Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

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Energy and Buildings

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Thermo-uid dynamic modeling and simulation of a bioclimatic solar

greenhouse with self-cleaning and photovoltaic glasses
Paolo Sdringola , Stefania Proietti, Umberto Desideri, Giulia Giombini
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 67 06125, Perugia, Italy

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 26 September 2012
Received in revised form 8 April 2013
Accepted 4 August 2013
Keywords:
Bioclimatic greenhouses
Nano-materials
Organic photovoltaic thin-lm
CFD-FEM 3D modeling and simulation

a b s t r a c t
This paper describes the multifunctional complex Solaria: a development project of an unused industrial area, located in a urban district in the immediate outskirts of Perugia (Italy), conceived and designed
according to principles of sustainable buildings. Energy efciency solutions and innovative experimental
components are synergically integrated in a single project, enabling to reach important results, as demonstrated by the assessment of environmental achievements and the calculation of avoided CO2 emissions.
Since a quantitative evaluation of the energy savings, that can be achieved with the use of bioclimatic
greenhouses, is very complex, due to the large number of parameters,which are necessary to describe
their operation, the research work focused on the thermo-uid dynamic modeling of these systems, with
the use of a specic CFD-FEM software, COMSOL MultiphysicsTM .
In particular a model was created, initially conceived in 2D and currently developed in 3D, which
reproduces the thermo-uid dynamic behavior of an experimental greenhouse in the Solaria complex.
The possibility of changing parameters characterizing materials and climatic conditions allowed to appreciate the inuence on energy performance of special reinforced thermal insulation, solar control glasses
and external sliding sunshades. A further added value is the possibility to simulate an organic thin-lm
photovoltaic device of nanometric thickness.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Both at legislation and research levels, attention is focused on
the adoption of systems that aim at energy saving and using renewable energies in buildings. Building construction involves several
environmental issues: the exploitation of non renewable resources,
land use, energy consumption in all phases of the life cycle of building, including demolition and waste disposal; but it is one of the
areas with the biggest potential of intervention. The energy demand
in terms of net end-uses in Italy is steadily divided into three equal
parts (approximately 30% each) among the industrial, transport
and civil sectors; the rest is consumed in agriculture, shing, nonenergy use, or it is stored. The civil sector share is divided between
tertiary (commercial and ofce buildings) 40% and residential
users the remaining 60% where the distribution of typology
of uses is in line with the EU statistics. The largest demand is for
heating (68%) [1].
The subject of this paper is part of a larger project, aimed at
achieving an integrated approach to solve the problems related to

Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 075 5853930; fax: +39 075 5853736.
E-mail addresses: psdringola@mach.ing.unipg.it (P. Sdringola), stefania@unipg.it
(S. Proietti), umberto.desideri@unipg.it (U. Desideri), giuliagiombini@gmail.com
(G. Giombini).
0378-7788/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.08.011

ensure a comfortable and healthy living, the sustainability of buildings and building process, the reduction of energy consumption and
the increase of renewable energy utilization [2,3]. In order to build
a sustainable building, an integrated planning is needed, providing
a multiscale and integral view of the building-technical plants
system [46]. A specic energy efciency coordination should
be carried out to address project choices toward an integration
between environmental, social and economic aspects involved in
the decision-making process. This includes the following steps: a
base energy project assessment; a preliminary evaluation about
energy classication and environmental sustainability; the selection of certication protocols; a preliminary project on energy
and environmental sustainability issues; the check about the compliance with regulatory framework (heating, cooling, acoustic
requirements); possible changes of envelope and plant features,
aimed at improving energy saving; denitive and executive planning, including optimization of renewable energy systems, active
and passive solutions for environmental sustainability; project
realization; energy and environmental sustainability certications,
in agreement with selected protocols; management choices aimed
at optimizing energy consumption (e.g. participation of an Energy
Service Company ESCo).
The research work described below concerns the optimization
phase, focusing on the bioclimatic greenhouses designed in a multifunctional complex in Italy. This kind of passive solar systems

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Nomenclature
CFD
ENEA
FEM
ITO
Low-E
OPV
P3HT
PCBM
PEDOT
PSS
PV
SUT
A
cp
cp,s
ds
F
Famb
Fz
FLDm
g
G
Gm
Gr
h
I

J
k
ks
We /Whe
Wp
L
m
n
Nu
p
Pr
q
q
q0
qr
qs
Q
Q0

t
T
Tamb
Te
Ti
Tinf

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Italian National Agency for new technologies,
energy and sustainable economic development
nite element method
indium tin oxide
low emissivity
organic photovoltaic
poly (3-hexylthiophene)
[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester
poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)
poly(styrenesulfonate)
photovoltaic
services to territorial and urban level
surface of the window between inner space and
greenhouse [m2 ]
specic heat capacity at constant pressure [J/(kg K)]
specic heat capacity at constant pressure of highly
conductive layer [J/(kg K)]
thickness of highly conductive layer [m]
volume forces [N/m3 ]
ambient view factor []
volume forces in the z direction [N/m3 ]
mean daylight factor [%]
solar factor []
incoming radiative heat ux, or irradiation [W/m2 ]
mutual irradiation, coming from other boundaries
in the model [W/m2 ]
Grashof number []
convective heat transfer coefcient [W/(m2 K)]
solar radiation on vertical window between inner
space and greenhouse, depending on exposure and
overhangs/obstructions [W/m2 ]
radiosity [W/m2 ]
thermal conductivity [W/(mK)]
thermal conductivity of highly conductive layer
[W/(mK)]
electrical power/energy
peak power
length of linear thermal bridge [m]
ratio of glass surface in reference to total one, for the
window between inner space and greenhouse []
normal vector of the boundary, pointed out from the
domain
Nusselt number []
pressure [Pa]
Prandtl number []
total heat ux vector [W/m2 ]
net inward radiative heat ux [W/m2 ]
inward heat ux from external sources [W/m2 ]
net inux from radiation [W/m2 ]
heat ux transferred from other parts of the boundary through a thin, highly conductive shell [W/m2 ]
heat sources [W/m3 ]
heat ux across the window between inner space
and greenhouse, in the absence of the greenhouse
[W/m2 ]
time [s]
temperature [K]
temperature in the directions included in Famb [K]
outside temperature [K]
temperature of inner heated space (apartment) [K]
average reference temperature [K]

