F cos 1
2
1
+ =

F
sky
is the radiation view factor between the wall (surface) and the sky.

( ) | |
p grd
F cos 1
2
1
=

F
grd
is the radiation view factor between the wall (surface) and the ground. The view (or
shape) factor is the fraction of the thermal radiation energy leaving one surface that
strikes another.
( )
grd g hor glo sky dif i dir p glo
F I F I I I
, ,
cos + + =

( )
dif s dir hor glo
I I I + = cos
,


I
glo,hor
is the rate at which the total radiation (diffuse and direct) strikes the horizontal
surface in front of the wall.

( )
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
s
o o dir
k
a a I I
cos
exp
1
Topic06 Solar2012
10

g
is the reflectivity of the surface dirt, asphalt, concrete, grass, snow, ice

F
grd
is the radiation view factor between the wall (surface) and the ground. The view (or
shape) factor is the fraction of the thermal radiation energy leaving one surface that
strikes another.

The text describes a method for calculating the long-term average solar gain on a surface.

Fenestration Heat Gain


The absorbed solar gain warms glass up. This energy is convected from the glass by air
movement. Consequently, the

Total Solar Heat Gain =transmitted solar heat gain +absorbed solar heat gain

Note that the solar effect is not included in the Topic 5 conduction/resistance tables.
Consequently:

Total Heat Gain =total solar heat gain +transmission heat gain +infiltration heat gain

Transmission Heat Gain and Infiltration Heat Gain: Topics 5 and 7

Solar Heat Gain

SHGF SC A Q
sol
=

Procedure: calculate the SHGF for a reference (DSA Double-strength Sheet Glass)
glass.


SHGF: for standard glass

FI SHGF =
Topic06 Solar2012
11
87 . 0 = F F value of this constant for DSA glass
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ + + =
o s
i
o
o
h h
U
h
U
F
1 1
F solar heat gain coefficient

o s i
h h h
U
1 1 1
+ + =
h
i
, h
s
, h
o
are the combined convection and radiation heat transfer coefficients for
the inner surface, space surfaces (for double-pane glass), and outside surface of the glass;
is the transmissivity of the glass;

o
and
i
are the absorptivities of the outer and inner panes, respectively.

Shading coefficient (SC)

SC =(actual SHG) / (DSA glass SHG) =F
act
/ 0.87 =1.15 F
act


Table Description
6-5 SC and for different types of glass and seasons
6-6 SC and for high performance glass


We will do an example in class of shading (see also, example 6-6). The shaded area of a
glass window or door changes as the sun moves across the sky. Because the shaded area
receives diffuse solar radiation, the total solar heat gain due to the glass which already
changes in time because of the suns movement has additional changes imposed by the
instantaneous fraction of shaded/unshaded area.

Heres a step-by-step procedure for calculating fenestration solar heat gain
(assuming that glass reflection can be neglected):

1. Convert local time to solar time
2. Get , , (latitude, declination, hour angle)
3. Calculate the suns location, ,
s
(solar altitude and solar azimuth)
4. Find the wall-solar azimuth - make a sketch to get this correct!
5. Calculate the solar incidence angle
i

6. Find the normal direct irradiance


(See Table 6-2 for constants.)
( )
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
+ =
s
o o dir
k
a a I I
cos
exp
1
Topic06 Solar2012
12

7. Find ( ) ( )
s dir o dif
I I I cos 2939 . 0 271 . 0 = , diffuse irradiation
8. Find the total irradiance striking the window, I
glo,p


( ) | |
p sky
F cos 1
2
1
+ =
( ) | |
p grd
F cos 1
2
1
=
( )
dif s dir hor glo
I I I + = cos
,

( )
grd g hor glo sky dif i dir p glo
F I F I I I
, ,
cos + + =

9. Find SHGF for DSA (standard) glass

FI SHGF = here, I is I
glo,p
, the global irradiance striking the glass
87 . 0 = F

10. Find the actual solar heat gain,

SHGF SC A Q
sol
=

SC is the shading coefficient

Stay sane and set the calculations up on a spreadsheet or mathematics program!

We will solve example problems in class.

Solar Data for the 21
st
Day of Each
Month

Equation
of Time,
min
Declination,
degrees
J an -11.2 -20.2
Feb -13.9 -10.8
Mar -7.5 0.0
Apr 1.1 11.6
May 3.3 20.0
J un -1.4 23.45
J ul -6.2 20.6
Aug -2.4 12.3
Sep 7.5 0.0
Oct 15.4 -10.5
Nov 13.8 -19.8
Dec 1.6 -23.45
Topic06 Solar2012
13




The analemma is a graphical presentation of the equation of time. Equation of time
values are plotted to the right and left of the vertical centerline.
solar-angles2010.docx
1
ME 414/514 HVAC Systems - Solar Angles

Solar Geometry - Angle Definitions

Type Symbol Name Description Sign Range/Comments
Location
(2)
Latitude Angular location N or S of the equator North positive -90 l +90
Location
(1,2)
Declination Angular position of the sun at solar noon
with respect to the equatorial plane
North positive -23.45 d +23.45
Location
(2)
Hour angle Displacement of the sun E or W of due S East negative
West positive
15 per hour
Solar
position

(2)
Solar altitude Angle of the sun above the horizon Positive 0 at sunrise, sunset
0 +90
Solar
position

s
Solar zenith Angle of the sun from the normal of the
earths surface, 90 -
Positive
0
s
+90
Solar
position

s
(2)
Solar azimuth E or W position of the sun from due S East negative
West positive
0 at due south
can be greater than 90
Wall
orientation

p
Wall azimuth E or W position of the wall from due S East negative
West positive
0 at due south
0
p
+/-180
Wall
orientation

p
Surface tilt Angle of surface relative to the horizontal Positive 0 horizontal
90 vertical
180 upside down
Wall-sun
orientation
Wall-solar
azimuth
Angle between the solar azimuth and the
wall azimuth
Positive 0 when wall and solar azimuth
coincide, make a sketch
Wall-sun
orientation

i
(3)
Solar incident Angle between the surface normal and the
sun
Positive cos(
i
) is the fraction of the
surface projected in the
insolation direction



solar-angles2010.docx
2
1. You need to either use Table 6.1 or know the day of the year n to find the declination:

2. Relate and to , , and :

sin() = cos() cos() cos() + sin() sin() = cos(
s
)

sin(
s
) = cos() sin() / sin(
s
) <<= this is the expression in the book and it is suspect

s
= sign() arccos{[sin() sin() sin()] / [cos() cos()] }

This reproduces Fig. 6.6a


At sunrise and sunset, =0 and cos(
ss
) = - tan() tan()

3. The solar incident angle
i
can be calculated from:

cos(
i
) = cos()cos()sin(
p
) + sin()cos(
p
)

For vertical surfaces:

cos(
i
) = cos()cos()

For horizontal surfaces:

cos(
i
) = sin()


4. Number of daylight hours, N

N = 2/15 cos
-1
(- tan() tan())
( )
( )

+
=
25 . 365
10 360
cos 45 . 23 sin arcsin
n