Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203

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Applied Thermal Engineering

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Research Paper

Performance analysis of two types of Solar Heating Systems used in T

buildings under typical North-African climate (Tunisia)
⁎
Farah Mehdaoui , Majdi Hazami, Anis Messaouda, AmenAllah Guizani
Laboratoire des Procédés Thermique, Centre de Recherches des Technologies de l’Energie, Hammam Lif, B.P. 95, 2050 Tunis, Tunisia

H I GH L IG H T S

• The TRNSYS simulation program is validated.

• An optimization of the solar heating system is made.
• The energetic and thermal performances of the SHS based on an experimental and simulation studies are investigated.
• AThecomparison of the long-term performances between two solar heating systems (SHS) is performed.
• use of the floor as a heat source presented a great potential with a solar fraction about 78%.

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The objective of this work is studying the opportunity of using a Solar Heating System, SHS, to prevail the
TRNSYS 16 Tunisian households’ air-heating needs by comparing the energetic performances of two solar heating tech-
Active layer nologies: the SHS with an integrated active layer in the floor and a SHS with an integrated active layer in the
Solar fraction wall. The SHS mainly consists of flat-plate solar collectors, a hot water cylinder and an active layer integrated
Solar heating system
inside the heated building. The study is accomplished by means of TRNSYS 16 simulation software. The in-
vestigations of the energetic and thermal performances of the SHS were based on an experimental and simulation
studies. A complete model is formulated by means of the TRNSYS simulation program. To validate the TRNSYS
model, experimental tests under the typical North-African climate (Tunisia) was performed. The optimization of
the SHP performances was achieved by considering the monthly/annual solar fraction, SF. Then, we evaluate the
long-term performances of the solar heating system with an integrated active layer in the floor and a solar
heating system with an integrated active layer in the wall. The results showed that the optimal sizing of the
heating system that allows the supply of a maximum rate of the solar fraction consisted on using 6 m2 area of
solar collector, a collector’s mass-flow rate of about 120 kg h−1, a hot water storage cylinder with a capacity of
450 L and a mass flow-rate inside the active layer about 300 kg h−1. The comparison of the long-term perfor-
mance of the solar heating system showed that the use of the floor as a heat source presented a great potential
with a solar fraction of about 78%. It was also found that the use of the solar heating system, SHS, reduced
obviously the relative humidity inside the tested room of about 35%.

1. Introduction protection [3].

Nowadays the political community recognizes the responsibility of
the oblivious consumption of fossil fuels (i.e. Coal, oil, natural gas) on
global warming which could have dramatic effects on the economy, the
society and the environment of our planet. Thus a great attention was
given to the use of renewable energy sources (i.e. solar energy, wind,
geothermal…). These energies and especially solar should be the trend,
taking into account the security of supply [1,2] and environmental
Tunisia is characterized by a mild and dry climate also an abun-
dance of sunshine for most periods of the year [4,5]. These advanta-
geous criteria allow Tunisia to be a pioneer in the use of solar energy. In
this context, several solar systems water heating were installed for
domestic use. The most marketed solar thermal systems in Tunisia are
solar water heaters intended to provide a storage volume equal to the
average daily hot water demand. M. Hazami et al. [6], presents an
energy performance comparison on yearly basis between the most

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mehdaoui.farah@yahoo.com (F. Mehdaoui).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.114203
Received 26 March 2017; Received in revised form 21 June 2019; Accepted 2 August 2019
Available online 03 August 2019
1359-4311/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
F. Mehdaoui, et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203

