Solenergi En del i ett långsiktigt, hållbart byggande
The sun is essential to life on earth and no matter where you are, there is a constant need ofenergy. Nearly 800 000 years ago man learned for the first time to use fire in a controlled way.Since then, fire has given us the opportunity to inhabit places despite a cold climate. In Swedenthe resident sector accounts for a major part of the total consumption of energy. In a time whenenvironmental issues and greenhouse effects are increasing, we also see a future of rising energyprices. With this perspective, we have in this bachelor thesis in the Building Environment at theRoyal Institute of Technology, KTH, in Stockholm decided to focus on the renewable energysource, solar energy.The energy from solar radiation is a free resource and does not have any negative effects uponthe environment. Some of the work involves the design of a house where we have chosen to givethe architecture a central part. House´s open floor plan with large window parties haveinfluenced the design and some of the work aims to study to what extent the house energy needcan be completed with the help of solar cells and solar energy.Solar collector makes use of solar radiation and serves to heat water for further heating of thehouse. The solar panels have a very poor energy efficiency during the winter months, whichnecessitates an additional energy source. A pellet boiler is a great addition to collectors because itprovides a high efficiency at sustained combustion, which is the case during the winter months.In a theoretical comparison over a 25 yr. period, solar collectors together with a pellet boiler havebeen compared to district heating and geothermal heating. This comparison concluded thatdistrict heating is the most economically viable option for the heating of the projected building.Despite a higher cost for the combination of solar collectors and pellet boiler, this system hasbeen chosen as primary heating system because of the negligible impact on the environment.Since the design of the house isn?t optimal for installation of solar collectors, they have beenplaced in vicinity of the house.