Thermal analysis of a retrofitted direct-gain solar house without auxiliary heat source in southwest Tibet

Passive solar heating is an ideal choice in remote Tibet because of the laggard economy, poor transport condition, serious lack of conventional fossil energy and rich solar energy. The thermal performance of a model house is studied using a numerical method based on the real building construction and climate data while the effect of high altitude on heat transfer of building envelope is considered. Through analyzing heat loss of different parts, a retrofit scheme based on exterior envelope and south-facing glazing is introduced to decrease the heat loss and increase the direct-solar gain. The sensitive factors such as convective heat transfer coefficient, glazing type and WWR (area ratio of window to wall) are researched in detail. The results show that the direct-gain house can meet the minimum requirement of space heating without an auxiliary heat source in this district. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.