Optimal Use of Excess Energy from an Oversized SWH, Kathmandu metropolitan City Scenario.

Abstract

The final year project aimed to quantitatively analyse the space heating potential from excess energy of an oversized SWH system and its impact on thermal comfort. The thesis also aimed to uncover an optimal alteration of the building envelope to maintain a steady thermal comfort during the winter. The final year project was based on a sample building, a typical representation of the building stock in the KMC, studied for its heating requirement and SWH system overproduction. The heating supplied from the excess energy of overproduction of the SWH system was quantitatively analysed to determine changes in operative temperature and heating demands. Nine building envelope modifications were simulated to establish an optimal modification alternative able to maintain the indoor thermal comfort of the heated space throughout the winter. The heating supplied increased the operative temperature slightly and reduced the number of heating requirement days. Although the supplied heating was deemed insufficient to maintain the thermal comfort in the heated zone throughout the simulated period, with strategic building envelope modifications, the operative temperature was maintained at a desired level of thermal comfort throughout the winter. The findings could work as a frame work for experimentation of space heating in the KMC, and can be further studied together with other heating systems.