LAUSR

Abstract In an attempt to prolong the performance of the conventional Solar Chimney (SC) and enhance its efficiency, this contribution presents a kind of novel compound SC with the Photovoltaic (PV) module and Phase Change Material (PCM) called the SC-PV-PCM system. Using PCM not only improves the PV module performance but also extends the productive period of the SC. A three-dimensional quasi-steady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the proposed system is developed. The developed model is used to investigate the effect of using PCMs with different melting points on the performance of the proposed system. It is demonstrated that the RT-50 provides superior performance among the studied PCMs. Then the performance of the SC-PV-PCM system for natural ventilation and power generation of a sample residential and an office building located in Shanghai, China is compared with that of a typical SC, a stand-alone PV module, a combined SC with PV module (SC-PV) system, and a combined SC with PCM (SC-PCM) system. According to the obtained results, the SC-PV-PCM system outperforms the other systems in terms of power generation. It is demonstrated that the SC-PV-PCM system is the best option for residential buildings, and the SC-PV system is the best possible choice for office buildings in a subtropical climate.