u
u
U
Ulim

velocity eld (u, v, w) [m/s]

velocity in the x direction [m/s]
thermal transmittance [W/(m2 K)]
limit value of thermal transmittance, in accordance
with normative in force (Italian Legislative Decree
No. 311/06) [W/(m2 K)]
Uw
thermal transmittance of glass [W/(m2 K)]
v
velocity in the y direction [m/s]
w
velocity in the z direction [m/s]
grav
acceleration of gravity, equal to 9.80665 m/s2
p init
air pressure, at the initial instant t0 [Pa]
q0 nestra solar radiation on the North-East oriented window, which divides the sunspace from the nearby
balcony of the same apartment [W/m2 ]
q0 frontale solar radiation on the South-East oriented window, facing the main street [W/m2 ]
q0 muro solar radiation on the South-West oriented wall,
which divides the sunspace from the nearby balcony
of the next apartment [W/m2 ]
t init
temperature, at the initial instant t0 [K]
t init aria temperature inside the greenhouse, at the initial
instant t0 [K]
temperature ext external temperature [K]
temperature int temperature inside the apartment adjacent
to the sunspace [K]
rho aria air density [kg/m3 ]
rho init air density at initial conditions (t init aria, p init)
[kg/m3 ]

coefcient of volumetric thermal expansion [K1 ]


ratio of specic heats []
surface emissivity []


dynamic viscosity [Pa*s]
density [kg/m3 ]

s
density of highly conductive layer [kg/m3 ]
StefanBoltzman
constant,
equal
to

5.67*108 W/(m2 K4 )
linear transmittance of thermal bridge along the
window separating the inner space from the greenhouse [W/(mK)]

are characterized by several parameters necessary to describe the

physical processes; thus they were investigated by using a thermouid dynamic model built in a CFD-FEM software tool, and coupling
two different application modes: the integration of the incompressible NavierStokes equations; the solution of the general heat
transfer equations.
2. Multifunctional complex Solaria
The building complex Solaria, under construction in Ponte
San Giovanni, Perugia (Italy), conceived and designed in agreement
with the above mentioned criteria, is a development project on an
unused industrial area (Fig. 1). The general town-planning scheme
of the city of Perugia promotes interventions of urban transformation and conversion from industrial to service/residential areas
with integrated functions. The functional mix assigned to the plan
zone (which almost 20,000 m2 wide) is composed by the following three uses: 65% of the covered surface dedicated to residences
(115 units); 30% to directional and commercial spaces (16 units); 5%
to services for the territory and the city (13 units). Through energy
efciency coordination an accurate study was carried out, in order
to address project choices toward a successful integration between
characteristics of the site and multiple uses of space to build, and

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185

Fig. 1. Aerial rendering of Solaria project in the intervention area.

Fig. 2. State of Solaria project (Block G), 15th September 2012.

toward the optimization of energy consumptions and mitigation of

the environmental impact [79]. The project includes, for instance,
(1) a centralized system for the separate accounting of consumption
equipped with a 400 kWe high-efciency tri-generation plant and a
distribution network for district heating/cooling; (2) a 20 kWp photovoltaic generation system and solar thermal panels for domestic
hot water (DHW) production, able to supply over 50% of the hot
water demand; (3) recovery and reuse of rainwater (consumption
per capita of drinking water is then reduced of approximately 50%);
(4) passive solar systems (solar greenhouses and thermal buffer
zones) and radiation control devices (sliding brise-soleils); (5) use
of local materials and components, compatible with well-being and
healthy living; (6) high insulation of the building envelope. The
orientation of buildings, size and shapes of windows guarantee
optimal conditions of natural lighting, with a mean daylight factor (FLDm ) equal to 3.5%, and so greater than the minimum value of
2% imposed by Italian regulations. Moreover the acoustic design of
the building envelope, heating, technical and special systems were
carried out with an integrated approach to achieve the thermalacoustic performance required by the legislation, and wherever
possible, with improved results.
The above-described interventions, integrated synergically
within a single project, helped to achieve signicant certiable
results. The complex was subjected to: a double assessment of
energy class (2008), comparing the methodology used by the Municipality of Perugia with its own building code and the BESTClass
procedure (promoted by the Italian association SACERT System
for accreditation of building certication organizations). Both
methodologies attest that the facilities belong to class A of energy
efciency. A second assessment of energy-environmental performance by means of sustainability evaluation protocols, introduced
in the Perugia building code (2007), reached a nal score of 2.9/5
compared to a reference value of a standard project (equal to 0).
This allowed to certify the class A of environmental sustainability. In
terms of score, the assessment was particularly rewarding in macro
areas, concerning sustainability of site, consumption of resources
(energy, water, soil, materials), quality of inner space, environmental load, quality of services and management during the entire life
cycle [10,11].
The integration of some technological innovation concepts has
been considered. Besides, ensuring the desired specications, they
should be economically compatible with requirements of the manufacturer; so they could potentially have a strategic dissemination
in construction industry. In particular: (1) the green areas of
the complex will be equipped with photovoltaic high-tech lamps
(Stapelia , made and patented by ENEA Italian National Agency

