Solar greenhouse and natural ventilation

The paper presents a study on thermal behavior of a solar greenhouse against one apartment of a residential sustainable building in a temperate climate. Particular attention was given to the analysis of the contribution of solar radiation in winter heating in relation to natural ventilation. This study makes use of a transient energy simulation system named ESP-r (Environmentals System Performance - research). The results so far have revealed that the preferred orientation of the greenhouse to maximize the solar collection in January and February (South) can cause overheating in March, as the temperature inside the room exceeds 25°C (limit of the zone comfort) for 5% of the hours, and in April when the discomfort is for 60% of the time. The final step of the study shows that natural ventilation contributes to reducing the above mentioned percentage and identify a design methodology that integrates low-energy concepts in the design process.