Investigating effective parameters for enhancing energy efficiency with an attached solar greenhouse in residential buildings: a case study in Tabriz, Iran

The global energy crisis necessitates enhancing energy independence for regions and countries by advancing the utilization of renewable energy sources. Solar energy offers a sustainable method for enhancing energy efficiency in buildings through the integration of solar greenhouses or sunspaces. These passive solar systems play a vital role in reducing the reliance on air conditioning by capturing and utilizing solar heat, thereby improving overall building performance. This study aims to thermally analyze the performance of a solar greenhouse attached to a residential building. Using DesignBuilder (version 6.1) for simulation, a comprehensive parametric analysis was conducted to evaluate various factors, including depth, glass type, thermal mass, and roof slope angle, to determine their impact on the overall performance of the integrated solar greenhouse. The findings reveal that a residential building without a solar greenhouse consumes 3261.5 kWh annually for heating and 1535.5 kWh for cooling. Incorporating a basic solar greenhouse (2 m depth, double glazing glass with argon gas, and 20 cm of thermal mass) results in energy savings of 20.6% for heating and 10.9% for cooling. Furthermore, by simulating various influential parameters, the optimal configuration for the solar greenhouse was identified.