for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development); (2) use of reinforced thermal insulation and solar control
glasses in passive solar systems, different on the Northern and
Southern facades; (3) application of photo-catalytic products (plaster) to the vertical facades of the facilities, that enable to obtain
some additional benets, including self-cleaning, passive clean-up
and self-disinfection of bacterial contaminants; (4) testing of an
organic thin-lm photovoltaic device (see Section 4.2) attached to
the glasses of a specic bioclimatic greenhouse [12].
The process for stepping up to a higher energy efciency class
was analyzed under environmental and economic proles, in terms
of avoided emissions (460 tCO2 /year) and higher costs compared
to a standard design [13]. The Solaria complex is currently under
construction (Fig. 2). The Block G, whose construction started in
February 2010, is expected to be ready before September 2013,
while the completion of the entire complex is planned in 2015. The
adoption of the energy efcient solutions, specically designed for
Solaria, makes the complex an advanced but also repeatable model
of integrated planning, as well as a practical application of the European Directives on energy performance of buildings (2002/91/EC)
and on energy end-use efciency and energy services (2006/32/EC).
3. Bioclimatic solar greenhouses
Bioclimatic greenhouses belong to the category of the passive
technologies for the control of the thermal and hygrometric conditions inside a building. They are characterized by a direct and/or
indirect gain, aimed at improving comfort and reducing energy consumption. Bioclimatic greenhouses consist of an enclosed space,
separated from the outside by windows and connected to the building with passages that may be opened and closed. The cover is
glazed or opaque, depending on the latitude and the temperature
requirements. A greenhouse may be located adjacent to the building and could be used as a living room in some periods of the year,
and it increases the share of solar radiation converted into heat and
stored inside (greenhouse effect), thus contributing to the heating
of the inner space. Solar greenhouses are also called winter gardens for the useful and appropriate introduction of plants that
improve the indoor air quality and regulate its humidity. During
the summer, the shading effect of deciduous woods is often used to
avoid overheating of building structures due to the excessive solar
radiation [1416].
In recent years several regulatory actions were proposed both
at national and local level, aimed at disseminating technologies for
reducing energy consumption, including the passive solar systems.

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P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

Fig. 5. Bioclimatic greenhouse selected for the simulation, detail of Block G layout.
Fig. 3. Functional scheme of a direct gain solar greenhouse [18].

In Umbria, in agreement with the Regional Law 20th December

2000, No. 38, Incentives in calculation of urban parameters for the
improvement environmental comfort and energy saving in buildings,
implemented by the Municipality of Perugia in its own building
code, the solar greenhouses are considered as volumes specically
designed to obtain environmental comfort and energy savings, by
improving the insulation and the direct capture of solar energy.
4. Experimental solar greenhouse
Several bioclimatic greenhouses are planned in the Solaria
project, at each oor of Block G. These solar systems are excluded
from the calculation of the urban surfaces and volumes, providing
additional 1000 m3 (452 m2 ) to the volume which was authorized
to be built.
Concerning the conditions of heat transfer and distribution, the
Solaria greenhouses belong to the direct gain typology (Fig. 3) since
walls, oors and ceilings are utilized as thermal collectors during
the day, accumulating heat by radiation and convection, and heat
emitters during the night; the surface, which separates the inner
space from the greenhouse, is adjustable and may be removed by
displacing large mobile windows. In this way, it becomes an extension of the room and the heat is directly gained inside the living
space.
The Solaria greenhouses shape belongs to the lean-to category
(Fig. 4), since they share only one (the sliding windows) of the
four vertical surfaces with the building heated volume [17,18].

Fig. 4. Scheme of a lean-to solar greenhouse [18].

The upper side is the balcony of the upper oor, while, among
the remaining perimeter sides, one is a wall and two are windows
(angular positions).
Most greenhouses were designed to allow overlooking the main
sides of the building, because of the specic in-line typology of
structure. The distribution of passive solar systems at different levels and orientations is shown in Table 1. Further assessments allow
to identify the various types and sizes of glass windows dividing
sunspaces from the apartments, as well as different plan surfaces.
In order to avoid the greenhouse effect in summer conditions,
the external windows can be manually opened, ensuring, by means
of adequate ventilation, that the indoor air temperature does not
rise over the external temperature. Moreover the project plans the
use of protective and shielding devices on glass surfaces, for summer radiation control, through sliding brise-soleils. These consist
of perforated aluminum plates, manually sliding, installed on the
same plane and parallel to the railings on the balconies. The holes
(40.3% vacuum) enable the passage of a little amount of direct and
diffuse radiation, because of the diffraction action of holes, ensuring
good lighting conditions during the day and the related electricity
saving.
Design criteria concerning the orientation were inuenced by
the context. In fact the greenhouses lean on vertical structures
whose horizontal rotation angle is closely related to the building
layout, set by the Building Code of Perugia Municipality and according to the integral part of the implementation plan. Besides, the
main obstructions in the Southern quadrant are other buildings
and, not having the possibility to freely choose the location of the
building within the project area, they cannot be corrected.
A greenhouse of the Solaria Block G was chosen as representative of the others in order to quantify, by using a simulation
software, the attainable energy benets in terms of reduction of
the thermal energy demand during the entire heating season. For
the case study, a 1.60 m 3.00 m sunspace was selected on the second oor (Fig. 5), and facing South-East, with an horizontal rotation
angle of 54 from the geographic South.
From the energy point of view, it can be considered belonging to the lean-to typology even though only two of the three
external structures (not in contact with the heated volume) are
glazed, as mentioned before. However, this feature, coupled with
the presence of lateral vertical obstructions (opaque partitions of
the balconies and/or adjacent greenhouses), makes the case study
an example of built-in greenhouse in relation to solar radiation. The
amount of incident radiation, which is maximum in the case of a
lean-to sunspace, decreases because of shading by vertical structures; on the other hand, a larger portion of glazed surface reduces
the envelope insulation, causing, therefore, larger heat losses.
The CFD analysis carried out on the solar greenhouse was particularly interesting from a scientic and technical standpoint,
especially for the materials used in the construction process. The
surfaces dening the sunspace are made by the following elements.

