Solar Energy 186 (2019) 277–290

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Solar Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Thermal performance improvement method for air-based solar heating T

systems
Youngjin Choia, Masayuki Maeb, Hyun Bae Kimc,
⁎

a
Platform of Inter/Transdisciplinary Energy Research, Kyushu University, Japan
b
Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan
c
Energy Innovation Center, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Japan

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: In recent years, the use of the air-based solar heating systems, which heat outdoor air and use it for heating and
Solar heating system hot water, has increased in Japan. Air-based solar heating systems do not require special equipment for heating
Validation by direct use of air heated via convective heating, and they can be used for the hot water supply through heat
Simulation exchange when the room temperature is high. However, because solar energy is only available during the
Improvement
daytime, and because of heat loss to the ground from the foundation concrete (which is a thermal storage body
Thermal performance
storing the collected heat), the load reduction effect is much less than the amount of the heat that is collected by
solar heating. In this study, a simulation model was developed to understand the annual thermal load perfor-
mance of an air-based solar heating system. The models of the solar collector, hot water tank and thermal storage
were verified by comparison with experimental results. In order to improve the thermal performance of con-
ventional systems, the solar collector, indoor air circulation, insulation under the foundation concrete, and
additional thermal storage were examined. In particular, this study examined the effect of solar heat using water
bottles that can achieve a large thermal storage effect at low cost. Simulation results show that the proposed
system reduces annual heating and hot water load by 17.9% compared to conventional systems.

1. Introduction
The need to use renewable energy is increasing as a countermeasure
against the increasing fossil fuel prices and global warming.
Particularly, in the field of architecture, research is being conducted to
reduce annual energy consumption by utilizing renewable energy for
heating, cooling, and hot water supplies. Recently, researches such as
energy-efficient measures (EEMs) and renewable energy technologies
(RETs) have been actively conducted for nearly zero-energy buildings,
and research trends and effects have been summarized accordingly (Liu
et al., 2019). Among renewable energies, research on solar energy is
being actively carried out based on its abundance, energy efficiency,
accessibility, and convenience of maintenance. Solar energy can be
utilized by solar power generation, solar heating, or hot-water load
reduction. Many studies have demonstrated the superiority and po-
tential applicability of solar energy utilization (Kannan and Vakeesan,
2016). Dorfling developed a low-cost lightweight solar collector and
confirmed its performance through experiments and simulations
(Dorfling et al., 2010). Wei has developed a solar hot water system with
high stability and leakage protection by using large one-piece wickless
heat pipes instead of parallel heat pipes. In addition, the theoretical
analysis of energy balance for each component of the collector was
performed, and the validity of the numerical calculation was confirmed
by comparison with the experiment (Wei et al., 2013). Kovarik pro-
posed a formula for optimal control of the solar collector, and suggested
further research directions on aspects of the optimal control problem
(Kovarik and Lesse, 1976). Hill described a test method for determining
efficiency as a method for evaluating the performance of a collector. In
the experiment, the average efficiency of collectors was obtained by
measuring incident radiation and fluid flow rate (Hill and Streed,
1976). Minardi designed and manufactured solar collectors using black
liquids and evaluated their performance through experiments. It has
been shown that direct absorption of solar radiation into black liquids
can reduce heat loss and costs (Minardi and Chuang, 1975). Hussein
reviewed all variables that affect the efficiency of the wickless heat pipe
solar collectors, and confirmed that the efficiency coefficient can be
used to represent the performance (Hussein et al., 1999). Brandemuehl
conducted a study on a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) and
calculated the effective beam radiation incidence for the collector type
(Brandemuehl and Beckman, 1980). In Alvarez's work, a solar collector