Nomenclature SLSL Number of the tank segment to which the fluid replacing
that extracted to supply the load enters 1 ≤ SL SL ≤ N
Ac collector area, m2 Ta Ambient (air) temperature, K
A floor area, m2 Tc Inlet temperature of fluid to collector, K
Ai surface area of the ith tank segment, m2 Tf surface floor temperature, K
Cp specific heat of the fluid, kJ kg−1 k−1 Tr inside room temperature, K
d1 collector mass flow rate, kg h−1 Ti temperature of the ith tank segment, K
d2 floor mass flow rate, kg h−1 Th temperature of the fluid entering the storage tank from the
I global (total) horizontal radiation, kJ h−1 m−2 heat source, K
Mi mass of fluid in the ith section, kg h−1 Tenv temperature of the environment surrounding the tank, K
m. mass flow rate, kg h−1 TL temperature of the fluid replacing that extracted to supply
mh. fluid mass flow rate to tank from the heat source, kg h−1 the load, K
ṁ L fluid mass flow rate to the load and/or of the makeup U loss coefficient between the ith tank node and its en-
fluid, kg h−1 vironment, kJ h−1 m−2 k−1
P productivity
QAux auxiliary energy, MJ m−2 Greek symbols
QL energy rate to load, MJ m−2
Qc Useful energy gain, MJ m−2 αi a control function defined byif i = Sh;0 otherwise
Qi rate of energy input by the heating element to the ith βi a control function defined by βi = 1 if i = SL 0 otherwise
i−1 N
segment, MJ m−2 γi a control function defined by ∑ j = 1 γj − ṁL ∑ j = i + 1 βj, kg
−1
SF solar fraction, % h
ShSh Number of the tank segment to which the fluid from the η collector efficiency, %
heat source enters 1 ≤ Sh Sh ≤ N

commercialized flat-plate collector (FPC) DSWH system and ETC DSWH
system in Tunisia. It was found that the annual average solar fraction of
the FPC DSWH systems is lower (68%) than that of ETC DSWH systems
(84%). An economic evaluation was also presented by [7] taking into
account the hot water needs of a typical Tunisian family of 4–5 people
to select the most cost saving between the two DSWH systems. It was
noted that the annual savings in electrical energy relative to the FPC
and ETC are about 1316 and 1459 kWh/year, with a payback period of
about 8 and 10 years, respectively. The life cycle save on electricity/
gas/town gas to satisfy the hot water needs which reach $3969 (FPC)
and $4400.34 (ETC) for electricity backup. In this context, L. M
Ayompe et al. [8], create a TRNSYS simulation model validated using

Fig. 1. Descriptive diagram of the TRNSYS model.