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187

Table 1
Distribution of bioclimatic greenhouses into Block G of Solaria complex, according to different orientations.
Level

Orientation

Total

South-West

South-East

South-East

East-North-East

232

142

126

68

First
Second
Third
Fourth
Penthouse

1
1
1
1
0

4
4
4
4
2

3
4
4
4
2

1
1
1
0
0

9
10
10
9
4

Total

18

17

42

Four windows equipped with a standard low-E double glazing and

an aluminum frame with thermal barrier separate the inner space
from the greenhouse (4-16-4, Uw = 1.1 W/m2 K, g = 0.62). Some windows equipped with a special low-E double glazing (reinforced
thermal insulation and solar control features) and an aluminum
frame with a thermal barrier to separate the external environment from the sunspace; for the case study the selected glass also
features self-cleaning properties (see Section 4.1) and the experimental application of an organic thin-lm photovoltaic layer (see
Section 4.2). Finally some structural elements were considered: an
external wall, in two cases adjacent to other sunspaces (s = 41.5 cm,
U = 0.157 W/m2 K, Ulim = 0.34 W/m2 K); the roof and the oor, characterized by the same stratigraphy (s = 46 cm, U = 0.401 W/m2 K,
Ulim = 0.43 W/m2 K).
4.1. Self-cleaning glasses with reinforced thermal insulation and
solar control properties
In order to minimize the heat losses through the windows, a special glazing is planned to be used; it couples self-cleaning property
of its external face with the double function of reinforced thermal
insulation and solar control. It includes: a 4 mm insulating glass
pane, characterized by a self-cleaning thin layer on face 1 and the
application, using cathodic vacuum deposition, of a low-E layer
on face 2, consisting of noble metals (it reects long wavelength
infrared radiation, allowing to keep the heat inside); 16 mm cavity, lled with 90% argon (a double barrier made of organic seals
ensures the creation of a hermetically-sealed environment and
mechanical stability); a 4 mm insulating glass pane. The glass transmittance Uw , calculated according to EN 673, is 1.1 W/m2 K; light
transmission and reection factors are 68% and 15% respectively,
while the solar factor g is equal to 0.41.
The self-cleaning glass appears similar to a conventional insulating one; it is manufactured by depositing a transparent 8 nm layer
of titanium dioxide TiO2 on the external surface of a clean glass.
This material harnesses the power of both UV light from the sun
and rain to efciently combat dirt and grime that accumulates on
the outside of the window (dried water marks, organic atmospheric
pollutants, dust, sea spray and insect residues). Two different steps
are considered: exposure to the UV rays in daylight triggers the
decomposition of organic dirt (photocatalytic effect) and causes the
surface of the glass to turn hydrophilic; water forms a sheet on the
surface of the glass and rinses away broken-down organic dirt and
mineral material.

effective. In order to further increase their performances and especially their lifespan, thus making them compatible for applications
in the building sector, major efforts in research and development
are undertaken by industry and research laboratories, including
new encapsulation techniques and strategies such as the introduction of inorganic nano-crystals in the polymeric matrix [19].
This kind of technology has several advantages: OPV cells could
be produced as thin-lm (rolls), they are exible and lightweight
and have a high energy to weight ratio; necessary materials are
abundantly available; they enable an easy scalable production and
entail relatively low investment costs for the production process;
the cells are 100% recyclable, avoiding disposal problems; thanks
to exibility and transparency characteristics, they could be integrated into windows, cars structures, tents, or even fabrics; OPV
manufacturing could cost far less than conventional cells exploiting
the economies of scale.
For the solar greenhouse described in Section 4, the project
involves the testing of a specic thin-lm photovoltaic device,
applied on a portion of external windows, with an optimal exposure
to solar radiation. The OPV material was developed at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in the Laboratory of
technologies and material sciences of the University of Perugia. As
shown in Fig. 6, the sandwich of organic cell consists of several
layers.
- A layer of aluminum, acting as cathode.
- A layer of titanium dioxide.
- An active layer of P3HT:PCBM (polimer:fullerene blend). A bulk
heterojunction blend of an electron donor, P3HT or Poly(3hexylthiophene), and an electron acceptor, PCBM fullerene
derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester, allows to
obtain higher conversion efciencies than a multilayer geometry
[2022].
- A layer of PEDOT:PSS or Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):
poly(styrenesulfonate). It is the polymer mixture of two
ionomers. In this application it is used as a transparent and conductive polymer, improving the selectivity of the anode [23].

4.2. Organic photovoltaic thin-lm

Organic solar cells include all the devices where organic carbon
compounds acts as the photoactive element. Polymeric PV cells
have recently reached a maximum efciency of 56% (laboratory
tests); the most efcient cells employ a mixture of materials so that
the process of radiation absorption and charge separation is more

Fig. 6. Structure of the organic photovoltaic cell [31].

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P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

of the continuous domain, linear formulation (order 1) was

selected, obtaining tetrahedral nite elements in 3D. To assess the
greenhouse behavior according to different internal and external
conditions, a transient analysis was performed.
5.1. Denition of the physics for the model
For the description of physical phenomena, two different application modes were coupled [26].
The rst one is the integration of the incompressible
NavierStokes (NS) equations, using the basic module of COMSOL
Multi-physicsTM , which solves for the following dependent variables: pressure p and velocity vector components u (u, v, w) along
the three directions (x, y, z). Convective ows into the greenhouse
are characterized by a low speed; the variations in air pressure
and temperature allow to assume it as an incompressible uid.
The equation of continuity and the momentum transport equations
(implied by Newtons laws of motion) are the fundamental laws
governing ow eld. In particular, the NavierStokes equations are
expressed by the following:

Fig. 7. Organic thin-lm photovoltaic device applied on a glass sample.

u
t

 

+ (u )u = p +  u + ( u)T



+F

(1)

- A layer of tin-doped indium oxide, or Indium Tin OxideITO, a

solid solution of indium (III) oxide (In2 O3 ) and tin (IV) oxide
(SnO2 ), typically around 90% and 10% by weight; it is transparent
and colorless in the form of thin lm. Electric conductivity, optical
transparency, easy deposition process to obtain a thin-lm make
ITO one of the most widely used transparent conducting oxides.
In this application acts as anode.
- A glass supporting base.