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: hyunbae.kim27@gmail.com (H. Bae Kim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.04.061
Received 15 January 2019; Received in revised form 16 April 2019; Accepted 18 April 2019
0038-092X/ © 2019 International Solar Energy Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Choi, et al.
with direct contact between the corrugated channel and the heat
transfer fluid was presented; thermodynamic modeling was conducted
and compared with conventional commercial collectors (Alvarez et al.,
2010). In addition, various studies on the development and perfor-
mance evaluation of liquid-type vacuum collectors have been carried
out as methods for improving heat collection performance (Adsten
et al., 2002; Azad, 2008; Khullar et al., 2013; Kim et al., 2008; Li et al.,
2010; Ma et al., 2010; Mateus and Oliveira, 2009; Morrison et al., 2004;
Riffat et al., 2005; Saidur et al., 2012).
This study focuses on an air-based solar collection system, which is
increasingly being used in Japan where convective heating is pre-
dominant (Choi et al., 2018). Recently, research on the heating system
using solar air and the performance evaluation of the system is in-
creasing (Arkar and Medved, 2015; Chen et al., 2019). Air-based solar
collection systems heat outside air through preliminary and glass col-
lectors installed on the roof surface, and use high-temperature air for
room and hot water heating. In particular, they have the advantage that
whole rooms can be heated uniformly, and PV/T (Photovoltaic/
Thermal) solar panels can be installed in the preliminary collectors to
produce electricity, heat for heating, and a hot water supply. A con-
ceptual diagram of an air-based solar collection system is shown in
Fig. 1.
Generally, when high-temperature air generated by solar collection
is directly introduced into the room, overheating occurs whereby the
room temperature is increased more than necessary. Therefore, after
heat is stored in the foundation concrete through the underground
space under the floor, the air is introduced into a room to be used for
heating. However, there are few studies on the effect of thermal storage
and control in foundation concrete in this system. Further, research for
improving the performance of the system has not been conducted.
To maximize the performance of a solar heating system, it is ne-
cessary to review the thermal balance to alter the thermal properties of
the whole building through elements such as heat collection, thermal
storage, and insulation. Therefore, in this study, simulation models of
an air-based solar heating system are created, and the feasibility of the
simulation models is examined through comparison with experimental
results. In addition, the performance of existing solar heating systems
are reviewed, by investigating annual simulation and proposed im-
provement methods to maximize system performance. In particular,
solar energy is essentially an intermittent, time-dependent energy
source. Because of the nature of the use of solar heat (where solar heat
can be collected in only daytime), there is a difference between the
heat-collection time and the heating and the hot water load generation
Fig. 1. Conceptual diagram of an air-based solar heat collection system.
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Solar Energy 186 (2019) 277–290
times. These offsets and intermittency problems complicate the use of
solar energy. In other words, it is necessary to review thermal storage
for efficient use of solar energy. In the case of the air-based solar
heating system, because the heat capacity of air is small, it is necessary
to store the energy by heat exchange with high heat capacity materials.
There are a number of studies that attempt to solve daily-scale offsets
(day-night) and annual-scale offsets (summer-winter) through various
thermal storage methods. In order to solve the annual-scale offset,
multiple costs (for example, a large-scale thermal storage tank) are
required. Therefore, in this study, a method of offsetting the daily scale
is examined. Daily-scale offsets are relatively easy to generate with
water tanks or other short-term storage methods, for example by uti-
lizing the thermal mass of the building.
Recently, there have been many studies that use phase change
materials (PCMs) for storage in the form of latent heat. Morrison sug-
gested a variety of thermal storage methods including phase change in
solar heating systems and summarized calculation models for simula-
tion (Morrison and Abdel-Khalik, 1978). Shukla verified this effect by
applying PCM to a solar water heater. Further, a literature review of
PCM has indicated that a large surface area is required for high thermal
performance (Shukla et al., 2009). Tian discussed various thermal en-
ergy storage systems, including sensible heat, latent heat, chemical
storage, cascading, and various types of collectors (Tian and Zhao,
2013). However, in the case of latent thermal storage materials, the
economic burden is increased for users to use the solar heating system.
Therefore, recently, the studies about packed beds using sensible
thermal storage materials such as pebbles (Atalay, 2019; Lu et al.,
2016) and rocks (Almendros-Ibáñez et al., 2018) have been increas-
ingly. Of the sensible thermal storage materials, water has a low price, a
high heat capacity, and can be used in case of a disaster like earthquake.
This study examines the possibility of thermal storage using water as a
method to improve the performance of the air-based solar heating
system. In addition, the effect of indoor load reduction due to changes
in the glass of solar collector, insulation and control are examined.
2. Simulation conditions
The simulation (ExTLA, Excel-based Thermal Load Analysis) used in
this study is a thermal load calculation tool developed in the Mae la-
boratory of the University of Tokyo. The simulation is performed using
the Gauss-Seidel method and utilizes the circular reference and iterative
calculation functions of Microsoft Office Excel convergence calcula-
tions. A feature of Excel-based simulations is that it is possible to input
Y. Choi, et al. Solar Energy 186 (2019) 277–290

Fig. 2. Target building.

Table 1
Target building specifications.
Area Total floor area: 121.73 m2
Heating area of 1st floor: 40.99 m2, Non heating area of 1st floor: 19.87 m2
Heating area of 2nd floor: 44.72 m2, Non heating area of 2nd floor: 16.15 m2
Volume 328.06 m3 (including underfloor space)
Insulation of each part Ceiling: glasswool 18 K t = 210 mm
Wall: glasswool 16 K t = 100 mm
Roof: glasswool 32 K t = 50 mm
Basis concrete: Extruded polystyrene foam t = 50 mm
Window Plain double-glazed glass (Uw: 4.65 W/m2 K)
Overall coefficient of heat transfer 0.83 W/m2 K
(UA-value)
Surface heat transfer rate of hot water tank 0.70 W/m2 K (Insulation: 50 mm, Thermal conductivity: 0.036 W/mK)

Table 2 mathematical formulas to each cell and to reference the values of other
Simulation conditions. cells. In the ExTLA calculation method, a thermal network calculation is
Weather data Expanded Amedas data standard (2000) Tokyo adopted in which indoor temperature, indoor humidity, surface tem-
Heating set point 20 °C perature, and temperature inside the wall are unknown. For calculation
Heating schedule 7:00–10:00, 12:00–14:00, 16:00–23:00 of the transient heat conduction of the wall body, the backward dif-
Inclination angle of collector Latitude of Tokyo (35.4°) ference method is applied. In the heat balance of the indoor surface, the
Calculation Preliminary calculation: From January 1st to
calculation separates convection and radiation. Moreover, Excel's cir-
April 30th
Target period: May 1st to April 30th of the cular reference is used to solve multiple simultaneous equations. By
following year performing iterative calculations (up to 32,767 times), a convergence
Time step 1h judgment is made when the changed value of the calculation result is
Usage of hot water 450 L/day (40 °C for using hot water)
less than the set maximum change value, and divergence is prevented
Internal heat gain 13.26 kWh/day
Collector area Preliminary collector: 45 m2, glass collector:
by using the relaxation coefficient. Primarily, solar-radiation related
Air volume 15 m2 items of the upper cell are calculated; then, the nodal temperature in-
Air volume: 780 m3/h side the walls is calculated. Finally, factors such as room temperature
(including ventilation), and latent heat are calculated. An annual

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Table 3
Parameters of air-based solar heat collector calculations (Udagawa et al., 2009).
Ksu Ksd Kc Tcoleu Tcoled SG Tcole

Glass collector 1 1 K cu + K cd SG Rskyc Tx ( g × asu × I )e ku =

K cu
1 rb + To Kc
ra + K su o
o
Preliminary collector o (asu × I )e kd =
K cd
Kc

Fig. 3. Examination of accuracy of air-based solar collector model (December 19th to 20th, 2012).

Fig. 4. Hot water storage tank calculation model.

simulation was conducted to ascertain the performance of the existing Japan's energy saving standard (next generation energy saving stan-
air-based solar heating system, and to examine the proposed system dard) (Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation,
improvements. The target building is a standard house prescribed by 2010) with the interior space divided into a heating room and a non-

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Fig. 5. Examination of accuracy of heat exchange rate.

Fig. 6. Water pack calculation model concept diagram.

Table 4
Boundary condition and output data for water pack accuracy examination.
Boundary condition (experimental value) Output (accuracy examination)

Simulation Experiment

Outdoor temperature, indoor temperature, temperature of 1 m underground, air volume Internal temperature of water pack
and temperature of falling duct (average of three points on the south
side)
Air temperature under water pack
(south and north side)
Air temperature of underfloor space
(average of south and north side)
Heat flux of floor surface
Internal temperature of south side
Average of each three points in the south and
north side
Average of two points in blowout sides
Heat flux of two points average

heating room. In order to secure the heat collecting area, the roof
surface was set as a south-facing inclined surface, and the inclination
angle of the roof surface and the heat collector were set at the latitude
of Tokyo (35.4°). In addition, assuming there were surrounding build-
ings, the solar transmittance of the window on the first floor was set to
zero so that there was no solar radiation acquisition from the window.
Fig. 2 and Table 1 show the information for a target building. In this
calculation, standard four-person families are targeted, and hot water
consumption is assumed to be 450 L/day at 40 °C (corrected M1 mode)
(Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation, 2010).
Table 2 shows the simulation conditions. The area ratio of the pre-
liminary collector to the glass collector was set to 3:1 for a preliminary
collector of 45 m2 and a glass collector of 15 m2.
The capacity of the hot water storage tank was set to 1000 L. A tank
surface heat transmission coefficient of 0.7 W/m2 K was input assuming
50 mm of thermal insulation material (thermal conductivity of
0.036 W/mK); the heat loss was calculated from the difference between
the outside air temperature and the temperature inside the tank. In
addition, the length of the heat collection side piping of the hot water
storage tank was set to 30 m. The thermal conductivity was set to
0.267 W m–1 K−1.
3. Feasibility study of the simulation model by comparison with
experimental results
3.1. Solar collector
By the calculation model of the air-based solar heat collector
(Udagawa et al., 2009), the temperature of the heat medium of the
collector and the heat collection intensity was calculated. As shown in
Eqs. (1) and (2), the outlet temperature and heat collection intensity of
the collector are calculated from the inlet temperature, the sol-air
temperature, and the coefficient of heat transmission of the collector.
The sol-air temperature corresponding to the collector is obtained from

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Fig. 7. Evaluation of water pack calculation model for accuracy (January 28, 2013).