2
F. Mehdaoui, et al.
field test data for solar water systems installed in Dublin, Ireland. The
results obtained showed that the percentage means absolute errors
(PMAE) of the collector outlet temperature, the collected heat and heat
supplied to the load was 16.9%, 14.1% and 6.9% for the FPC system
and 18.4% 16.8% and 7.6% for the ETC system, respectively.
The heating of buildings, whether residential or commercial, con-
stitutes also a particularly interesting application of solar energy by the
use of thermal solar collectors [9–11]. The heating by conventional
radiators is one of the most effective methods to reduce conventional
energy requirements for buildings. in this context, I. Zaghib et al. [12]
presented a model of a solar heating system (collector with an area of
2 m2, storage tank with 200 l capacity, auxiliary source and radiators),
installed in Constantine (Algeria). I. Zeghib concluded that the strati-
fication phenomenon in the tank improved the efficiency of both the
auxiliary heater and the solar collectors. A. Ucar et al. [13], compared
the thermal performances of the three types of solar heating system
consisting of solar collectors, a heat pump, a storage tank, and a ra-
diator. A. Ucar et al., showed that the highest solar fraction is obtained
for the system with an underground storage without insulation.
Recently, solar floor heating systems have received more attention
in the heating of building because of their advantages of the thermal
regulation in the building. in this context, F. Mehdaoui et al. [14], fo-
cused on the optimization of a solar heating system used to heat a room
of 48 m3 volume installed in Borj Cedria, Tunis. A parametric study by
using TRNSYS 16 was conducted to optimize the different solar system
design parameters (the collector area, the mass flow rate, the tank ca-
pacity and thickness of the active layer). The evaluation of the long-
term system performance has led to an average solar fraction of about
84%. In this context, the system tested by S. Menhoud et al. [15], offers
a variant indoor relative humidity between 50% and 68%. D. Zhang
et al. [16], has studied the influence of the design parameters of a
heating system by radiant floor on the temperature of the indoor air and
the average temperature of the upper surface of the floor. The results
obtained showed that the upper floor surface temperature and indoor
air temperature decreased when the average temperature of water
supply and backwater decreased or when the distance between pipes
next each other increased. H. Li et al. [17], found in his work that 49%
of heating was manipulated by solar energy. The results obtained by E.
Kacan et al. [18], showed that the solar fraction ranged between 59%
and 89%. The system constructed by [19,20] in Shanghai offered a solar
fraction about 56% during the heating period. The results obtained by
[21] indicated that the average efficiency of the proposed system was
about 68%.
The objective of this work is studying the opportunity of using a
Solar Heating System, SHS, for heating a building installed in Borj
Cedria Tunisia and achieves a comparison between two solar heating
technologies: the SHS with an integrated active layer in the floor (SHSF)
and a SHS with an integrated active layer in the wall (SHSW). The
methodology adopted in this work consists in:
-Performing the simulation of the solar heating system behavior by
using TRNSYS program. To validate the TRNSYS model, a number of
experiments are conducted in our laboratory.
-Evaluating of the long-term/annual performances of the solar
heating system with an integrated active layer in the floor (SHSF) and a
SHS with an integrated active layer in the wall, according to Tunis,
Table 1
Zones parameters.
Orientation Length (m) Width (m) Height (m)
North 4 4 4 wall
South 4 4 4 wall
Est 4 4 4 wall
Ouest 4 4 4 wall
Horizontal 4 4 4 floor
Horizontal 4 4 4 roof
3
Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203
Tunisia weather data.
2. TRNSYS simulation of the SHS behavior
The simulation of the SHS behavior was developed by using TRNSYS
16 program (Fig. 1) which is a transient system simulation program
used to simulate the instantaneous and the long-term thermal perfor-
mances of the SHS by introducing the meteorological data of Borj Cé-
dria, Tunis, Tunisia. The mathematical models used to describe its
physical behavior of the SHS components were formulated by means of
FORTRAN code. TRNSYS has the ability to define equations within the
input file which are not in a component and can be functioned for
output file like: solar fraction and thermal efficiencies. The simulation
TRNSYS is achieved along the whole year of 2014 under different Tu-
nisian environmental conditions. The developed model (Fig. 1) com-
prised essentially by a:
– Ttype 73 which simulate the flat plate solar collector behavior: The
collector is considered to be facing south with the tilt equal to 45°.
– Type 4c which simulate the storage tank. The tank is fully stratified
with 6 nodes. It have two inlets and two outlets and an auxiliary
electric heaters in order to have the desired hot water temperature.
– Type 56a which simulate the space heating. The building is modeled
by type 56 which can build structure including walls, windows,
roofs, floors and the corresponding thickness of each layer in the
building structure. The active layer inside the building is modeled
by type705d which is combined with type 56.
– Type 3d which simulate the flow circulation pumps. One pump is
considered to circulate flow between storage tank and collector, and
the other one between space heating (building) and storage tank.
– Type 109 which simulate the weather and meteorological data. The
Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data bank of TRNSYS allows the
reading of weather data of Borj Cedria, Tunis, Tunisia to determine
the ambient temperature, the wind velocity and the solar irradiation
intensity.
– Type 65 which simulate the plotter. The type display selected
system variables while the simulation is progressing. The selected
variables will be displayed in a separate plot window on the screen
as a readable output file in TXT extension
– Type 11 which simulate the mixing valve integrated into the SHS
loop.
In Table 1, we define the different characteristics of the house (or-
ientation, wall type…). The composition and the thermophysical
properties of each wall are presented in Table 2. The wall composition
is defined from the inside to the outside.
3. Mathematical description
– The solar thermal efficiency is calculated by using the following
semi-empirical model [22]
α 0, α1 and α2 are available for collectors rated by [23,24]
Wall type (m) Windows Type Windows area (m2)
Windows 1
door 2
F. Mehdaoui, et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203

Table 2
Wall structure parameters.
Nature Composition Thickness (m) Conductivity (kJ h−1 m−1 K−1) Density (kg m−3) Capacity (kJ kg−1 K−1)

Wall Brick 0.15 3.2 1800 1

Concrete 0.05 7.56 2400 0.8
gypson 0.05 0.75 1200 1

Flor Concrete 0.06 4.068 1400 1

Active layer 0.06 4.068 1400 1
Concrete isolant 0.05 0.144 40 0.8

Roof Concrete 0.24 7.56 2400 0.8

Qc T − Ta (T − Ta )2 (Located in the north of Tunisia).

