Development and tests of the novel configuration of the solar chimney with sensible heat storage

• Sensible heat storage can be successfully used to accumulate heat in the solar chimney. • Heat accumulated in ceramic modules during the day can be used to preheat air after sunset. • Increase in air temperature results from e.g. wall surface, airflow level, and direction. • The power transferred from the solar chimney to the air varied from 360.2 W/m 2 to 672.4 W/m 2. • Solar chimney is more sensitive to air temperature variations at high radiation intensities. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems account for a significant part of the energy usage in buildings and are primarily responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs. These can be lowered by the adoption of solar energy. This paper presents the developing and testing of a novel solar chimney with sensible heat storage. The thermal performance and potential contribution of the developed thermal chimney to decreasing residential buildings energy consumption in Polish climate conditions is investigated. The developed solar air chimney is composed of a novel accumulation material that allows for sensible heat storage. Solar radiation can heat the accumulation layer during the day and the stored energy can be used to preheat the ventilation air. The prototype of the solar chimney was tested in laboratory conditions using a dedicated experimental rig. Furthermore, numerical calculations were performed using TRNSYS software, where a validated dynamic numerical model was developed to simulate the performance of the device. The results show that airflow direction, volume, and the number of heated walls significantly impact the power transferred from the solar chimney walls to the air. The maximum power transferred from the solar chimney walls to the air per unit of surface varied from 360.2 W/m 2 (when all walls were heated) to 672.4 W/m 2 (when only one wall was heated). The validated model underestimates the outlet air temperature of the solar chimney by a maximum of 0.39 °C on average basis and shows that the increase of air temperature between −10 and 20 °C at 1000 W/m 2 determines a decrease of 12.5 % of the thermal output. The obtained results allow one to highlight that the proposed solution can be considered as a replacement for typical brick chimneys located on roofs or as a thermal storage wall.