Evaluation of the FCHART/SLR solar design process

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1982 · ASHRAE Trans.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5285456

Fanning, M W

The actual heating requirements of 137 passive solar houses were compared to the requirements predicted by a typical design process that used the FCHART/SLR design tool. The calculation of the actual space-heating auxiliary energy needed by the houses during the 1979-1980 heating season was based on fuel bills and appliance use information. The prediction for each residence relied on site-specific weather data for that period, on owner-estimated occupancy patterns, and on measured building characteristics. FCHART/SLR was used with this information to predict the space-heating auxiliary. A statistical comparison of the actual and predicted auxiliaries showed that the design process overpredicted the auxiliary requirement by 60% with 112% standard deviation. A simple heat-loss calculation that ignored the solar contribution proved as accurate a predictor of the heating requirement as the solar design process in some cases.

• Research Organization: Creare R/D Inc., Hanover, NH
• OSTI ID: 5285456
• Journal Information: ASHRAE Trans.; (United States), Vol. 88:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
SOLAR ARCHITECTURE
COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN
ACCURACY
ENERGY ANALYSIS
ENERGY DEMAND
ENERGY MODELS
FORECASTING
HEAT LOSSES
HOUSES
PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
SITE SURVEYS
SOLAR SPACE HEATING
STATISTICAL DATA
ARCHITECTURE
BUILDINGS
DATA
DEMAND
ENERGY LOSSES
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
HEATING
HEATING SYSTEMS
INFORMATION
LOSSES
NUMERICAL DATA
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEATING
SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
SPACE HEATING
140901* - Solar Thermal Utilization- Space Heating & Cooling