Simulation of the cooling effect of the roof added photovoltaics

In this study, the TRNSYS simulation engine was used to investigate the shading and cooling effect of roof added photovoltaics. The local weather conditions were introduced in the data reader component. The sol air effective temperatures were modeled in the roof –air boundary layer, while a single zone model was used for the heat transfer calculation, both in bared and PV shaded  roof. The simulation was validated by experimental data of a PV installation at the roof of the Department of Environmental & Natural Resources Management. The simulation results show that photovoltaic panels have a high impact on the roof surface temperature between shaded and exposed parts of the roof during the summer time. Heat transfer simulation with or without roof integrated photovoltaic shadings revealed the factors influencing cooling loads of a building during the year. The roof added photovoltaics can passively reduce the daily rooftop cooling energy and peak load during the hot summer days in addition to electricity production.