Publications

Natural ventilation is one of the most important strategies for achieving comfort and energy efficiency in hot and humid climates. In this framework, the solar chimneys are devices that promote the increase of air changes in the room and reduction of the energy consumption of buildings. Several authors have used energy performance simulations in their studies regarding this issue. However, reference parameters for an annual numerical assessment of the air flow promoted by a solar chimney were not found in the literature. This article presents an investigation of three methods of simulation of solar chimneys in EnergyPlus: model ThermalChimney, Airflow Network, and HorizontalOpenings. The methods were discussed regarding modeling and its restrictions, with the statement of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The airflow simulation results were compared to a numerical model developed through CFD in a previous study, validated with measurements in a constructed prototype. Three statistical indicators, to treat the airflow, were used: Mean Absolute Error, Mean Square Error and Mean Differences. The best result was found for the thermal chimney model, with Average Absolute Error between 37% and 52% in comparison to the others, which floated from 65% to 229%. These results fill a gap in the literature by indicating some guidelines for simulation, and in particular, by analyzing indicators for the comparison between air flows resulting from energy performance simulations of solar chimneys with EnergyPlus.