Document Type : Research Article
Author
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Douala, P. O. Box: 2701, Douala, Cameroon.
Abstract
Photovoltaic energy has the potential to become one of the major energy sources used in the households in the tropical region of Africa, where the solar radiation intensity is abundant and almost constant over the year. Solar photovoltaic systems present many advantages when they are integrated in the building structure envelope and have a significant influence on the indoor air temperature of dwelling buildings due to the thermal resistance modification. In this paper, a simplified model of the photovoltaic system integrated on the roof of a residential building according to the building construction customs and materials has been designed and modeled. The heat transfer is studied in several situations: with and without a Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system and for a building with and without false ceiling. The BIPV system installed over an effective area of 35 m2 increases the building indoor air temperature of approximately 5 °C which is corrected by the heat insulation optimization of the false ceiling made up with building local materials. The final indoor air temperature obtained is in good agreement with the ASHRAE standards and can, therefore, be applied to tropical regions.
Keywords
- Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV)
- Thermal Comfort
- Heat Transfer
- Indoor Air Temperature
- Photovoltaic
- Solar Roof
Main Subjects
- Ang, B.W. and Xu, X., "Energy efficiency indicator", Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research, Michalos, A.C. Ed., Vol. 7, Springer, Dordrecht, (2014), 1894-1897. (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_875).
- Stouter, P., Earthbag building in the humid tropics : Simple structures, (2011). (http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/pdf/earthbagbuilding2.pdf), (Accessed: 05 September 2020).
- Chen, H.-J., Shu, C.-M., Chiang, C.-M. and Lee, S.-K., "The indoor thermal research of the HCRI-BIPV smart window", Energy Procedia, Vol. 12, (2011), 593-600. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2011.10.080).
- Akwa, J.V., Konrad, O., Kaufmann, G.V. and Machado, C.A., "Evaluation of the photovoltaic generation potential and real-time analysis of the photovoltaic panel operation on a building facade in southern Brazil", Energy and Buildings, Vol. 69, (2014), 462-433. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.11.007).
- James, T., Goodrich, A., Woodhouse, M., Margolis, R. and Ong, S., "Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in the residential sector: An analysis of installed rooftop system prices", National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Technical Report, NREL/TP-6A20-53103, (2011). (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/53103.pdf).
- Kalogirou, S.A. and Tripanagnostopoulos, Y., "Hybrid PV/T solar systems for domestic hot water and electricity production", Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 47, (2006), 3368-3382. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2006.01.012).
- Chow, T.T., He, W. and Ji, J., "Hybrid photovoltaic-thermosyphon water heating system for residential application", Solar Energy, Vol. 80, (2006), 298-306. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2005.02.003).
- Ekoe A Akata, A.M., Njomo, D. and Agrawal, B., "Thermal energy optimization of building integrated semi-transparent photovoltaic thermal systems", International Journal of Renewable Energy Development (IJRED), Vol. 4, No. 2, (2015), 113-123. (https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.4.2.113-123).
- Maturi, L., Lollini, R., Moser, D. and Sparber, W., "Experimental investigation of a low cost passive strategy to improve the performance of building integrated photovoltaic systems", Solar Energy, Vol. 111, (2015), 288-296. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.11.001).
- Chow, T.T., He, W., Ji, J. and Chan, A.L.S., "Performance evaluation of photovoltaic thermosyphon system for subtropical climate application", Solar Energy, Vol. 81, (2007), 123-130. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2006.05.005).
- Pierrick, H., Christophe, M., Leon, G. and Patrick, D., "Dynamic numerical model of a high efficiency PV-T collector integrated into a domestic hot water system", Solar Energy, Vol. 111, (2015), 68-81. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.10.031).
- Rawat, P., Debbarma, M., Mehrotra, S., Sudhakar, K., Centre, E. and Pradesh, M., "Design, development and experimental investigation of solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) water collector system", International Journal of Science, Environment and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 3, (2014), 1173-1183. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263448257_DESIGN_DEVELOPMENT_AND_EXPERIMENTAL_INVESTIGATION_OF_SOLAR_PHOTOVOLTAICTHERMAL_PVT_WATER_COLLECTOR_SYSTEM)
- Benradouane, N., "Performances thermiques d’une maison solaire", Rev. Energ. Ren., Vol. 9, (2006), 43-52. (https://www.cder.dz/download/Art9-1_6.pdf).
- Obeng, G.Y., Akuffo, F.O., Braimah, I., Evers, H.-D. and Mensah, E., "Impact of solar photovoltaic lighting on indoor air smoke in off-grid rural Ghana", Energy for Sustainable Development, Vol. 12, (2008), 55-61. (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0973-0826(08)60419-6).
- López, C.S.P., Tenconi, L., Castro, F. L., Brambillasca, S., Gonzalez, F.J.N., and Martín, E.C., "Controlled environment test laboratory for comfort performance studies on façade-integrated BIPV", Proceedings of the 27th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, (2012), 4335-4339. (https://doi.org/10.4229/27thEUPVSEC2012-5BV.1.57).
- Wen, I.J., Chang, P.C., Chiang, C.M. and Lai, C.M., "Performance assessment of ventilated BIPV roofs collocating with outdoor and indoor openings", Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol. 8, (2008), 3572-3582. (https://doi.org/10.3923/jas.2008.3572.3582).
- Dominguez, A., Kleissl, J. and Luvall, J.C., "Effects of solar photovoltaic panels on roof heat transfer", Solar Energy, Vol. 85, (2011), 2244-2255. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2011.06.010).
- Ekoe a Akata, A.M., Njomo, D., and Mempouo, B., "The effect of building integrated photovoltaic system (BIPVs) on indoor air temperatures and humidity (Iath) in the tropical region of Cameroon", Future Cities and Environment, Vol. 1, (2015), 1-10. (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40984-015-0002-y).
- Ali, H.A.R., Ibrahim, S.T., Morsy, M.G. and Abdel-Rahman, A.K., "The effect of using false ceiling on roof cooling load", Journal of Engineering Sciences, Vol. 42, No. 3, (2014), 666-682. (https://doi.org/10.21608/JESAUN.2014.115021).
- Duffie, J.A. and Beckman, W.A., Solar engineering of thermal processes, Fourth Edition, Wiley, (2013). (https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118671603).
- Harimi, M., Harimi, D., Kurian, V.J. and Nurmin, B., "Evaluation of the thermal performance of metal roofing under tropical climatic conditions", Proceedings of The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference, Tokyo, (2005). 709-716. (https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB3434.pdf).
- Kameni Nematchoua, M., Ricciardi, P., Reiter, S. and Yvon, A., "A comparative study on optimum insulation thickness of walls and energy savings in equatorial and tropical climate", International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 6, (2017), 170-182. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2017.02.001).
- Ekoe A Akata, A.M., Njomo, D. and Agrawal, B., "Assessment of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) for sustainable energy performance in tropical regions of Cameroon", Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 80, (2017), 1138-1152. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.155).
)
