Effect of glazing type on the performance of a Trombe wall in Tunisia

In order to take advantage of the local climate, many passive solar design techniques were applied to reduce buildings energy demands. In term of reducing heating demands, the Trombe wall system appears as one of these effective passive techniques providing that it was properly conceived. In this study a numerical model of a Trombe wall system was developed using FLUENT software and validated by experimental results of a prototype room located at the Laboratory of Thermal Processes of the Research and Technology Center of Energy (CRTEn) of Borj Cedria. This study focused on the effect of the glazing type, where the single and the double glazing with low emissivity were numerically investigated to predict the thermal performance of the Trombe wall. The thermal and dynamic fields were studied in the air gap and the room, and the temperature and the velocity distributions in the building were examined. The results showed that the more efficient windows are the single glazed one allowing a good transmission of energy and improving the comfort level inside the building. The heat transfer by convection and conduction is higher for the single glazing, and the numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data.