A techno-economical study of a solar-assisted under-floor air distribution system for buildings in the tropics

Malaysia solar irradiation's climates located at 3 degrees 08'N 101 degrees 42'E have been studied as a representative of tropical climates in the present work. The feasibility of a solar-assisted under-floor air distribution system was studied comprehensively in Malaysian weather. Based on the study of cost and payback period calculation of the solar photovoltaic under-floor air distribution system, the payback periods for 1 kW and 5 kW solar photovoltaic under-floor air distribution systems are 10.6 years and 8.3 years, respectively. The return on investments in 21 years for 1 kW and 5 kW is 3.13% and 4.3% respectively for the solar photovoltaic systems. The investment of the solar photovoltaic system on the under-floor air distribution system is reasonable from the economic aspect as the annual return on investment for the 1 kW of solar PV system is 3.13%, while the 5 kW of solar PV system is 4.30%. However, the 5 kW solar photovoltaic system needs a space of about 49 m(2) for solar panels, and it can only supply for one AHU as revealed in the present study. Thus, the finding suggests that space is a major concern when it comes to the application on high rise office buildings where space is limited.