The second application mode is the solution of the general heat

transfer equations (htgh), using the Heat Transfer module, which
solves for the following dependent variables: temperature T and
radiosity J. For low-speed convective processes in inviscid uids,
some simplifying assumptions are introduced; not considering the
work done by viscous forces (viscous dissipation) and the compressibility effect ( = 0), the heat is expressed by the following
equation [2729]:

A sample of organic photovoltaic thin-lm, deposited by the

technique of spin coating on a glass substrate, is shown in Fig. 7,
which makes evident the high transparency degree achieved by the
specic application [24].

cp

5. CFD modeling
A quantitative assessment of the energy saving benets associated with the use of bioclimatic greenhouses is very complex,
due to the number of parameters involved in the process and their
effect. Solar radiation incident on a glass surface varies according
to latitude, day and month of year, weather conditions of the site,
presence of obstructions and/or projections. The amount of energy
stored into the greenhouse depends on solar radiation, angle of
incidence and transparency coefcient of the material. These last
two factors are mainly inuenced by shape and orientation of the
greenhouse and by the characteristics of the materials used for its
construction. If implemented properly, the management of passive
solar systems, by individual users within the single housing units,
may optimize its energy performance; otherwise the benets are
minimized or canceled (i.e. discomfort conditions associated, for
example, to overheating phenomena in summer time).
Research activity has therefore focused on the Computational
Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling of solar greenhouses by COMSOL
Multiphysics TM software, which allows simulating every system
that can be described by partial differential equations. The set of
equations is solved on the basis of nite element method (FEM)
[25].
The study was aimed at creating a model of the greenhouse,
where the parameters characterizing materials and climatic conditions may be varied. For the present case, a 3D geometry was
chosen, because the model does not have homogeneity or symmetry characteristics along any direction; for the discretization

T
t

+ (k T ) = Q cp u T

(2)

Radiation is treated as a process that transfers energy directly

between boundaries and which therefore contributes to the boundary conditions rather than to the heat equation itself. According to
the ideal gray body assumption (absorptivity and emissivity are
equal), net inward radiative heat ux q is given by the difference
between the irradiation G and the radiosity J:
q = G J = (G T 4 )

(3)

5.2. General settings, constants and functions

The preliminary step of the modeling phase consists in the definition of some constants and variables, which represent the basic
parameters describing the physical system. In this case, the following initial conditions (at time t0 ) were entered: t init, temperature
[K], set equal to 281.15 K (8 C) in the heating season (it is the temperature of an unheated space); t init aria, temperature inside the
greenhouse [K], established through an iterative process; p init, air
pressure, equal to 101,325 Pa. Moreover: temperature int, temperature inside the apartment adjacent to the sunspace, set equal at
291.15 K (18 C) during the heating season; grav, acceleration of
gravity.
To preliminary investigate the thermo-uid dynamic behavior of the greenhouse, different climatic conditions were taken
into account. In particular some specic days, such as 21st March
and 21st June, and mean monthly data were used to characterize
opaque surfaces and windows of the sunspace, in terms of solar
radiation and external temperature (temperature ext). These functions were calculated by Ecotect , a software for the assessments
of energy performance and climatic integration of buildings. Once
a three-dimensional digital Block G was modeled, it was necessary

P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

Fig. 8. Digital Block G and urban surrounding area, modeled into Ecotect software;
shadows refers to 7:00 a.m. of 21st March.

189

Fig. 10. Subdomain of the air inside the greenhouse (No. 9).

5.4. Subdomain settings

to: enter the site coordinates (latitude and longitude) and its orientation; upload the climate les containing the weather data of
Perugia, Italy, in terms of external temperature, humidity, wind
speed, etc.; model the buildings standing all around the Solaria
complex, and in particular the xed obstacles and obstructions for
solar radiation regarding the greenhouse, as shown in Fig. 8.
The simulation through Ecotect resulted in the actual values of
solar radiation incident on the three external sides of the sunspace:
the largest glass surface, facing the main street on the South-East
side (q0 frontale); the smallest glass surface, facing North-East and
separating the greenhouse from the nearby balcony of the same
apartment (q0 nestra); the South-West oriented wall, separating
the greenhouse from the nearby balcony of the next apartment
(q0 muro). Solar charts for the three different exposures were
obtained as outputs of simulation; an example is in Fig. 9.
5.3. Geometry modeling
Through the use of a CAD software for 3D design, a model of
the selected greenhouse was created; it reproduces the structure
to be built within the multi-destination Solaria complex. Each component was designed as individual parts within the program and
later assembled to form the complete structure.

The materials making up the physical model were entered into

a specic library of COMSOL Multi-physicsTM ; their properties are
summarized in Table 2. The model included into the software was
used for characterizing the air inside the greenhouse; the specic
heat capacity and the thermal conductivity are expressed as function of the temperature T, while the density varies also with the
pressure p; using the NavierStokes equations for incompressible
uid, this last dependence can be neglected.
After entering the new materials in COMSOL library, No. 24 subdomains generated from the geometric model were set. As for heat
transfer analysis, the software requires the denition of the following characteristics.
Thermal properties and heat sources/sink. In order to dene thermal properties (k, p, cp ), the material making up each subdomain
was loaded from materials library; in this model heat sources or
sinks are not present.
Properties of convective heat transfer. This kind of heat transfer
can be enabled only for uids and in the examined case for subdomain No. 9 (air inside the greenhouse, Fig. 10). The characterization
concerns: uid type (gas); velocity eld, identied by the vector (u,
v, w); ratio of the specic heats at constant pressure and volume 
(set equal to 1.4 for the air); the absolute pressure (p init).
Initial value of temperature T(t0 ) was set equal to the constant
t init.
Fluid dynamics is automatically enabled only in uid domains.
As for subdomain No. 9, following characteristics are required.
Fluid properties. As in the previous analysis, in order to dene
density  and dynamic viscosity  (functions of temperature T),
the air model was loaded from materials library; regarding volume
forces, the action of gravity was considered on the basis of following
expression:
Fz = (grav) = grav(rho init rho aria)

(4)

The volume forces are therefore a function of density, according to the Boussinesq approximation; it assumes that variations in
density have no effect on the ow eld except when they cause
buoyant forces.
Initial values. At time t0 , the pressure p(t0 ) was set equal to the
constant p init, and the ow eld was assumed zero.
5.5. Boundary settings

Fig. 9. Solar chart of the main external glass window, South-East facing on 21st
March.

