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Performance evaluation of the solar building test facility

Journal Article · · NASA Tech. Memo.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5405808
NASA's Solar Building Test Facility (SBTF) consists of a 4645-m/sup 2/ (50,000-ft/sup 2/) office building modified to accept solar-heated water for operation of an absorption air-conditioner and a baseboard heating system. An adjoining 1176-m/sup 2/ (12,660-ft/sup 2/) solar flat-plate collector field with a 114-m/sup 3/ (30,000-gal) storage tank provides the solar-heated water. The SBTF has been in operation since 1976 and has demonstrated that solar cooling is technologically feasible. The solar system provided 57 percent of the energy required for heating and cooling on an annual basis. The average efficiency of the solar collectors was 26 percent over a 1-year period. The general performance of the SBTF and its subsystems and components over the 4-year operational period is discussed, and data are provided for a typical 1-year period. 4 refs.
Research Organization:
NASA, Langley Res Cent, Hampton, Va
OSTI ID:
5405808
Journal Information:
NASA Tech. Memo.; (United States), Journal Name: NASA Tech. Memo.; (United States); ISSN NATMA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English