Research on temperature distribution characteristics and energy saving potential of wall implanted with heat pipes in heating season

As an important component of building energy consumption, wall heat loss needs to be studied urgently. Wall implanted with heat pipes (WIHP) is one of the latest research hotspots in this field. Firstly, the internal temperature distribution characteristics of WIHP are studied by numerical simulation in this paper. Secondly, the thermal conversion efficiency is proposed to evaluate the utilization of solar energy by WIHP. Finally, the energy saving potential of WIHP in heating season is analyzed. The results show that: (1) WIHP has a significant anisotropic heat transfer characteristic compared with the conventional wall; the average time lag of the inside surface is reduced by 2.3 h, and the average decrement factor is increased by 0.008. (2) The time lag difference between the upper and lower parts of WIHP is 6 h, and the time lag of the WIHP structural layer is increased by 1 h compared with the conventional wall. (3) The heat transfer of heat pipe increases with the increase of solar radiation, but the thermal conversion efficiency decreases. (4) WIHP can decrease the heat loss of the wall by 56% on average, and the cumulative heat loss is reduced by 5.29 kWh/m(2). (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this paper, the internal temperature distribution characteristics of wall implanted with heat pipes (WIHP) were studied through numerical simulation. The thermal conversion efficiency was proposed to evaluate the utilization of solar energy by WIHP. The energy saving potential of WIHP in heating season was also analyzed.