Eq. (4) and Table 3.

Table 5
Simulation cases of the air-based solar heating system. K c × Ac
(1)
Tfout = Tcole (Tcole Tfin) × e cf × Gf
Case 1 Changing the solar collector
Existing glass: solar radiation transmittance: 0.88, heat transmission
coefficient: 6.0 W/m2 K Qc = cf × Gf × (Tfout Tfin) = cf × Gf × c × (Tcole Tfin) (2)
Double glazing: solar radiation transmittance: 0.79, heat transmission
coefficient: 3.4 W/m2 K K c × Ac
Low-E glass: solar radiation transmittance: 0.74, heat transmission c =1 e cf × Gf
(3)
coefficient: 2.7 W/m2 K
Case 2 Case 1 + thermal insulation under foundation concrete Tcole = ku × Tcoleu + kd × Tcoled (4)
Case 3 Case 2 + indoor air circulation during non-heat collection
Case 4 Case 3 + additional thermal storage (20 L water packs, 3000 L)
K cu = Ksu × fcu
Case 5 Case 3 + additional thermal storage (500 mL plastic bottles, 3000 L)

K cd = Ksd × fcd (5)

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fcu = c × Wsd × b12 + c × Wsu × b22 of the upper layer, the interlayer migration flow rate inside the hot
water storage tank is repeatedly calculated by mixing it by the capacity
fcd = c × Wsd × b11 + c × Wsu × b21 (6) of the layer. Eq. (9) shows the hot water storage tank heat-balance
( + equation. The calculation is made from the temperature difference
r c + K su )
b11 = between the heating medium temperature at the tank inlet and the
Det
tank's 1st layer, the heat medium flow rate, and the heat collection side
b12 = r heat exchange coefficient (Ct) obtained from the experiment, as shown
Det in Eq. (10). The heat exchange coefficient (Ct) was obtained through the
correlation between Inlet temperature of tank side heat exchanger
b21 =
r × ( )
Wsu
Wsd (TtankIn) and temperature of the 1st tank layer (Ttank1L). Fig. 5 shows the
Det examination of accuracy of heat exchange rate of hot water storage
tank. During the measurement period, the heat exchange rate by

b22 =
( r × Wsu
Wsd
+ c + Ksd ) measurement was 128.60 MJ, and the heat exchange rate by calculation
Det (7) was 124.26 MJ. The simulation error was less than 5% compared with
the experimental results.
r × Asu 2 Asu
Det = + c + Ksd × ( r + c + Ksu ) r × dTsi
Asd Asd (8) c × Vi × = Qtank + K × Ai × (To Tsi ) + c × Fi 1 × (Tsi 1 Tsi )
dt

