As a simple and practical bioclimatic design methodology, solar chimneys are receiving considerable attention for reducing heat gain and inducing natural cooling or heating in both commercial and residential buildings because of their potential benefits in terms of operational cost, energy requirement and carbon dioxide emission. In practical civil buildings, solar chimneys can be installed on the walls and roofs. For the purpose of improving natural ventilation p. As a simple and practical bioclimatic design methodology, solar chimneys are receiving considerable attention for reducing heat gain and inducing natural cooling or heating in both commercial and residential buildings because of their potential benefits in terms of operational cost, energy requirement and carbon dioxide emission. In practical civil buildings, solar chimneys can be installed on the walls and roofs. For the purpose of improving natural ventilation performance and achieving better indoor thermal comfort, solar chimneys are always applied in the form of integrated configurations. Solar chimneys can also be used to combine with natural cooling systems so as to enhance the cooling effect inside buildings. Besides, active solar systems may be utilized to enhance the ventilation performance of solar chimneys. In this paper, the main configurations and the integrated renewable energy systems based on solar chimneys were summarized. Then the suggestions were given. Generally, solar chimney technology has been regarded as an effective and economical design method in low carbon buildings. As for the integrated energy systems based upon solar chimneys, it is still necessary to carry out more experimental investigations to acquire objective data for the system design. Besides, it is suggested to further study the optimization and control strategy of such integrated systems in different climates.••Buildings, energy and the environment are key issues facing the building professions worldwide. Bioclimatic design of buildings is one strategy for sustainable development, as it contributes to reducing energy consumption and therefore ultimately, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from conventional energy generation. Bioclimatic design involves the application of energy conservation techniques in building construction, and the use of renewable energy such as solar energy and the utilization of clean fossil fuel technologies.Being a simple and practical idea, the technology of solar chimney has been regarded as an attractive bioclimatic design. Solar chimney is a thermo-syphoning air channel in which the principal driving mechanism of air flow is through thermal buoyancy. It utilizes solar radiation to enhance the natural ventilation in buildings, which is achieved as a result of the fact that the solar energy causes a temperature rise as well as a density drop in the air inside the solar chimney. The drop in air density causes air within the solar chimney to rise and be expelled out of the top of the chimney.A solar chimney could be vertical or inclined. Different configurations for solar chimney in buildings have been proposed, which could be grouped into two fa. 2.1. Applications of solar chimneys based on roofs of buildingsThe buildings with gable roofs can be well designed for integration with solar chimneys to form the roof solar collectors. In summer, it is feasible to use the roof structure to induce natural air circulation, which is a part of the indoor thermal comfort of buildings. Khedari et al. discussed the possibility of offering thermal comfort in new houses built in European style and situated in a hot and humid climate, without inducing mechanical energy cost, by means of a roof solar collector. With this roof solar collector it was possible, on one hand, to minimize the fraction of the solar flux absorbed by the dwelling and, on the other hand, to induce natural ventilation which improved its thermal comfort. The influence of length and tilt angle of the roof solar collector and local constructing materials used on the performance of the roof solar collector was studied experimentally. It was shown that the appropriate materials of the roof solar collector, with regard to the improved natural ventilation, should be CPAC (Concrete Product and Aggregate Company Ltd.) Monier concrete tiles on the outer side and gypsum board on the inner one. The optimum dimensions were suggested as the following: short length about 100 cm; tilt at 30°; and the space plates equal to 14 cm. The rates of natural air ventilation and energy evacuated by the roof solar collector were about 0.08–0.15 m3/s m2, and 150–350 W/m2. Solar chimneys are receiving considerable attention for reducing heat gain and inducing natural cooling or heating in both commercial and residential buildings because of their potential benefits in terms of operational cost, energy requirement and carbon dioxide emission. They can be widely utilized in the areas with adequate solar radiation. It has been testified that solar chimney technology is a very suitable system for regions where solar irradiation is high and wind speed is normally low. Besides, in the hot and humid climate, stack ventilation is inefficient due to small temperature difference between the inside and outside of naturally ventilated buildings. Hence, the solar induced ventilation by solar chimneys is a feasible alternative in enhancing the stack ventilation.In practical projects, solar chimneys can be integrated into either walls or roofs, forming the two main configurations including both wall solar collector (solar wall or Trombe wall) and roof solar collector. For one thing, they are used in the buildings without air-conditioning systems to improve indoor thermal environment by natural ventilation. For another, they are also adopted in the buildings with air-conditioning systems. Under these circumstances, solar chimneys can be used to reduce the accumulated heat of the house continuously. Khedari et al. reported that the solar chimney house in a ho. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under the contract No. 50876064 and Special Fund of Higher Education Doctorate Subject under the contract No. 200802481115.
