A numerical study of heating and cooling by a Trombe wall in Tunisia

A large amount of energy is used in buildings for heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. Among these applications, the energy consumption for heating and cooling accounts the largest proportion. So, the exploitation of renewable energy sources such as solar energy is the ideal solution for reducing energy costs. In this context, the architecture must be taken into consideration for the use of passive solar energy and to reduce energy losses. The Trombe wall is a passive solar system which is based on natural convection and energy storage. A numerical study of the possibility of heating and cooling in Tunisia with a Trombe wall has been undertaken in this work. This study focused on the temperature variation by natural convection and conduction. The energy study was applied to the wall of an office existing in the laboratory of Energy and Thermal Process of Borj Cedria. Numerical simulation of air flow in the Trombe wall was performed in two and three dimensions using "FLUENT" software and the results for both cases were almost confused. Calculations showed that the Trombe wall is more effective for heating in Tunis than cooling and the numerical values are in agreement with experimental data.