In the uid dynamic analysis, for each surface delimiting air

volume, the software requires the denition of Boundary type and
condition. All the boundaries were described respectively as wall
(no openings) and no slip, i.e. absence of ow through and along
the boundary (u = 0).

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P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

Table 2
Properties of materials used for specic model simulation.
Material

Specic heat capacity at constant pressure cp

[J/(kg K)]

Thermal conductivity k
[W/(m K)]

Surface emissivity

Density 
[kg/m3 ]

Aluminum frame
Glass
Floor
Legnobloc with graphite

900
840
856
1259

0.226
0.0325
0.198
0.067

0.3
0.03
0.92
0.85

510
840
1132
1008

Material

Specic heat capacity at constant pressure cp,s

[J/(kg K)]

Thermal conductivity ks
[W/(m K)]

Thickness ds
[m]

Density s
[kg/m3 ]

Photovoltaic thin-lm

830

11

2.25 107

4239

For heat transfer analysis, the pairs of boundaries that are created from the assembly of several subdomains (for example the air
inside the greenhouse and the glass, which separates it from the
outside) behave like a single interior boundary and the same condition is applied. The default setting species continuity in both
temperature and normal heat ux across the pair, just like on any
interior boundary. The conditions selected for the case study were
the following.
Insulation/symmetry. It was assigned to the boundaries that represent sections of opaque walls or balconies. They do not exchange
with the surroundings because they are thermally well insulated;
these boundaries do not take part in radiative heat transfer.
Temperature. This condition prescribes the temperature T0 equal
to the constant temperature int, at the boundaries that separate the
greenhouse from the internal environment (Dirichlet condition).
Heat ux. It was assigned to the remaining exterior boundaries
delimiting the greenhouse and to interior boundaries delimiting air
volume, according to the following expression:
n q = q0 + qr + qs + h(Tinf T )

Nu = C  (GrPr)

(6)

where the parameter C depends on geometry, while the exponent

n is 0.25 for laminar ow and 0.33 for turbulent ow [25,30]. For the
calculation of the heat exchanged by convection with the surroundings, the following inputs were assumed: Tinf equal to function
temperature ext, length scale L for natural convection on vertical
wall (3.69 m) and horizontal surface (1.79 m).
qr is net inux from radiation, according to Eq. (3). The irradiation G is expressed by the following expression:
4
G = Gm + Famb Tamb

4
J = (1 )[Gm + Famb Tamb
] + T 4

(8)

For the radiation heat transfer, two different condition types

were used. The Surface-to-ambient radiation is appropriate for exterior surfaces and assumes from the outset that Gm = 0 and Famb = 1.
Eq. (3) results in:

(5)

q0 is the inward heat ux from external sources, in this case

incoming solar radiation (hourly values), described by functions
q0 frontale, q0 nestra, q0 muro.
The heat transfer coefcient h and the reference temperature
Tinf are necessary parameters to quantify the energy transferred
through the specic boundary to the environment by means of convective heat transfer. The General Heat Transfer application mode
includes a library of predened h coefcients for common ow situations. In this case only the presence of natural convection was
considered, assuming that the ow is governed by buoyancy forces
given by the temperature difference between the uid (air) and the
wall, thus neglecting the effect of the wind. This approximation is
justied by the fact that CFD analysis is aimed at evaluating temperature conditions inside the greenhouse and the energy benet of
this passive solar system; these aspects are weakly inuenced by
wind speed in a highly urbanized areas, such as the area where
Solaria is located. In the Heat Transfer Coefcient library, the h
coefcient is based on Nusselt number Nu correlations from handbooks and it is expressed as a function of the material properties,
temperature, ow rate and geometry. For natural convection, the
relationship for the Nusselt number typically has the form:
n

Famb is the ambient view factor; it represents a measure of how

much inuence the radiosity at a given part of the boundary has to
the irradiation at some other part. Its value is equal to the fraction of the visual eld that is not covered by other boundaries
(0 Famb 1), considered to be a single boundary with constant
radiosity Jamb = Tamb 4 . Gm is the mutual irradiation coming from
other boundaries in the model, depending on geometry and local
temperatures. Tamb is the assumed far-away temperature in the
directions included in Famb . Assuming an ideal gray body, the equation used in the General Heat Transfer application mode to solve
the radiosity J (in parallel with the equation for the temperature T)
is:

(7)

4
qr = (Tamb
T 4)

(9)

In this case Tamb is the temperature of ambient surroundings

and it is expressed by the function temperature ext, whereas is
the emissivity of the specic boundary. Surface-to-surface radiation
is the condition used for internal boundaries delimiting the air volume; hemicube method, which accounts for shadowing effects, was
selected to quantity Gm and Famb .
qs represents the contribution from a thin, but highly conducting, shell in contact with the boundary. The highly conductive layer
feature is introduced by the software to model heat transfer in
thin layers without the need to create a specic mesh. Because
the layer is very thin and has a high thermal conductivity, it is
possible to assume that no variation in temperature and in-plane
heat ux exist along its thickness; furthermore the difference in
heat ux in the layers normal direction between its upper and
lower is thought as a heat source or sink. Highly conductive layer
is the characterization used to describe the organic photovoltaic
thin-lm.
5.6. Mesh generation and solver settings
Once geometry model subdomain/boundary conditions are
input, the software requires the characterization of the mesh. The
selection of parameters is very important because mesh nodes are
the points where the software actually calculates the solution of
partial differential equations. In this model, a predened setting
for a ne mesh was used (Fig. 11), resulting in 54,633 elements, for
a total of 39,478 degrees of freedom.
The evaluation of thermo uid dynamic characteristics of the
bioclimatic greenhouse was performed in transient mode, in order
to consider its effect on internal temperature and energy saving at
varying solar radiation. The direct linear system solver was set for