here,
+ c × Fi + 1 × (Tsi + 1 Tsi) (9)
Tfout,Tfin: Outlet and inlet temperature of collector [°C]
Tcole: Sol-air temperature of collector [°C]
Qtank = (TtankIn Ttank1L) × Ft × cphm × Ct (10)
Kc: Coefficient of heat transmission of the collector [W/m2 K]
Ac: Collector area [m2] where,
cf: Specific heat of air static pressure [J/kg K] cρ: Volume specific heat of water [J/m3K]
Gf: Air volume [kg/s] Vi: Layer capacity [L]
Qc: Heat collection intensity [W] Tsi: Temperature of layer [°C]
εc: Efficiency of Heat Exchanger in Collector [–] K: Surface heat transmission coefficient [W/m2]
αc: Convective heat transfer rate on the collector surface [W/m2 K] Ai: Surface area [m2]
αr: Radiation heat transfer rate on the collector surface [W/m2 K] Fi-1, Fi+1: Moving flow rate from lower layer and upper layer [L/s]
Wsd,Wsu: Width of Collector frontside and backside (area per unit length) [m] Ti-1, Ti+1: Temperature of lower layer and upper layer [°C]
Asd, Asu: Area of Collector frontside and backside [m] Qtank: Supply heat quantity to thermal storage tank [W]
TtankIn: Inlet temperature of tank side heat exchanger [°C]
Ttank1L: Temperature of 1st tank layer [°C]
Ft: Heat exchange flow rate [L/s]
cphm: Constant pressure specific heat of heat medium [J/kg K]
here, Ct: Heat exchange coefficient [–]
ra: Thermal resistance of the hollow layer [m2 K/W] Experimental
αo: Surface heat transfer coefficient [W/m2 K] 0.0002
value: + 0.5478 0.002 × (TtankIn Ttank1L)
rb: Thermal resistance of surface material [m2 K/W] (TtankIn Ttank1L )
Rskyc: Night radiation on the outside surface of the collector [W/m2]
To: Outside temperature [°C]
Tx: Collector backside temperature [°C] 3.3. Additional thermal storage (water pack)
τg: Glass Transmission [–]
asu: Absorption rate of solar collector [–]
In order to examine water packs in the underfloor space as addi-
I: Solar Irradiation on surface [W/m2]
tional thermal storage, a water pack calculation-model was created
In order to examine the accuracy of the calculation model of the air- based on the arrangement of the water packs at the time of the ex-
based solar heat collector, the outlet temperature of the collector of the periment. The method is to calculate the surface heat flow from the heat
experiment and simulation were compared under the same condition of balance calculation-formula by the heat transfer on the surface of the
the outside temperature, the inlet temperature, and the air volume. water pack and the change in the temperature of the heat collection air,
Fig. 3 shows the results for two days from December 19th to 20th 2012, as shown in Eq. (11). In addition, due to the characteristics of water, in
when the preliminary collector area is 3.45 m2 and the glass collector order to calculate the convection by the internal temperature, calcu-
area is 1.32 m2. Although there is a slight difference in temperature lations were made in three parts: upper, middle, and lower. In order to
from the simulation, it is judged to be influenced by the temperature consider the temperature-change of the underfloor air due to heat ab-
distribution on the backside surface of collectors and the measurement sorption and heat release to the thermal storage body, a calculation
error of each equipment. However, in this study about the effect on the model was prepared by dividing the underfloor space and water pack
presence or absence of solar heat collector, it is considered that the (1000 L) into 12 spaces and 4 water packs. Furthermore, the change in
accuracy of the simulation is sufficient. the surface convective heat transfer coefficient due to the wind speed
was input using the Jürges equation from Eq. (12). The calculation
3.2. Hot water storage tank model is shown in Fig. 6.
dTai
When the indoor temperature rises above the set temperature at the c ×V× =A× c × (Tsi Tai ) + c × V × (Tai 1 Tai)
dt (11)
time of solar collection, the heated air is heat-exchanged with the heat
medium for hot water in the handling box. The hot water storage tank
where,
calculation-model divides the tank into five layers to calculate the
Tsi: Surface temperature of thermal storage [°C]
convection of the water inside the tank. The internal temperature of the Tai: Air temperature [°C]
hot water storage tank is calculated from the amount of heat supplied Tai-1: Inflow air temperature [°C]
by heat collection, the amount of heat loss from the surface, the tem- A: Surface area [m2]
perature difference between the upper layer and the lower layer, and V: Air volume [m3/h]
Cp: Specific heat of constant pressure of air [J/kg K]
the amount of heat transfer by the moving flow rate. As shown in Fig. 4, αc: Convective heat transfer coefficient [W/m2 K]
when the temperature of the lower layer is higher than the temperature

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Fig. 8. Improvement points of the air-based solar heating system.

Fig. 9. Collector efficiency with different glasses.

c = 5.6 + 3.9 × v . (in case of wind velocity below 4.9 m/s)

Fig. 11. Heat balance by solar collector improvement (Low-E glass).
(12)

where αc is the convective heat transfer coefficient [W m–2 K−1] and v is

the wind velocity [m/s].
The air volume and the air temperature in the falling duct from the
experimental data were input to the calculation model. The internal
temperature of the water pack, air temperature after heat exchange to
the water pack, and the blowout temperature to the room were calcu-
lated. The hot air flow rate was set to flow to the south side and the
north side by half. Table 4 shows the boundary condition and output
data for water pack accuracy examination. The comparison between the
calculated result and the experimental value is shown in Fig. 7. The
underfloor air temperature, the internal temperature of the water pack,
and the air temperature under the water pack differ by up to 2 °C or
less, and the base surface heat-flux has a maximum difference of 9%.

Fig. 10. Heat flow by the collector (Low-E glass) improvement (Nov. 15 to Apr. 30).

