Estimation of indoor temperature for a direct-gain passive solar building

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of passive solar heating produced by a direct passive solar system consisting of windows for direct insolation in a residential building located in Nis, Serbia. A mathematical model is presented to calculate the temperature in the room of a building with a direct passive solar system, depending on the size of the opening, window slope (slanting or vertical position), orientation of the room, and the size of the eave above the window (if it is installed). Using the proposed mathematical model, the inner air temperatures of a thermally insulated residential building with a direct passive solar system are analyzed for different building orientations during the period between January and March of 2008. Two software packages are developed to support the proposed mathematical model. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.