Optimization of hybrid active-passive solar heating system through day-ahead and real-time control

Abstract

Solar heating has the advantages of low-carbon and clean energy, but its operational performance is significantly influenced by solar radiation, resulting in pronounced randomness and intermittency. Therefore, this study introduces an innovative Active-Passive Hybrid Solar Heating System (A-PHSHS) that incorporates attached sunspace, solar collector, phase change thermal storage device, floor heating, and electric heater, supporting five operational modes. To address the mismatch and lag issues in different mode combinations under Rule-Based Control (RBC), a dynamic operation scheme combining predictive Day-ahead scheduling with Real-time Control (DRC) is proposed. In the day-ahead phase, the scheme plans for thermal storage during valley electricity price periods by predicting solar capacity and the building's thermal demand for the next day. In the real-time control phase, the dynamic switching of operation modes is based on the prediction of the building temperature and feedback. Experimental results show that under DRC, solar utilization rates can reach 40.61 %–46.22 %, with the cost of temperature increase between 3.77 °C/CNY·day and 8.12 °C/CNY·day. Compared to RBC, the indoor average temperature increases by 1.6 °C, solar thermal utilization rate improves by 5.4 %, energy savings reach 24.24 %, and cost savings are 38.40 %.