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Fig. 12. Heat flow by the insulation under foundation concrete (Nov. 15 to Apr. 30).

Fig. 13. Heat balance by the insulation under foundation concrete. Fig. 15. Heat balance by indoor air circulation.

This difference is based on the assumption that the air is uniformly

distributed in the simulation, and it is thought that the surface tem-
perature actually changes according to the air flow. However, the
variation of temperature is similar to the actual case, and it is con-
sidered that there is no problem in the examination according to the
presence or absence of the water pack in this study.
As in existing air-based solar heating systems, use of only the
foundation concrete as the thermal storage body limits the heat capa-
city. In this study, the effect of using a water pack containing 20 L of
water as additional thermal storage was investigated. By using water for
thermal storage, the internal temperature difference is reduced via the
internal convection of the water, and the surface heat flux can be in-
creased. The capacity of the water pack is 3000 L and the heat capacity

Fig. 14. Heat flow by indoor air circulation (Nov. 15 to Apr. 30).

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Fig. 16. Daily room temperature ranges during winter due indoor air circula-
tion.

is 12,495 kJ/K. This is approximately 44% of the heat capacity of the

entirety of the concrete in the underfloor space (28,452 kJ/K), and Fig. 18. Heat balance due to additional thermal storage (water packs).
approximately 81% of that of the central concrete section without in-
sulation (15,432 kJ/K).

4. Performance improvement of air-based solar heating systems

In this study, thermal storage heat absorption and release, operation

control, and the solar collector were studied to improve the annual load
reduction effect due to the air-based solar heating system. First, the
glass of the collector was changed to double glazing or Low-E glass as a
method of reducing the heat loss of the solar collector (case 1). It is
thought that although the glass transmittance is slightly reduced due to
the change of the glass, the heat resistance of the glass is increased, and
heat loss to the atmosphere is reduced. Next, as a method of increasing
the amount of heat release from thermal storage, a thermal insulating
material was installed below the foundation concrete (case 2). This is
believed to reduce the loss of heat absorbed in the foundation concrete Fig. 19. Daily room temperature ranges during winter due to additional
to the ground. In addition, as a method for releasing the heat from thermal storage (water packs).
thermal storage, indoor air was forcibly convected to increase the heat
transfer coefficient of the surface (case 3). Furthermore, because
foundation concrete has a limited installation area and heat capacity for
4.1. Collector improvement (case 1)
thermal storage, additional 20 L water packs (150 packs in total, 3000
L) were installed in the underfloor space to increase the heat capacity
As a potential improvement of the conventional air-based solar
(case 4). In order to enlarge the surface area of the additional thermal
heating systems, a method for increasing the heat collection amount
storage, 500 mL water bottles (6000 bottles in total, 3000 L) were used
was examined. The effect of reducing the annual heating and hot-water
instead of 20 L (case 5). 500 mL water can easily be purchased on the
load when changing the glass collector from ordinary glass to double-
market and can be used for drinking in an emergency. By using 500 mL
glazing or Low-E glass was also examined. Fig. 9 shows a graph of the
bottles instead of 20 L water packs, the surface area of the additional
collector thermal efficiency according to each type of glass. When the
thermal storage is increased 13 times. Table 5 shows the simulation
difference between the temperature of the collected air and the
cases, and Fig. 8 shows the improvement points of the system.

Fig. 17. Heat flow due to additional thermal storage (water packs) (Nov. 15 to Apr. 30).