η= = α 0 − α1 c − α2 c
I . Ac I I (1) The experimental prototype was mainly composed of the following
elements:
– The collector productivity is calculated by [25]
(i) A flat-plate solar collector, FPC, (1) with a total absorber surface of
useful energy Q
P= = c 2 m2, oriented N–S and tilted 45 °C towards the south.
area Ac (2)
(ii) A stainless steel hot water tank (2) with 200 L storage capacity
insulated with 5 cm thick of Armaflex. To cover the hot water
– Energy balance written about the ith tank segment is expressed [26] needs during cloudy dais and during the night two immersed
dTi electric heaters of 3.0 kW were placed inside the hot water tank.
Mi Cp
dt The electric heaters functions were controlled by a thermostat
. . placed inside the hot water storage tank.
= αi mCp (Th − Ti ) + βi mCp (TL − Ti ) + UAi (Tenv − Ti ) + γi (Ti − 1 − Ti )
h L (iii) A heated space with a total living area of 12 m2 was used for ex-
Cp + Qi (3) perimental tests. The heated space is provided by an active layer
integrated in the floor of the building (3). The floor (4) consisted of
– The rate of energy supplied for space heating is calculated as:[27] concrete slab traversed by a coils system. It was isolated from the
ground by a layer of 50 mm of polystyrene. The travelling of the
QL = ṁ CP . (Tf − Tr ). (4) hot water from the storage tank towards the radiant active layer is
assumed by an electric pump. The temperature set point inside the
– The solar fraction SF of the system, defined as the percentage of the tested building was 22 °C. Once there is enough sun the set point
heating requirement of a building that is provided by a solar heating temperature is raised to stock energy inside the building to delay
system, is equal to: [28] the auxiliary heating demand.
∫ Q Aux . dt
SF = 1 − A number of experiments were performed in our laboratory to
∫ QL. dt (5) monitor the thermal and energetic behavior of Solar Heating System,
SHS. These experiments were carried out for two days selected: (i) (07/
4. Experimental study 03/2013), characterized by a sky that was full of clouds and (ii) (07/
04/2013) characterized by clear skies. The test begun at 0:00 pm (local
In order to test the reliability of the TRNSYS simulation program, an solar time) when the data acquisition system was activated and ended
experimental device (Fig. 2) was installed in CRTEn, Borj Cedria, Tunis after 24 h. The results of these experiments have allowed us to evaluate

Fig. 2. Schematic description of the experimental prototype.

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F. Mehdaoui, et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203

