The Study of Thermostat Impact on Energy Consumption in a Residential Building by Using TRNSYS

The present study investigates the effects of thermostat strategy on cooling energy consumption in residential buildings. To evaluate the energy consumption two scenarios including: a residential zone with and without employing the thermostat are assumed. The TRNSYS software provides an efficient numerical tool to model the cooling system. Furthermore, since the solar cooling systems for space cooling are experiencing a growing trend and interest, a hot water fired absorption chiller coupled with evacuated tube collector are considered as the cooling system. The results reveal that the cooling systems are significant energy-consuming components in hot climate zone. Accordingly, cooling energy in a hot climate have the potential for significant saving. It is illustrated that the thermostat strategy has an obvious impact on such energy saving. In the current study, employing the thermostat in 90m2 residential building results in saving energy up to 36%.

Keywords:

Thermostat strategy , Energy consumption , Solar assisted cooling system , Hot Water-Fired Absorption chiller