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Fig. 20. Heat flow due to additional thermal storage (plastic bottles) (Nov. 15 to Apr. 30).
Fig. 21. Heat balance due to additional thermal storage (plastic bottles).
Fig. 22. Daily room temperature ranges during winter due to additional
thermal storage (plastic bottles).
temperature of the outside air is small, the collection efficiency of or-
dinary glass having a high solar radiation transmittance is high. How-
ever, as the temperature difference increases, the heat collection effi-
ciency of Low-E glass having a low heat transmission coefficient (that
is, a large heat resistance of the glass) is high. In this study, the amount
of annual heating and hot water load reduction was investigated by
using Low-E glass. As shown in Fig. 10, due to the change from ordinary
glass to Low-E glass, the annual heat collection amount increased by
approximately 2.1 GJ (ordinary glass: 32.55 GJ, Low-E glass: 34.61 GJ).
However, the amount of heating load reduction during non-heating
times changed by only 0.06 GJ (ordinary glass: 0.69 GJ, Low-E glass:
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Solar Energy 186 (2019) 277–290
0.76 GJ). This result indicates that heat loss to the ground is large as the
heat absorption/release ratio of 58.9%, which is the ratio of the amount
of heat absorbed in the foundation concrete and the amount of heat
released during the non-collection periods. Fig. 11 shows the indoor
heat balance by solar collector improvement.
4.2. Thermal insulation under foundation concrete (case 2)
As a method of reducing the heat loss from the foundation concrete
to the soil, thermal insulation (extruded polystyrene foam, 50 mm) was
installed under the foundation concrete under the condition of Low-E
glass collector, and the effect was examined. There was no change in
the heating load during solar collection period of the winter (November
15–April 30) due to installing insulation under the foundation concrete,
but the heating load reduction during the non-collection periods
slightly increased from 0.06 GJ to 0.10 GJ. The heat absorption rate to
the foundation concrete was 67.5% as 1.14 GJ of heat absorption and
0.77 GJ of heat radiation. The heat absorption/release ratio of the
thermal storage increased by about 8.6% from 58.9% without the un-
derlying heat insulation to 67.5% with. However, since the foundation
concrete heat cannot be sufficiently released into the underfloor space
during non-collection periods, the internal temperature of the founda-
tion concrete increased, and the heat absorption amount of the next day
decreased. In order to increase the heat-absorbing and heat-releasing
amounts of thermal storage, it is important to release sufficient heat
from the thermal storage during non-collection periods to lower its
temperature. Figs. 12 and 13 show the flow of solar collection heat and
the indoor heat balance by insulation under the foundation concrete.
4.3. Indoor air circulation during non-heat collection (case 3)
The indoor air and the underfloor air were forcibly circulated to
increase the surface heat transfer coefficient of the foundation concrete
to remove the heat absorbed by the thermal storage at the time of heat
collection and lower the temperature of the thermal storage body. It is
considered that the heat absorption and the heat release amount of the
thermal storage increased and the heating load during non-collection
periods was reduced due to the indoor air circulation. The airflow rate
of the indoor air circulation was set to 780 m3/h, which is the same as
the air flow rate of solar heat collection, and the surface heat transfer
coefficient was calculated by the Jürges equation assuming that the air
spreads evenly in the underfloor space. The amount of heating load
reduction during heat collection periods in winter was less than 0.67 GJ
compared with conventional air-based solar heat collection systems,
but the amount of heating load reduction during non-collection periods
increased to 2.34 GJ. Figs. 14 and 15 show the heat flow and indoor
heat balance by indoor air circulation. As shown in Fig. 16, the daily
Y. Choi, et al. Solar Energy 186 (2019) 277–290

room temperature range on the first floor shows an increase in the

thermal storage effect by an average of 11.1 °C.

temp. range
Room temperate of 1st floor

Daily room
4.4. Additional thermal storage (water packs) (case 4)

14.6

14.8

14.8

11.1
10.0
[°C]

4.1
–
Using foundation concrete alone for thermal storage (as in con-
ventional air-based solar collection systems), limits both heat capacity
and heat release. Therefore, in this study, 20 L packs of water were
Average
temp.

added as additional thermal storage, and the thermal storage effect was
20.2

20.2

20.2

20.7
20.8
21.8
[°C]

examined. Internal convection of water reduces the temperature dif-

ference and increases the surface heat flow. As shown in Figs. 17 and
Load reduction

18, by installing a water pack, the amount of thermal storage heat

absorption and heat release is increased approximately two-fold.
48.3%

50.8%

51.0%

57.0%
57.8%
66.2% Compared with the conventional system, the heating load during heat
rate
[%]

collection periods during the winter was 0.74 GJ less, and the heating
–

load at non-heat collection periods during the winter was 3.10 GJ less.
As shown in Fig. 19, the stabilizing effect of indoor temperature due to
Hot water load

thermal storage improved the average temperature during winter to

reduction

20.8 °C and the average daily room temperature range to 10.0 °C.
10.32

10.67

10.69

10.28
10.06
[GJ]

8.57
–

4.5. Additional thermal storage (plastic bottles) (case 5)

The heat absorption and heat release amount of the thermal storage
Heating load

increases in proportion to the temperature difference between the air

reduction

and the thermal storage surface, the surface heat transfer-coefficient,

12.96
[GJ]

5.39

5.84

5.88

8.25
8.74

and the surface area of the thermal storage. Therefore, 500 mL plastic
–

bottles were filled with water instead of 20 L packs to increase the

amount of heat absorption and heat release. In the simulation, it is
Heat collection amount

assumed that the arrangement of the plastic bottles and the pressure
(room temperature

loss of the air are neglected, and the air flows uniformly in the under-
reference) [GJ]

floor space. In addition, the surface area was set to increase by 13 times
by changing from packs to plastic bottles. The simulation was carried
55.95

