Influence of Trombe wall on indoor thermal environment of a two-story building in rural Northern China during summer

Abstract

In this study, numerical simulation is used to analyze the influence of a Trombe wall on the indoor thermal environment of a two-story building during summer and validated by the experimental prototype located at the thermal laboratory of Qingdao University of Science and Technology. Hourly climatic data for Qingdao are collected by the experimental prototype to assess the behavior of the two-story building with a Trombe wall. Simulation is performed with the hourly data collected by the experimental prototype. The thermal environment of a room without a Trombe wall is simulated by Fluent and compared with the room with a Trombe wall. Results show that the comparison between numerical results and experiment shows good agreement and validates the reliability of the numerical simulation. In comparison with the room without a Trombe wall, the temperature in the room with a Trombe wall decreased by 0.5–3 °C and wind velocity increased to approximately 0.2–0.5 m/s. The Trombe wall can effectively enhance natural ventilation of a two-story building and reduce indoor temperature, thus improving thermal comfort. At the same time, the thermal comfort of the lower room (with a Trombe wall) is superior to the upper room (with a Trombe wall).

Funding

This research has been financially supported by Shandong Provincial Housing and Urban Construction [Science and Technology Project Number RK025].