Author(s)

M. A. Serag-Eldin

Abstract

The paper presents an integral computational model for the prediction of the thermal performance of a conceptual two-floor, zero energy house (ZEH) in the Arabian desert. The ZEH is powered by PV modules which shade the roof during the day time and retract at night to expose it the sky, thus enhancing night time cooling. The house boasts all modern comforts, including air-conditioning. Solar radiation models coupled with recently published ASHRAE environmental data and models are integrated with a time dependent heat conduction model to predict the heating and cooling loads, for given equipment and storage characteristics. The application of the computational model is demonstrated by employing it to predict the effect of various design parameters on performance and equipment sizing, for a typical desert site in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Keywords: zero-energy-house, solar energy, desert environment, sustainability, modelling. 1 Introduction The paper is concerned with the presentation and application of an efficient computational model for the investigation of the thermal performance of the integrated energy systems in a modern two floor, zero energy house (ZEH) located in the Arabian desert. Solar energy drives the whole energy system after being converted to electrical energy employing roof mounted PV modules. Several investigations have been reported in the past for single floor, roof mounted ZEH designs, e.g. Serag-Eldin [1] and Beshr et al. [2], as they are much less challenging to meet the zero external energy requirement than for two floor houses. A two floor ZEH design was considered by Serag-Eldin [3], however synthetic data was used for solar radiation and environmental properties and only

Keywords

zero-energy-house, solar energy, desert environment, sustainability, modelling