59.35

59.28

60.07
60.41
61.87

out under conditions of Low-E glass, with foundation concrete insula-

tion, and with indoor air circulation. By changing from a water pack to
–

a plastic bottle, as shown in Fig. 20, the heat absorption and heat re-
Heat collection amount

lease increased about 2.5 times. The heating load during heat collection
(outside temperature

times was reduced by 1.03 GJ compared with the conventional system,

reference) [GJ]

and the heating load during non-collection periods decreased by about

6.90 GJ. Fig. 21 shows the indoor heat balance by using plastic bottles
as additional thermal storage. The average temperature in winter was
71.90

76.19

76.19

76.19
76.19
76.19

21.8 °C and the average daily room temperature range was 4.1 °C. This
–

means that overheating during of solar heat collection periods is sup-

pressed, room temperature at nighttime and morning is increased, and
Hot water
load [GJ]

the heating load is greatly reduced. Fig. 22 shows daily room tem-
15.87

perature ranges during winter due to plastic bottles as additional

5.55

5.20

5.18

5.59
5.81
7.30

thermal storage.
The annual simulation results for the improvement of the air-based
Heating load of

solar collection system examined in this study are shown in Table 6.

Under the building conditions, weather conditions, and system re-
2nd floor

viewed in this study, the conventional air-based solar collection system

[GJ]

6.92
5.58

5.49

5.47

4.77
4.59
2.76

is modified to reduce the annual heating and hot water load by ap-
proximately 48.3%. If the glass collector is changed to Low-E glass, the
load reduction effect is only approximately 0.2% due to the improve-
Heating load of

ment of the collector. However, it was considered that if the heat ca-
pacity of the thermal storage is increased for storing daytime collected
1st floor

heat, the effect is increased. In order to increase the amount of heat

[GJ]

9.72
5.67

5.31

5.29

3.62
3.32
0.93

release from thermal storage during non-collection periods, the indoor

air circulation was examined. In addition, the installation of plastic
Water plastic bottles (3000 L)
Conventional air-based solar

Insulation under foundation

Annual simulation results.

bottles with 500 mL of water as an additional thermal storage shows

Improvement of collector

that the annual load is reduced by a maximum of approximately 66.5%.

Water packs (3000 L)
Indoor air circulation

Figs. 23 and 24 show the annual load and the average daily room
Non-heat collection

(Low-E glass)

temperature range for each case.

collection

concrete

5. Conclusion
Table 6

In this study, an annual simulation was carried out to ascertain the

288
Y. Choi, et al.
Fig. 23. Improvement effect of the air-based solar heat collection system (annual load).
Fig. 24. Improvement effect of the air-based solar heat collection system (average temperature and room temperature range).
performance of air-based solar heating collection systems, and to ex-
amine the effect of improvements in reducing annual heating load and
hot water load. The accuracy of the simulation model was examined by
comparison with measurement results, and the validity of the simula-
tion was confirmed. In addition, as an improvement to the air-based
heating system, the glass surface of the glass collector was changed
from general glass to Low-E glass, which has relatively lower heat loss.
Changing the glass of the collector to double glazing or Low-E glass can
reduce heat loss but reduce solar radiation transmittance. As a result, it
was not effective in Tokyo, which is the target area of this study.
However, further investigation is required for areas where the ambient
temperature is lower. As a next step, to increase the amount of heat
absorption and heat release by the thermal storage body, thermal in-
sulation was installed under the foundation concrete. Forced circulation
of the room air and the underfloor air was also examined as a method of
increasing heat release from the thermal storage body during non-heat
collection times. In the present system, the insulation under the foun-
dation concrete and forced air circulation do not show a great effect,
but the effect will be increased if the temperature of the underfloor
space is increased by using additional thermal storage. To increase the
heat capacity of the space, 20 L water packs were installed as additional
thermal storage (total 3000 L), and the heat absorption and heat release
of the thermal storage were investigated. Finally, the reduction of the
annual load by using plastic bottles instead of water packs to increase
the surface area was examined. This resulted in an annual load reduc-
tion of approximately 17.9% over conventional air-based solar heating
systems. In this study, improvement proposals that included various
elements were reviewed as methods of maximizing the performance of
solar heating systems. As suggested in this study, it is shown that the
load reduction effect of air-based solar heating system can increase by
putting low-cost water plastic bottles without a special system for
thermal storage.
289
Solar Energy 186 (2019) 277–290
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