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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 June 2023) | Viewed by 7872

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Qianjun Mao

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Guest Editor

School of Urban Construction, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Interests: efficient utilization of solar energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Tao Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Urban Construction, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Interests: solar thermal utilization; building energy conservation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Application of Renewable Energy in Buildings is an international and accessible forum for studying the nexus of energy and buildings. The Special Issue contains research regarding energy consumption and thermal storage efficiency in buildings, with a focus on building heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation, phase-change heat storage and energy-efficient buildings. The Special Issue is also dedicated to exploring and disseminating the storage, conversion and utilization of renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy, etc.), involving the design and development of novel technologies, equipment and systems, with a preference towards the development of new technology and the combined study of engineering examples combining multiple topics. We welcome the submission of original and high-quality manuscripts concerning the experimental and numerical analysis of the application of renewable energy for the improvement of indoor environmental quality and reduction in ongoing energy consumption.

This Special Issue aims to gather the latest research findings on the application of the theory, design, modelling, application and novel technology of all types of renewable energy in buildings.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

Renewable energy acquisition, conversion, storage and utilization;
Passive utilization technology of renewable energy in buildings;
New technology of building energy conservation;
Predictive analysis of building energy consumption;
Optimization of renewable energy supply system;
System operation and maintenance debugging;
System fault diagnosis;
Multi-energy coupling utilization;
Building indoor environment.

Prof. Dr. Qianjun Mao
Dr. Tao Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

solar heating and cooling
air source heat pump
ground source heat pump
biomass energy
PCM heat storage
efficient technology
application

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 8129 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Storage Tank Volume on the Nighttime Heat Dissipation and Freezing Process of All-Glass Vacuum Tube Solar Water Heaters

by Shidong Wang, Xing Wang, Mingqiang Mao, Yongtao Wang, Shiping Liu, Baoming Luo and Tao Li

Energies 2023, 16(12), 4781; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16124781 - 18 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 798

Abstract

The issue of freezing often occurs when using all-glass vacuum tube solar water heaters during cold winter seasons, leading to problems such as pipe ruptures and tank leakage. In order to further study the nocturnal heat dissipation and freezing characteristics of these heaters, a three-dimensional transient numerical model of their nocturnal heat dissipation was established. The model simulated the nocturnal heat dissipation process, and experimental validations were conducted through nocturnal temperature drops of the collector and temperature drops of individual tubes without a storage tank. Experimental and simulation results revealed that in clear weather conditions during cold winters in Luoyang, the all-glass vacuum tube solar water heaters experienced freezing issues during the night, with freezing predominantly starting from the bottom surface of the vacuum tubes. The frozen length along the tube wall and the thickness of ice at the bottom section reached up to 1180 mm and 5 mm, respectively. In the absence of a storage tank, the freezing situation was severe, with approximately 4/5 of the individual tubes completely frozen. Under specified operating conditions, different storage tank volumes exhibited varying degrees of freezing in the all-glass vacuum tube solar water heaters. When the volume was increased to 15 L, the temperature drop in the storage tank and the vacuum tubes decreased by 12.1% and 7.6%, respectively. Larger storage tank volumes resulted in reduced freezing risks in all-glass vacuum tube solar collectors. This study provides valuable guidance for the design and application of solar collectors and serves as a reference for the development and application of solar energy utilization technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy in Buildings)

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17 pages, 3304 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exergy Analysis of a Shell and Tube Energy Storage Unit with Different Inclination Angles

by Li Peng, Hongjun Wu, Wenlong Cao and Qianjun Mao

Energies 2023, 16(11), 4297; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114297 - 24 May 2023

Viewed by 969

Abstract

To optimize the utilization of solar energy in the latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system, this study conducts exergy analysis on a paraffin-solar water shell and tube unit established in the literature to evaluate the effects of different inclination angles, inlet temperatures, original temperatures, and fluid flow rates on the exergy and exergy efficiency. Firstly, the thermodynamic characteristics of the water and the natural convection effects of the paraffin change with different inclination angles. When the inclination angle of the heat storage tank is less than 30°, the maximum exergy inlet rate rises from 0 to 144.6 W in a very short time, but it decreases to 65.7 W for an inclination angle of 60°. When the inclination angle is increased from 0° to 30°, the exergy efficiency rises from 86% to 89.7%, but it decreases from 94% to 89.9% with the inclination angle from 60° to 90°. Secondly, under the condition that the inclination angle of the energy storage unit is 60°, although increasing the inlet temperature of the solar water enhances the exergy inlet and storage and reduces the charging time, it increases the heat transfer temperature difference and the irreversible loss of the system, thus reducing the exergy efficiency. As the inlet water temperature is increased from 83 to 98 °C, the exergy efficiency decreases from 94.7% to 93.6%. Moreover, increasing the original temperature of the LHTES unit not only reduces the exergy inlet and storage rates but also decreases the available work capacity and exergy efficiency. Finally, increasing the inlet water flow rate increases the exergy inlet and storage rates slightly. The exergy efficiency decreases from 95.6% to 93.3% as the unit original temperature is increased from 15 to 30 °C, and it is enhanced from 94% to 94.6% as the inlet flow rate is increased from 0.085 to 0.34 kg/s with the unit inclination angle of 60°. It is found that arranging the shell and tube unit at an inclination angle is useful for improving the LHTES system’s thermal performance, and the exergy analysis conducted aims to reduce available energy dissipation and exergy loss in the thermal storage system. This study provides instructions for solar energy utilization and energy storage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy in Buildings)

