Passive solar gains to buildings in North European Climates can be significant and an investigation is made into the effect of orientation upon solar gains based upon known weather data. The conservatory is a particularly useful collector because of its inclusion to existing houses and its desirability to the householder for reasons other than solar collection. A conservatory was adapted and monitored. A computer model was written. The behaviour of the conservatory was examined for various criteria. The possibility of inclusion of a conservatory into houses in the existing housing stock was examined. The effect of occupancy on heating demand and solar delivery was reviewed and the likely overall energy saving was examined. A new house system was developed including the use of a first floor concrete slab and a gas warm air heating unit. A concrete floor slab was cast to examine its storage potential. A preliminary design for the heating system of the new houses was undertaken.

Alinhado à constante busca por melhor desempenho ambiental por parte da indústria com a aplicação dos conceitos de eficiência energética, proporcionando maior competitividade devido à otimização de recursos, o objetivo deste trabalho consiste em avaliar os possíveis impactos ambientais positivos, somados aos ganhos econômicos produzidos pela redução de despesas com energia, por meio da aplicação do aquecimento solar de água como alternativa para a redução do consumo de gás natural em uma planta industrial do setor químico, onde as operações de transformação de matérias primas em produtos aptos para o posterior acondicionamento em frascos são realizadas em reatores químicos, tendo essa transformação grande dependência do controle da variável temperatura. Assim sendo, a proposta do presente trabalho consiste basicamente em pré-aquecer a água de reposição do sistema responsável por manter os diversos reatores de fabricação de uma unidade industrial de produtos de higiene pessoal sob temperatura controlada, interferindo positivamente na matriz energética empregada por essa indústria. Utilizando-se no desenvolvimento deste trabalho modelos termoeconômicos e protocolos para quantificação de gases de efeito estufa reconhecidos pelo IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change), demonstra-se a evolução de desempenho ambiental obtida pela aplicação do pré-aquecimento da água, possibilitando a redução do consumo de combustíveis fósseis, nesse caso o gás natural, em cerca de 60.000 m3/ano e, conseqüentemente, reduzindo a emissão atmosférica de um dos gases responsáveis pela intensificação do efeito estufa, o dióxido de carbono, em cerca de 150 tCO2e/ano, representando ainda uma redução anual no consumo de energia de aproximadamente 700.000 kWh. Além da evolução no desempenho ambiental do sistema de geração de calor, estima-se que o investimento seja recuperado entre três e cinco anos. / In line with the constant search for better environmental performance on the part of industries with the application of energetic efficiency concept, affording greater competition due to the resource optimization, this work has as its aim to evaluate the possible environmental impacts, adding the economic gains produced by the expense reduction with energy by the application of solar water heating as an alternative for the reduction of natural gas consumption in a chemical industrial plant, where the operations to transform raw materials into suitable products for filling and packing assembly line are carried out in chemical reactors, having this mentioned transformation a great dependency on the temperature control. Hence, the basic proposal of this work is pre-heating the make-up water from the installation responsible for keeping under controlled temperature the several mixing reactors of an industrial plant for personal hygiene products, thus positively interfering in the energetic source used by such industry. Applying thermoeconomic models and protocols for quantifications of greenhouse effect gases recognized by IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) on the development of this work, the environmental performance evolution is demonstrated by the advantage of water preheating application, which makes it possible the reduction of fossil fuels consumption, represented by natural gas in this case, at about 60,000 cubic meters per year, thus reducing the atmospheric emission of one of the most gases which are responsible for the greenhouse effect intensification, the carbon dioxide, at about 150 tCO2e per year, additionally representing an annual energy reduction of approximately 700,000 kWh. In addition to the environmental performance evolution on the heating generation system, its estimated that the investment might be recovered within a three and five year period.

The Master’s thesis deals with the processing of solar thermal systems for heating hot water, outdoor swimming pool and heating selected house. Introduces us how we can use the sun for the production of thermal energy through solar collectors. Furthermore, the basic components of the solar system and the types of collectors used. After this summary on the present state be the calculation of the system and fixing the price of the investment. The economic part of the evaluate if this system to invest, eventually appoint a return on investment.