Experiences on solar heating and cooling in China

Solar energy is receiving much more attentions in building energy systems in recent years. Solar thermal utilization should be based on the integration of solar collectors into buildings. The facades of buildings can be important solar collectors, and therefore become multifunctional. In addition, solar collectors can be used to enhance the appearance of the facade when considering aesthetic compatibility. Currently, the feasible approach for integration of solar collectors into buildings is to install collectors on the south tilted roofs, south walls, balconies or awnings. Experiences on solar thermal utilization were mainly introduced in this paper, which included solar hot water systems with different design methods in residential buildings and solar-powered integrated energy systems in public buildings. Then the suggestions were given. In the cities of China, an ideal opportunity to carry out solar renovation with roof-integrated collectors is in combination with the rebuilding of apartment roofs from flat to be inclined. With regard to multi-storied residential buildings, central hot water supply system and central-individual hot water supply system are more appropriate in view of aesthetic compatibility of solar collectors with building roof and convenience of management. As for public buildings, it is highly recommended to design solar-powered integrated energy systems for the purpose of high solar fraction. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.