P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

191

Fig. 11. Model domains, meshed through automatic generator of COMSOL

MultiphysicsTM .

simulating an entire day (86,400 s) and recording the values of the

variables every hour (3600 s).
6. Results of simulations
The simulation, carried out on March 21st and considering the
use of the reinforced thermal insulation and solar control glasses,
resulted in a 23.6 C greenhouse temperature (recorded at a central
point of the volume) at 1:00 p.m. As shown in Fig. 12, the solar radiation has a symmetrical trend with reference to 12:00 a.m. External
air temperature is usually characterized by a curve similar to solar
radiation, but few hours shifted because of thermal inertia of the
Earths surface and atmosphere; the greenhouse temperature follows a similar pattern to external air, reaching higher temperatures
during daylight hours and maintaining them after the end of irradiation.
3D image in Fig. 13 shows the simulation results in graphical
form: in particular 5 planes in y direction for plotting temperatures, while the red arrows represent the vectors of velocity eld.
Air inside the greenhouse moves upwards, getting warm along the
glass irradiated surfaces and drawing cooler air, thus starting a
circulation that makes the greenhouse temperature uniform.
With reference to heat ux across the elements of separation
between the sunspace and the inner space, Fig. 14 summarizes

Fig. 13. Graphic simulation results in terms of temperature (surface) and velocity
eld (arrow), 2:00 p.m. of 21st March.

the comparison between the hourly values (21st March) obtained

as result of the simulation, by integrating the total heat ux over
the window boundaries, and not considering the presence of the
greenhouse. In this last case, the energy balance of the window
is evaluated as algebraic sum of the solar heat gains and the heat
losses, according to the expression:
Q0 = [Igm + U(Te Ti )]A +

L(Te Ti )

(10)

where with reference to the window dividing the inner space

from the greenhouse, g = 0.62, m = 0.795, U = 1.6 W/m2 K, A = 6.46
m2 , = 0.09 W/(mK), L = 14.5 m.
The difference between those values resulted in an energy
benet due to the presence of a passive solar system with a capac-

Fig. 12. Hourly trends of greenhouse temperature, outside temperature, temperature inside the apartment and solar radiation, 21st March.

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P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

Fig. 14. Heat ux across the elements which divide inner space from the greenhouse, 21st March.

ity of 1.25 kWh on 21st March, which includes both the positive
contributions when the greenhouse temperature is higher than
the internal (xed value into the apartment), and the reduction
in heat losses as the greenhouse temperature is higher than the
external one.
On the basis of the same weather conditions, another simulation was performed considering that the organic PV thin-lm is
applied on the external glass surface facing South-East. The maximum temperature reached inside the greenhouse is 23.55 C at
1:00 p.m., and it is slightly lower (less than 1%) than the previous
case. Moreover in terms of energy contribution, the OPV lm does
not signicantly inuence the sunspace performance (0.1%); its
presence was considered in all subsequent simulations.
In order to evaluate the energy benet during the entire heating
season (183 days, from 15th October to 15th April, according to the
Italian legislation), a series of simulations were performed on the
basis of the average monthly climate data. For each month, from
October to April, functions of irradiation and outdoor temperature
were then varied. The results are shown in Figs. 15 and 16; negative
values in the rst hours of the October average day are caused by
a greenhouse temperature, calculated through the CFD simulation,
slightly lower than the ambient temperature.
Multiplying these average values by the number of days
included in each month, the energy contribution of solar greenhouse was estimated at about 310 kWh. The apartment chosen
as representative of the Block G of the Solaria complex is characterized by a useful thermal energy demand for winter heating
of about 1527 kWh/year (18.4 kWh/m2 year). Energy benet due to
solar greenhouse during the heating season thus represents the 20%
of the demand.
Assuming to apply the photovoltaic thin-lm on the external
glass surface facing South-East, for a total of 7.84 m2 , the potential
electricity production was estimated, for the same period, at
60 kWhe (7.5 kWhe /m2 ), considering an efciency of 3.5%.
Further simulations were conducted to investigate the behavior
of the greenhouse in summer time, when overheating phenomena
could create discomfort situations. With reference to the climatic
conditions of June 21st, the following cases were investigated.

Case 1. Traditional glasses, originally planned in the project, are

used for the greenhouse envelope; in particular: low-E double glazing, 5-12-5, cavity lled of argon, transmittance Uw of 1.4 W/m2 K.
Case 2. Special reinforced thermal insulation and solar control
glasses are used for the greenhouse external windows; moreover
the OPV thin-lm is applied to the external South-East glass surface.
Case 3. In addition to case No. 2, halved values of function
q0 frontale were entered, considering the presence of external sliding sunshades.
The results in terms of greenhouse temperature (Fig. 17) show
how the use of reinforced thermal insulation and solar control
glasses reduce the problem of overheating. A signicant improvement, when ventilation is not sufcient (open windows, so that the
temperature is lower than the outdoor one, and air vents at the top
and bottom of the greenhouse for operating as a solar chimney), is
guaranteed by the presence of sliding shading devices that decrease
the solar radiation through the glass: - 27% in terms of temperature
at 12:00 a.m. on 21st June.

7. Comparison with other evaluation methods

In order to use this methodology as a prediction tool, it is
necessary to validate it by comparing simulation results and experimental data. Response of the model is considered acceptable when
the gap with reality is compatible with both quality of input data
and physical variations of the investigated phenomenon.
Currently, experimental data are not available to validate the
model described in the previous paragraphs; in fact, the multifunctional complex is now under construction. In particular, the
Block G will be completed by September 2013, thus making possible
the experimental application of the OPV thin-lm to the selected
greenhouse and the construction of a data acquisition and monitoring system.
In this phase, a comparative analysis was carried out between
the results obtained through CFD-FEM 3D modeling and other

P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

193

Fig. 15. Monthly average temperature into the sunspace.

