A new type of residence with solar heating, earth cooling and air circulation(the SEA House) has been proposed by the authors. In winter, the house is heated by solar energy. Thermal insulation, heat storage and air circulation are used to maintain the room temperature at a comfortable level and...

In antiquity, people already knew the principles of solar architecture, designing their houses to the south to take advantage of the sun in all seasons. Today, solar architecture is undergoing a true revolution because of the development, among other things, of special facades involved in the...

The main objective of the present study is twofold: (i) to analyze thermal loads of the geothermally and passively heated solar greenhouses; and (ii) to investigate wind energy utilization in greenhouse heating which is modeled as a hybrid solar assisted geothermal heat pump and a small wind...

Heat removal systems are of primary importance in several industrial processes. As heat sink, a water pool or atmospheric air may be selected. The first solution takes advantage of high heat transfer coefficient with water but it requires active systems to maintain a constant water level; the...

In geographical zones with a continental Mediterranean climate, the convenience of passive systems becomes doubtful, when one takes into account real thermal performance throughout the different seasons of the year. It is assumed that these systems stay shut down during summer thus avoiding...

The design, construction and performance evaluation of a passive solar powered air heating system is presented. The system, which has potential applications in crop drying and poultry egg incubation, consists of a single-glazed flat plate solar collector integrated with a phase change material...

This paper presents a classification of green vertical systems for buildings. The aim of this classification is to facilitate the identification and differentiation between systems. This classification is also essential to compare future research results relating to their operation. In addition,...

Intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) are increasingly used in many energy systems. The higher capacity of intermittent RES increases the importance of introducing flexible generation units into the electricity system balancing. Distributed district heating plants with combined heat and...

An experimental research with a solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) micro grid feeding a reversible air–water, 6kW heating capacity heat pump, has been carried out from December 2012 to April 2013. Its purpose is to heat a laboratory that is used as a house prototype for the study of...