Abstract
In this study, the solar chimney, one of the passive solar systems, is proposed as a method to improve the thermal environment of northern zones in buildings. As this well-known system has rarely been used in building projects, an adequate application of the system is proposed in this paper: the solar chimney system is designed to meet the required ventilation rate and consequently to reduce the ventilation load in the northern part of a building. To investigate such a possibility, a numerical model for the system is developed, and results of numerical tests are used for energy simulations. The results were taken into account for test simulations in EnergyPlus. As a result, approximately 75% of the volumetric ventilation rate required in the north zone could be supplied with the air volume acquired through the system and the monthly mean load was reduced by 29.5%, from 1.584 kWh to 1.117 kWh. The analyses of hourly mean heating and ventilation load over the heating period indicated that the system was very effective at around 13:00. Results show that 33% reduction in the ventilation load and 17% in the heating load for the north zone could be acquired through this system.