Fig. 16. Monthly average energy contribution due to the solar greenhouse.

simplied methodologies for assessing the energy performance of

solar greenhouses, as described below.
A preliminary method for designing passive solar systems is
Sunspace, based on the numeric input software Solacalc Method
5000, developed for solar building applications. It divides the total
energy benet into four different types of solar gain: the thermal radiation penetrating directly into the inner space across the
window which divides it from the greenhouse; the thermal radiation stored by the wall separating such spaces; the buffer effect,

due to the warm air inside the greenhouse, which reduces the outwards heat losses; the pre-heating process of air changes [18]. The
monthly mean values obtained from sunspace are presented in
Table 3. On the one hand the actual data, concerning solar radiation and features of materials dening the greenhouse volume,
can be entered into the spreadsheet; on the other hand the calculation is stationary, made on the basis of the monthly average values
about daily solar radiation and outside temperature, thus leading
to lower energy benets in winter and higher in autumn or spring.

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P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

Fig. 17. Temperature into the sunspace, 21st June.

Table 3
Energy benets due to solar greenhouse, assessed through different methodologies.
Energy benet

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

Sunspace

kWh/day

1.0

0.6

0.5

0.6

0.8

1.2

Ecotect

kWh
kWh/day

21.9
0.71

36.5
1.22

57.8
1.87

63.9
2.06

50.9
1.82

46.2
1.49

29.9
1.0

STIMA 10 TFM

MJ
kWh
kWh/day

61
16.94
0.55

194
53.89
1.79

274
76.11
2.45

302
83.89
2.70

256
71.11
2.54

225
62.50
2.01

78
21.66
0.72

COMSOL MultiphysicsTM

kWh/day

0.42

0.99

1.88

2.29

2.15

2.01

1.39

The second tool is the software Ecotect (see Section 5.2). After
entering site location, orientation, climate data, xed obstructions (all information necessary to evaluate solar radiation), a 3D
model of the greenhouse and the adjacent room was created.
So it was necessary to dene the specic parameters of thermal
zones and to characterize the individual items, making appropriate changes/integrations to the materials library. A comparative
analysis of the situation with and without the solar greenhouse
was carried out in terms of monthly energy demand for maintaining the internal comfort conditions; it allowed to determine the
energy benet in the sunspace reported in Table 3.
Finally, energy performances of the solar greenhouse were
evaluated through the use of STIMA10 TFM, a software aimed at
calculating winter and summer thermal loads, starting from climate/geographical parameters and all the technical data describing
the investigated building. The apartment equipped with the
selected greenhouse was created into the software, entering rooms
dimensions, openings with their orientation, stratigraphies of
structures and windows delimiting the volumes (the existing
library was integrated). A procedure congruent with UNI TS 113001 is used for assessing bioclimatic greenhouses separated from
heated spaces by a partition wall. Several aspects are evaluated, in
particular: the transmission heat losses between the inner heated
space and the external environment through the sunspace, on the
basis of a heat-dispersion coefcient; the reduction of transmission
losses, due to both the temperature increase inside the greenhouse

and the solar radiation directly absorbed by the opaque component

of partition wall; the solar gains through the external greenhouse
windows and the glass component of partition wall. Once all the
data specic for the case study are input, the software calculates
the values of energy contributions related to the solar greenhouse,
reported in Table 3.
Thermo-uid dynamic simulations allowed obtaining comparable results, both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view,
with other methodologies described above, in particular with the
Ecotect and STIMA 10 TFM software tools. The energy benets
associated with the presence of the bioclimatic greenhouse are:
nearly always lower than those obtained with STIMA 10 TFM, 18%
on average (except for November, where the percentage increases
to 44%); lower in autumn and higher in winter and spring, if compared to the values provided by Ecotect .
8. Conclusions and future developments
The model described in this paper, originally conceived in
2D and currently developed in 3D, reproduces the thermo-uid
dynamic behavior of an experimental greenhouse of Solaria complex. The possibility to vary parameters characterizing materials
and climatic conditions allowed: to appreciate the energy performance improvement, related to the special reinforced thermal
insulation and solar control glasses of greenhouse envelope, and
to external sliding sunshades (27% in terms of temperature at

P. Sdringola et al. / Energy and Buildings 68 (2014) 183195

12:00 a.m. on 21st June); to quantify the energy benet related

to the presence of solar greenhouse during the entire heating
season in 310 kWh, equal to about 20% of useful thermal energy
demand for heating (1527 kWh/year) of the representative apartment. Further added value was the possibility to simulate an
organic thin-lm photovoltaic device of nanometric dimensions,
in order to evaluate the variation of greenhouse energy performance associated to its experimental application at some exterior
glass surfaces.
Construction of Block G is expected to end within 2013, while
the completion of the entire Solaria complex is planned in 2015.
Monitoring activities have been conducted during the construction process, in order to verify the compliance with the energy
efciency requirements. In the near future several actions will
be carried on: direct measurements inside some residential units,
to validate the energy class and indicators, already estimated
during the preliminary certication phase; heat transfer testing
through the use of thermography, thermal ow meter and other
equipments.
Particular attention will be given to the realization of OPV experimental application to the selected greenhouse, in order to analyze
the technical and economic feasibility of these materials in conventional building sector. A specic monitoring and acquisition system
will be set up; this will allow comparing simulation results and
experimental data, and validating the model.
With reference to organic photovoltaic thin-lm systems, a further in-depth study could be carried out for improving its behavior
and properties, focusing on two aspects: stability and efciency,
in fact durability is often a problem for organic materials, which
undergo oxidation processes; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a product, process or
service throughout its life cycle.
Acknowledgements
Authors would like to acknowledge Studio Costa & Partners
S.r.l. and SO.GES.HIT. S.r.l. for their technical support and for having provided data necessary for this study, and ESS Engineering
Service System S.r.l. for the opportunity to participate at energy
efciency coordination in design and execution phases of Solaria
complex.
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