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11 pages, 4856 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Visualizing Experimental Study of the Effect of Inclination Angle on the Melting Performance for an Energy Storage Tank

by Li Peng, Hongjun Wu and Qianjun Mao

Energies 2022, 15(19), 7394; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15197394 - 9 Oct 2022

Viewed by 964

Abstract

Solar energy coupling with energy storage is a popular technology in the energy field. How to achieve the high-efficiency application of solar energy is very important. Energy storage technology is the key issue in this aspect. Latent heat storage is a more efficient energy storage. In this paper, a visualization experimental platform of a latent heat storage system has been designed, and some performance data have been obtained. Hot water has been used as the heat transfer fluid, and paraffin wax has been used as the phase change material. The inclination angle of the tank is varied from the horizontal direction (0°) to the vertical direction (90°) by a step of 30°. The melting performance has been studied for three cases with inlet water temperature of 356 K, 361 K, and 366 K. The result shows that the inclination angle of the tank has a great influence on the melting process of the phase change material, and the temperature distribution of the material is obviously different. The result also shows that the testing point temperature (for testing point 1) varied from 341.31 K to 342.18 K when the inclination angle was 30° and 90°, respectively. However, the temperature of testing point 4 varied from 321.76 K to 335.03 K when the inclination angle was 30° and 90°, respectively. The results of this paper can provide a reference for the future pipe design and storage efficiency of latent heat storage systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy in Buildings)

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16 pages, 4061 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer Performance and Structural Optimization of Fan-Shaped Finned Tube Heat Exchanger

by Qianjun Mao, Xinlei Hu and Yuanyuan Zhu

Energies 2022, 15(15), 5682; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15155682 - 5 Aug 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2107

Abstract

Latent heat storage technology is widely used in solar power generation. Aiming to enhance the energy utilization rate to a greater extent, an innovative fan-shaped structure has been proposed to construct the metal fins of the shell-and-tube thermal storage device. The enthalpy method is used to simulate the heat storage process and focuses on the influence of inlet conditions on heat transfer. The influence of the fin structure on the melting properties of phase change material has been studied. The results show that increasing inlet temperature and inlet flow rate is a convenient and effective way to improve energy efficiency. As the inlet temperature is increased from 343 K to 358 K, the total heat storage and energy efficiency are improved by 13.4% and 10.2%, respectively, and the melting time is reduced by 36.2%. As the flow rate is increased from 3 L/min to 9 L/min, the complete melting time is reduced by 33.4%. Energy efficiency peaks at a flow rate of 5 L/min. Reasonable optimization of the fin structure can enhance the natural convection circulation during the melting process and further improve the energy efficiency. The research results can guide the design and structural optimization of the finned tube heat storage device. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy in Buildings)

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Review

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26 pages, 5299 KiB

Open AccessReview

Application of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) in Net-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs)

by Jiashu Kong, Yitong Dong, Aravind Poshnath, Behzad Rismanchi and Pow-Seng Yap

Energies 2023, 16(17), 6401; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16176401 - 4 Sep 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2418

Abstract

Global energy consumption has led to concerns about potential supply problems, energy consumption and growing environmental impacts. This paper comprehensively provides a detailed assessment of current studies on the subject of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) technology in net-zero energy buildings (NZEBs). The review is validated through various case studies, which highlight the significance of factors such as building surface area to volume ratio (A/V), window-wall ratio (WWR), glass solar heating gain coefficient (SHGC), and others in achieving the NZEBs standards. In addition, this review article draws the following conclusions: (1) NZEBs use renewable energy to achieve energy efficiency and carbon neutrality. (2) NZEBs implementation, however, has some limitations, including the negligence of indoor conditions in the analysis, household thermal comfort, and the absence of an energy supply and demand monitoring system. (3) Most researchers advise supplementing facade and window BIPV as solely roofing BIPV will not be able to meet the building’s electricity usage. (4) Combining BIPV with building integrated solar thermal (BIST), considering esthetics and geometry, enhances outcomes and helps meet NZEB criteria. (5) BIPV designs should follow standards and learn from successful cases. However, to ascertain the long-term reliability and structural integrity of BIPV systems, a comprehensive study of their potential degradation mechanisms over extended periods is imperative. The review paper aims to examine BIPV applications in-depth, underscoring its pivotal role in attaining a net-zero energy benchmark. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy in Buildings)

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