Development of a solar residential heating and cooling system

Technical Report · Fri Apr 04 04:00:00 EDT 1975

OSTI ID:7339574

The MSFC solar heating and cooling facility was assembled to demonstrate the engineering feasibility of utilizing solar energy for heating and cooling buildings, to provide an engineering evaluation of the total system and the key subsystems, and to investigate areas of possible improvement in design and efficiency. The basic solar heating and cooling system utilizes a flat plate solar energy collector, a large water tank for thermal energy storage, heat exchangers for space heating, and an absorption cycle air conditioner for space cooling. A complete description of all systems is given. Development activities for this test system included assembly, checkout, operation, modification, and data analysis, all of which are discussed. Selected data analyses for the first 15 weeks of testing are included, findings associated with energy storage and the energy storage system are outlined, and conclusions resulting from test findings are provided. An evaluation of the data for summer operation indicates that the current system is capable of supplying an average of 50 percent of the thermal energy required to drive the air conditioner. Preliminary evaluation of data collected for operation in the heating mode during the winter indicates that nearly 100 percent of the thermal energy required for heating can be supplied by the system.

• Research Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, Ala. (USA). George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
• OSTI ID: 7339574
• Report Number(s): N-75-24107; NASA-CR-142728; M-TU-75-3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140901* -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Space Heating & Cooling
AIR CONDITIONERS
AIR CONDITIONING
APPLIANCES
BUILDINGS
ELECTRIC APPLIANCES
ENERGY STORAGE
GAS APPLIANCES
HEATING
HEATING SYSTEMS
HOUSES
PERFORMANCE
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
SOLAR AIR CONDITIONERS
SOLAR AIR CONDITIONING
SOLAR COOLING SYSTEMS
SOLAR HEATING
SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS
SOLAR SPACE HEATING
SPACE HEATING
STORAGE
TEST FACILITIES