Energies, Vol. 12, Pages 2286: Climate Classification for the Use of Solar Thermal Systems in East Asia (Energies)

To examine the effects of solar heat utilization, it is necessary to classify the solar-use climate in East Asia based on climatic factors that affect load reduction by solar heating systems. In this study, annual load simulations are performed on weather data in 842 sites in Japan to analyze the climatic factors that impact the load reduction effect of the solar heating system. The analysis results were based on three climatic factors that strongly affect the heating load of a building: heating degree day (HDD18-18), daily solar global horizontal irradiance, and solar-heat available days. Furthermore, to distinguish the climate for the use of solar heat in East Asia, climate classification was done according to three climatic factors using the weather data of 1176 sites in East Asia. Consequently, the climate of solar thermal utilization in East Asia can be classified into 88 areas. Based on the regional classification for solar heat utilization proposed in this study, it will be possible to examine the effect of load reduction and applicability according to the use of solar heat in each region in the future.