the daily thermal performances of the SHS and to validate the proposed 5.2.1. Effect of collector area:
TRNYS simulation. In order to determine the optimal surface solar collector, four dif-
ferent collector areas (2, 4, 6 and 8 m) were studied. The initial value of
5. Results and discussions the ratio (tank volume/collector area) was maintained at 75 L/m2
which is the base value of the f-chart method [29]. The monthly SF
The thermal behavior of the optimized SHS was then characterized variations for each collector area are represented in Fig. 5. The TRNSYS
by experiments conducted in typical climatic conditions of 2013. The results showed that each surface is able to provide 100% of the heating
evaluation of the SHS thermal performances was also achieved by needs during the period between June and September. However during
considering the validation of the TRNSYS program simulation. Then the the cold months of, the SF increased with the increase of the solar
model was exploited to optimize the SHS size. The model was also used collector area. The first simulation conducted for a solar collector of
to evaluate the changed energy during the heating processes. The va- 2 m2 surface shows that the FS is between 8% and 100%. The second
lidation analysis was done in two approaches: simulation was performed for the collector surface respectively equal to
4 m2, 6 m2 and 8 m2. The results of the simulation showed that the FS
– Firstly, we compared the simulated and the measured energy sup- was respectively comprised between 21 and 100%, 33–100% and
plied from the SHS during the selected days a) (07/03/2013) and (b) 43–100%. Basing on cost bases and reliability considerations, it was
(07/04/2013). found that the optimal area is about 6 m2.
– Secondly we compared the estimation of the temperature changes
inside the room obtained by TRNSYS simulation program vs results
obtained by experiments accomplished with the same conditions 5.2.2. Mass flow rate effect on solar collectors performances
during the selected days (a) (07/03/2013) and (b) (07/04/2013) The second step of optimization was performed to determine the
adequate value of mass-flow relatively to the optimal collector area of
6 m2 evaluated previously. In Fig. 6 is represented the annual SF var-
5.1. Sensibility of TRNSYS simulation program iation according to the quotient (d1/Ac). The ratio varies from 5 to
50 kg/h−1 m−2. Fig. 6 shows that the SF increases rapidly when d1/Ac
A comparison between the energy supplied from the SHS respec- varies from 5 to 20 kg h−1 m−2. Indeed the solar fraction increased
tively given by the experimental test and TRNSYS simulation program from 74% to 78% when d1/1 Ac varies from 5 to 20 kg. h−1 m−2. Then
during the same selected days of 2013 (07/03/2013) and (07/04/ the SF begins to decrease slightly to reach the rate of 77.6% for a rate of
2013). We note that, for the overcast cloudy sky days (07/03/ 2013) d1/Ac equal to 50 kg h−1 m−2. Therefore, we can conclude that the
(Fig. 3a) and for a clear sky day (07/04/2013) (Fig. 3b), the model ratio of 20 kg h−1 m−2 corresponding to a mass flow value of
slightly underestimates the measured values with accuracy that ranges 120 kg h−1 can be considered as the optimal mass-flow rate in the
between 5% and 7% points. However, the profil of the experimental present study.
and the TRNSYS simulation of the energy supplied from the SHS system
vs local time represent a great similitude. The gap between the ex-
perimental and simulated results observed in Fig. 3 can be attributed to
experimental errors that have a function of unstable weather condi-
tions. Hence we conclude that the TRNSYS simulation program could
reproduce with an acceptable accuracy the real behavior of the SHS.
In Fig. 4 is represented the changes of temperature inside the tested
local test during the day (07/03/2013) (a), characterized by poor
sunlight and for the day (07.04.2013) (b), characterized by a perma-
nent sunshine. It is observed that the evolution of the indoor air tem-
perature passes through two major phases: The first phase is a transient
phase with a duration of 25-minute. It represents the response time
duration of the heating system coupled to the exchanger integrated in
the floor. Then a second phase appears, it is characterized by the sta-
bilization of the temperature inside the tested local, which is about
25 °C. We note that the TRNSYS model has an acceptable accuracy with
experimental tests. Indeed, the difference between the experimental
values and the TRNSYS values varies between 0 and 2.1 °C for a sunny
day and not between 0 and 2.7 °C for a sunny day. Moreover, the error
does not exceed 8% for two days. The gap between the experimental
and simulated results observed in Fig. 3 and in Fig. 4 can be attributed
to experimental errors that are a function of unstable weather condi-
tions. Hence, we concluded that the TRNSYS simulation program could
reproduce the actual behavior of the solar heating system with accep-
table accuracy.

5.2. Optimization of the SHS parameters

A comprehensive study has been conducted to study design para-

meters of the SHS (Collector area, water mass flow rate inside the solar
collector, storage tank capacity and mass flow rate inside the active
layer) and to determine their optimum values. The optimization was
achieved by considering the TRNSYS simulation. The simulations were
done based on monthly/annual solar fraction, SF, changes according to Fig. 3. Variation of simulated and measured energy supplied from the SHS
the functioning parameters. during (a) (07/03/2013) and (b) (07/04/2013).

5
F. Mehdaoui, et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203

Fig. 6. Annual SF changes versus the collector flow rate to area ratio (d1/Ac).

collector area of 6 m2 and the optimal value of collector mass flow rate,
the adequate value of 75 l m−2 corresponds to 450 L can be considered
as the optimal hot water storage tank capacity.

5.2.4. Effect of the mass-flow rate variation inside the active layer
The fourth step of optimization was performed to determine the
adequate value of mass-flow rate (d2) crossing the active layer in-
tegrated inside the floor. The simulation was achieved relatively to the
optimal collector area of 6 m2, the optimal collector mass-flow rate
120 kg h−1 and the optimal storage tank volume 450 L. In Fig. 8 was
represented the annual SF variation according to different mass-flow
rates. The TRNSYS results showed that when using 150, 200 and
250 kg h−1 of mass-flow, the SF ranged between 27–100%, 33–100%
and 39–100%, respectively. The results showed also that when using
300 kg h−1 and 350 kg h−1 of mass-flow, the SF profiles are almost
superposed. The optimal value of the hot water mass-flow rate inside
the active layer is about 300 kg h−1.
Fig. 4. Temperature inside the room during (a) (07/03/2013) and (b) (07/04/
2013). 5.3. The comparison of the long-term performances of SHSF and SHSW

Another set of simulation was done to select the best suited solar
system configuration according to the Tunisian weather and the
households. Hence a comparison of long-term performance of the two
configurations, with an integrated active layer in the floor (SHSF) and
with an integrated active layer in the wall (SHSW) was accomplished
basing on TRNSYS simulation (Fig. 9). In Table 3 is presented the
monthly and the annual insulation, the collected energy, auxiliary en-
ergy and the energy loaded for both configurations given by TRNSYS
simulation model during.

