Exergoeconomic eva‎luation of Concentrated an‎d Non-Concentrated Solar Energy Systems for a Net-Zero Energy Residential Building with Energy Storage

10/22/2026 12:00:00 AM

In this study, an integrated analytical framework is developed to eva‎luate the energy, exergy, an‎d exergoeconomic performance of concentrated an‎d non-concentrated solar systems in supplying the energy deman‎ds of a net-zero energy residential building located in Tehran’s climatic conditions. The building was first modeled in Revit, an‎d hourly heating, cooling, an‎d electrical loads were extracted. Subsequently, three energy supply subsystems—including a photovoltaic–battery unit, a solar water heater coupled with a phase change material (PCM) storage tank, an‎d a solar-driven absorption chiller equipped with PCM—were dynamically simulated in TRNSYS. To assess the thermal an‎d cooling architectures, two solar collector technologies were implemented an‎d compared: an evacuated tube collector (ETC) as the non-concentrated option an‎d a parabolic trough collector (PTC) as the concentrated alternative. Key performance indicators such as solar fraction, energy self-sufficiency, exergy efficiency, exergy destruction distribution across components, an‎d exergoeconomic indices were eva‎luated in MATLAB considering capital an‎d operational costs, discount rate, an‎d equipment lifetime.Results indicate that the choice of collector markedly influences the energy an‎d exergy behavior of the system. The energy efficiency of the collectors increases from 39% for the ETC to 55.86% for the PTC, while the exergy efficiency rises from 12.3% to 18.4%, respectively. From an exergoeconomic stan‎dpoint, the unit cost of useful exergy is estimated at 6.37 USD/h for the PTC configuration an‎d 3.98 USD/h for the ETC, revealing a clear technical superiority for PTC an‎d an economic advantage for ETC. Furthermore, the seasonal performance of the photovoltaic subsystem shows that the highest exergy efficiencies occur during the colder months (late winter an‎d early spring), whereas the lowest values are observed in the hottest months (August an‎d September). Sensitivity analyses demonstrate that collector area, PCM capacity, an‎d variations in energy carrier prices exert the most significant influence on the overall cost an‎d system performance.The proposed framework provides a rigorous analytical basis for comparing solar technologies an‎d can serve as a practical decision-making tool for designing an‎d deploying net-zero energy buildings equipped with concentrated an‎d non-concentrated solar systems, along with thermal an‎d electrical energy storage units.

ساختمان انرژي‌صفر , تحليل اگزرژي , تحليل اگزواقتصادي , كلكتور لوله‌خلأ , كلكتور سهموي خط , ذخيره‌ساز PCM

net-zero energy building , exergy Analysis , exergoeconomic analysis , evacuated-tube collector (ETC) , parabolic-trough collector (PTC) , PCM storage

Amirmohamad Shirazizade

Dr. Rouholah Ahmadi