The trends and ideas resulting from the series of workshops were analysed and combined into twelve sketches of the solar thermal collector of the future. The purpose of these sketches was to visualise the outcomes from the workshop, and to get an impression of the consequences and feasibility of the realisation of these trends. In a multi-criteria analysis, the sketches were analysed and ranked. The highest-scoring two sketches were then worked out into two primary concepts, one for the longer term, aimed at 2030, and one for the shorter term, aimed at 2015.

Two concepts

The first concept, aimed at 2015, is based on a passive house, which roof is covered with a roof — integrated side-by-side solar system with both PV panels and vacuum tube collectors. The heat generated in the collectors is stored in a thermochemical seasonal heat storage. The energy flows, both heat and power, are regulated by an intelligent energy management system. This system is able to fully provide the domestic energy use (assumed to be 6.5 GJ for space heating, 12 GJ for DHW, and 3,500 kWh for electricity), covering the energy demand of both the user and the building itself.

The second concept, aimed at 2030, is based on durable, modular construction elements, in which energy production, energy storage, building insulation, and an indoor climate system can all be integrated. By choosing the appropriate construction elements, the building can be completely tweaked to the user’s particular demands. Although the energy production of this concept is of course very dependent on the chosen configuration, many energy-producing configurations are possible, in which the total energy production exceeds the total domestic energy use.

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The WAELS project is a cooperation between ECN, TNO, and the Eindhoven University of Technology, and partly funded by SenterNovem, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. The work described in this abstract was partly carried out by an Industrial Design student of the University of Twente.

Reference

Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 48 (1) (2005) 53-66.