5.3.1. Energy load

In Fig. 10 is showed the amount of heat provided by two solar

Fig. 5. Monthly SF changes for different collector area.

5.2.3. Effect of the tank capacity

Another simulation was performed to determine the adequate value
of storage tank volume (V) relatively to the optimal collector area of
6 m2 and the optimal collector mass flow-rate 120 kg h−1. In Fig. 7 is
presented the variation of the annual SF according to the quotient (V/
Ac). Various ratios (V/Ac) were considered in the achieved simulation.
it was found that the annual SF increases rapidly from 72 to 78% when
the ration V/Ac increased from 20 to 75 l m2. Then SF decreased to
reach 77% for (V/Ac) ratio equal to 200 l m2. This decrease is due to the
increase of heat losses when the tank capacity increased. It was also
noted that when the (V/Ac) ratio is equal to 75 l m−2, the annual FS
Fig. 7. Annual SF changes vs the value of the hot water tank volume to collector
reaches a maximum value of about 78%. Given the optimal value of the
area ratio (V/Ac).

6
F. Mehdaoui, et al.
Fig. 8. Monthly SF changes for different mass-flow rate inside the active layer.
heating systems to heat the tested building. For both systems, it was
observed that the energy loaded was higher in the winter period.
During the month of January, the energy loaded, QL, from the SHSW
and the SHSF was about 570 MJ m−2 and 450 MJ m−2, respectively. It
was also seen (Table 3) that the total annual value of QL obtained from
the SHSF and the SHSW and simulated by TRNSYS program was equal
to 4280.16 MJ m−2 and 4832.7 MJ m−2, respectively. The average
monthly energy load for SHSF presents 88% of the monthly average
amount of the energy loaded from SHSW.
5.3.2. Auxiliary energy
In Fig. 11 is represented the simulation of the monthly auxiliary
energy (QAux), added by the two heating systems during the periods of
low insolation where the amount of solar energy is insufficient to heat
the tested building. A comparison between the two systems shows that
the (SHSW) uses more auxiliary energy throughout the year. It was
found that the maximum amount of auxiliary energy was reached
during the month of January, about 302.22 MJ m−2 for the SHSF and
420.83 MJ m−2 for the SHSW. Table 3 shows also that the total aux-
iliary energy (QAux) used by the SHSF represented 67% of the auxiliary
energy used by the SHSW and the SHSW offers an economic of 33% of
the auxiliary power. For both systems, it is seen that the amount of
energy required for the auxiliary heating decreases with increase of the
solar fraction. When QAuxis zero, the FS is 100%. Table 4 shows that the
annual SF of SHSF and SHSW are 78% and 73% respectively. Thus the
use of a solar floor emission system (SHSF) has a greater potential
compared to the system of emission by the wall (SHSW). So, for the rest
of the simulation, we will consider the arrangement with emission by
(a)
(1) Solar collector
(2) Storage tank
(3) Heated room
Fig. 9. Schematic description of the SHSF (a) and SHSW (b).
7
Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203
solar floor (SHSF)
5.4. Building temperature and relative humidity evolution
Another series of simulations have been performed to study the
effect of the use of the SHSF on the thermal behavior of the heated
building. In the Fig. 12 is represented the air temperature changes in-
side the heated building with and without the SHSF. We notice that in
the absence of SHSF, the monthly average internal temperature during
the heating period (from December to Mars) ranged between 15 and
20 °C. When the SHSF was activated the temperature remains constant
about 25 °C during the same period of the year. We observe that the
SHSF offer a gain between 5 and 10 °C compared to the air temperature
inside the room without using the heating system and a gain between
10 and 14 °C compared to the ambient temperature. On the other hand,
during the period from April to November, the temperature profiles of
heated and unheated building were superimposed confirming that the
operation of this system is limited to the coldest months of the year.
Fig. 12 represents also the monthly change of the relative humidity
with and without SHSF. It was seen that, when we operate the SHSF,
the relative humidity inside the heated room ranges between 35 and
38% during cold months. The comparison between these results and
those given by literature [30,31,21] shows that the proposed system
presents multiple advantages. Shiftily in the reducing of the excessive
humidity inside Tunisian households. In fact, the solar heating system
reduces the relative humidity inside the building of about 35%.
6. Conclusion
The solar heating of buildings is often an effective way in the
mastery and energy economics. This work is devoted to the evaluation
of the long-term thermal and energy performances of a Solar Heating
System, SHS, used for buildings air-heating during cold months. This
system mainly consists of a flat-plate solar collector, a storage tank and
a single house. In order to optimize the SHS sizing design, a TRNSYS
simulation program was proposed and validated by an experimental
tests achieved in CRTEn, Borj-Cedria,Tunis. The results showed that,
the experimental and the TRNSYS simulation of the energy supplied
from the Solar heating system and the instantaneous evolution of the
internal temperature represent a great similitude. Therefore we con-
clude that TRNSYS simulation program could reproduce with an ac-
ceptable accuracy the real behavior of the SHS. The optimization of all
design parameters showed that to achieve a maximum performances
from the system, it was essential to use a solar collector with an area
equal to 6 m2, a hot water storage tank with a capacity equal to 450 l, a
(b)
(4) Active layer
(5) Pump
(6) Solenoid valve
F. Mehdaoui, et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 165 (2020) 114203

