Analysis of an assisted household underfloor heating and domestic hot water system using solar energy in a cold area

Nowadays, population growth and energy consumption, especially non-renewables, are growing significantly. It is expected that by increasing public awareness about the necessity of optimal energy consumption, the choice of methods and equipment that will lead to less energy consumption of the building, will be more welcomed. Among heating systems, the underfloor heating systems can reduce fuel consumption due to lower operating temperatures, despite creating uniform heat in all zones of the building. On the other hand, In Iran, which has a high potential for solar energy, it is possible that by combining underfloor heating and solar heating systems, despite the reduction of fossil fuel consumption, the desired heat in the building can be provided. In the present study, a combined floor heating system including a solar underfloor heating system and a hot water boiler is designed and simulated to heat a building in the cold climate of Iran to reduce fossil fuel consumption. The simulation results show that the solar heating system designed in this study can provide 98.5 % of the total energy required for domestic hot water and 17.3 % of the total energy required for underfloor heating. These results show that the heating system provided for building energy supply in the cold climate of Iran is very useful and can significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption.