Abstract:
The energy consumption of the building sector in Algeria accounts for most of the energy
produced in the country. An action to reduce the impact of this sector on the economy and the
environment must be undertaken. The use of solar energy is a serious candidate for an effective
and sustainable solution.
The objective of our work is to carry out a study on the use of solar energy in buildings. The
study of different active and passive solar systems and processes that can be integrated has
demonstrated the possibility of a large number of solutions.
A solar house of the solar village built in Boussaâda is chosen to conduct calculations in three
different climates of Algeria. The simulation results of the passive systems show that if the use
of passive devices such as solar walls and glazed surfaces can achieve significant energy savings
(although considered insufficient), improving the thermal performance of the structure and
glazed surfaces according to the passivhauss standard could lead to a greater decrease in heating
and cooling needs. A house with low energy consumption is obtained for the cities of Algiers
and Constantine.
The performance of active systems is also studied. A comparison between different solar
collectors to meet domestic hot water needs shows that CPC collectors are the most efficient.
Nevertheless, if the electrical production of the hybrid PV/T water collectors is taken into
consideration, they present a suitable and elegant solution for a possible integration. These
collectors can be chosen to ensure the operation of the absorption and adsorption refrigeration
systems and to cover all the energy needs of the solar house. The results obtained further show
that the adsorption systems are more efficient than the absorption systems for low power
applications. Furthermore the coupling of PV / T collectors with a solar still led to a consequent
increase in the production of distilled water.