Table 3
The different energy flows of the SHSF and the SHSW.
Month I (MJ m−2 QC (MJ m−2) QAux (MJ m−2) QL (MJ m−2)

SHSF SHSW SHSF SHSW SHSF SHSW

January 280,16 182,00 180,92 302,22 420,83 452,33 568,13

February 320,93 177,37 177,06 226,06 321,80 374,06 470,10
March 502,48 261,65 263,73 119,26 193,57 355,04 431,70
April 589,54 265,98 270,27 45,00 71,68 288,67 320,41
Mai 748,63 328,26 334,37 6,30 9,00 314,94 325,14
Juin 810,20 344,33 351,20 0,00 0,00 325,54 334,30
July 848,59 389,43 397,39 0,00 0,00 365,89 375,94
August 747,81 400,69 408,36 0,00 0,00 378,68 388,04
September 594,52 392,84 400,01 0,00 0,00 374,36 383,24
October 459,10 350,31 354,48 0,90 2,70 327,54 334,25
November 322,03 255,85 256,16 73,40 140,84 302,73 370,26
December 269,38 203,48 202,54 246,33 358,19 420,39 531,26
Total 6493,36 3552,17 3596,48 1019,47 1518,60 4280,16 4832,77
Average 541,11 296,01 299,71 84,96 126,55 356,68 402,73

Table 4
Solar fraction of the SHSF and SHSW.
Month I (MJ m−2) FS (%)

SHSF SHSW

January 280,16 0,33 0,26

February 320,93 0,40 0,32
March 502,48 0,66 0,55
April 589,54 0,84 0,78
Mai 748,63 0,98 0,97
Juin 810,20 1,00 1,00
July 848,59 1,00 1,00
August 747,81 1,00 1,00
September 594,52 1,00 1,00
Fig. 10. Monthly heat quantity provided by the two heating systems. October 459,10 1,00 0,99
November 322,03 0,76 0,62
December 269,38 0,41 0,33
Total 6493,36 – –
Average 541,11 0.78 0.73

Fig. 11. Monthly auxiliary energy added by the two heating systems.

collector mass flow rate and floor mass flow rate equal to
120 kg h−1and 300 kg h−1respectively. A comparison of the long-term
performance of the solar heating system with an integrated active layer
in the floor (SHSF) and a heating system with an integrated active layer
in the wall (SHSW) was also given. It was found that the use of the floor
as a heat source presented a great potential with a solar fraction of
about 78%. It was also seen that the use of the solar heating system
offers a gain between 5 and 10 °C compared to the air temperature
inside the unheated building. It reduces the relative humidity inside the
room to achieve about 35%, considered as the comfort humidity inside
a typical Tunisian house.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Laboratoire des Procédés
Thermiques (LPT) and the Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de
Fig. 12. Changes in air temperature inside the simulated room with and
without SHSF.
l’Energie (CRTEn), Tunis, Tunisia for financially supporting the project
and for supplying useful data.
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