Balancing of Solar Heating Options

Summary

In the field of energy conservation many options are presently competing. This study aims at providing more rational criteria for selection between these options. The options considered are; insulation of the walls, regeneration of the heat in the waste air, double glazing, attached sunspace at the south facade, solar water heating, solar space heating, night shutters and increasing the internal mass. For each option the investments are defined and subsequently each option is internally optimized, as far as applicable, and a comprehensive computer program is used which enables selecting the optimal combination of the options. Such is considered to be the combination leading to the minimum auxiliary energy need for a given investment. The decission regarding the latter is left to the user, but some aids to this end are provided. For the Dutch conditions the sequence of preference appears to be: wall insulation, heat regeneration, double glazing, solar water heating and an attached sunspace. At the costs considered the other options do not enter into the optimum combination for an investment of up to f 10,000.-.