Solar Thermal Hybrid Façade—Water-Only Mode Performance Assessment
摘要
Climate change and sustainable development are some of the main twenty-first century challenges, most probably one of the greatest challenges we ever faced. Technology has reached such a level that it is quite affordable for anyone in developed countries to produce the energy they use. Production and use of renewable energies applied in a producer–consumer paradigm can become a synonym for sustainability (supply-to-demand matching), energy efficiency (closer production and consumption means less energy transport losses) and security of supply (the produced energy is endogenous). Complementary, the cost of renewable energy is becoming increasingly lower since the technology is well known, and devices are more affordable and energetically more efficient. This work intends to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies namely the role which could be played by a hybrid solar thermal façade capable of heating air and water, cooling (using a geothermal network) and ventilation. The device achieved an amount of 386.7 kWh (thermal) energy produced during only a single day which demonstrates the enormous potential of these devices. Furthermore, this technology (solar thermal) has already demonstrated its high reliability over long years of worldwide operation. Further to its residential utilization, the façade can be used in alternative contexts, such as in industrial processes with low enthalpy requirements, commercial buildings, hospitals, and hotels.