A Detailed Review On Sole and Hybrid Solar Chimney Based Sustainable

Energy Nexus 10 (2023) 100184
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy Nexus
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nexus
A detailed review on sole and hybrid solar chimney based sustainable

ventilation, power generation, and potable water production systems
H. Sharon
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 530 003, India
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Keywords: In this review article, the potential of solar chimney technologies for building ventilation, power generation
Solar energy and potable water generation in sole, hybrid and poly-generation modes has been reviewed extensively by high-
Sustainable architecture lighting their optimal configuration, pros, cons and economics. Solar chimney ventilation system in combination
Solar chimney
with evaporative cooler and earth-air heat exchanger can save at least 20 to 75% of the energy consumed for
Waste heat
space conditioning activity. Sole solar chimney power plant occupies huge land area and has efficiency of only
PV module
Desalination 1.0%. However, under hybrid and poly-generation operation modes its efficiency has improved to 55%. Solar
PV modules seem to be a suitable partner for solar chimney technologies and it enhances utilization factor by
providing extra electric power output. Solar PV modules have been suggested as absorber for ventilation system
and canopy for solar chimney power plants. However, proper thermal management of PV modules is essential
for proper functioning under the conditions inside the former system. Geo-thermal energy, waste heat energy
from thermal power plants and flared gas from oil extraction sites can be utilized in solar chimney power plants
to increase its operation time even after sun-set hours without any major modifications. Solar chimney based
atmospheric water extraction systems enhances the micro-climate of sites and is highly suitable for applications
in arid regions. Solar chimney ventilation systems are commercial and form an integral part of green buildings
and net-zero buildings. On contrary, most of the literatures on power generation and water production with solar
chimney technology are theoretical hence more practical studies are needed to justify their reliability.
1. Introduction 30% every year [5]. In sustainable architecture/buildings, natural and

passive ventilation is an essential ingredient. Natural ventilation refers
Due to tremendous growth in science and technology a lot of indus- to the air flow achieved in a dwelling by opening windows. Natural ven-
tries have emerged to provide mankind with essential food (including tilation is highly dependent on the nature of the wind speed, wind di-
drinking water), clothing and shelter facilities at reasonable cost. How- rection etc., which are highly intermittent in nature. Moreover, it is well
ever, for sustained supply of these necessary services/facilities reliable known that the natural ventilation alone cannot provide required ven-
energy source is essential. Moreover, the current life style attained by tilation for the occupants inside the buildings/dwellings [6]. Hence, it
the mankind can be sustained and/or enhanced only if the rising en- becomes necessary to utilize renewable energy based novel passive ven-
ergy demands are met. These reasons have led to increased fossil fuel tilation techniques in buildings/dwellings to achieve sustainable cities
consumption which has eventually led to environment pollution, global and societies.
warming, and climate change. In order to repair these impacts and to Clean drinking water demand is also rising due to increased popula-
prevent further damage to the environment it has been recommended tion, improved life style, and pollution of available limited fresh water
to utilize clean energy technologies [1,2]. reserves. Desalination of saline water and treatment of wastewater have
Energy consumed for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning activ- become an essential part of any nation to meet its rising fresh water de-
ities occupies 46% of the global energy consumption [3]. In residential mands. Global cumulative desalination capacity has reached 114.9 mil-
sector, the major energy consuming activity is space conditioning. More- lion m3 /d by 2020. Thermal desalination systems are energy intensive
over, the energy consumption in residential sectors is about 25.0% of the but they can handle feed water of any quality which is not the case with
global energy consumption and it also contributes to 17.0% of the global membrane based desalination systems. Potable water production cost of
CO2 emissions [4]. Apart from this, refrigerant leakages from refrigerant conventional fossil fuel powered multi stage flash, multi effect distilla-
based air-conditioning units have also contributed to global warming. It tion and reverse osmosis units is about 1.13, 0.60 and 2.36 USD/m3 [7].
has been estimated that the refrigerant leakages can vary between 3 and It is interesting to note that solar radiation potential is abundant in re-
gions with energy and water scarcity. Moreover, solar energy occupies
57% of the renewable energy powered desalination market [8]. Hence,
E-mail address: [email protected]
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2023.100184
Received 25 November 2022; Received in revised form 17 February 2023; Accepted 8 March 2023
Available online 12 March 2023
2772-4271/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
H. Sharon Energy Nexus 10 (2023) 100184
Nomenclature 𝜂𝑡−𝑒 Conversion efficiency from thermal energy to electrical

energy%
𝐴𝑐 Cross sectional area of solar chimney ventilation unit Δt Time interval between each measurement s
outlet m2
𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 Area of the solar chimney collector m2
ACH Air change per hour solar energy seems to be a suitable candidate for sustainable potable
𝐶𝑝𝑎 Specific heat capacity of air J/kgK water production in those regions.
cost𝑖𝑛𝑣 Cost invested in solar chimney based system USD The United Nations have proposed seventeen sustainable develop-
d Chimney air gap m ment goals which include zero hunger, clean water & sanitation, afford-
𝐷𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑚 Diameter of the chimney of solar chimney power plant able & clean energy, sustainable cities & communities, etc., to achieve
m sustainable planet with peace and prosperity by 2030. All these goals
𝐷𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 Diameter of the solar chimney power plant collector m are nearly interlinked and their attainment will enhance social, envi-
𝐷𝑤 Depth of water pool inside hybrid solar chimney power ronmental and economical sustainability [9]. Renewable energy will be
plant m playing a major role in helping nations to achieve these sustainable de-
𝐸𝑠 Annual electric energy saved by solar ventilation system velopment goals. Most widely utilized renewable energy resources are
kWh/year solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, ocean and biomass. The global share of
ET Electricity tariff USD/kWh renewable energy utilization for heating, transport and electricity gen-
𝑔 Acceleration due to gravity m/s2 eration is projected to be about 14%, 6% and 31%, respectively by 2035
𝐻𝑐ℎ Height of the chimney of solar chimney power plant m [10]. Among renewable energy resources, only from solar energy both
ℎ𝑓 𝑔 Latent heat of evaporation kJ/kg heat and electricity can be obtained in a single conversion step without
𝐻𝑖𝑛 Solar collector entrance height m the aid of any complex conversion devices. Moreover, solar energy based
𝐼𝑠 Solar radiation intensity (W/m2 ) technologies can be utilized with ease in heating, ventilation & air con-
IR Interest rate% ditioning sectors, water sectors, power generator sectors, agricultural
L Length of the solar chimney m sectors, and transportation sectors.
LCOE Levelized cost of electricity USD/kWh Among various solar energy technologies, solar chimney is a unique
𝑚𝑎𝑖 Ventilation air mass flow rate Kg/s technology which finds application in building ventilation [11,12],
𝑚̇ 𝑐 Distillate production rate of solar chimney power plant power generation [13,14], and drinking water production [15,16]. So-
operating in poly-generation mode kg/s lar chimney has also been utilized to improve the performance of photo-
𝑀𝑌 Yearly distillate production rate Kg/Year voltaic modules [17]. A number of review articles have been published
N Life time of solar chimney power plant Year on solar chimney related technologies to highlight its potential applica-
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 Annual electric power generated by solar chimney tion in various sectors. Detailed energy analysis of solar chimney power
power plant kWh/year generation systems along with various performance influencing param-
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 Electrical power output of solar chimney power plant eters has been reviewed by Guo et al. [1]. In depth exergy analysis of
kW solar chimney power generation systems operating in sole and hybrid
𝑃𝑃 𝑉 Electrical power output of the PV module integrated modes has been reviewed by Bayareh [18]. Geometric factors influenc-
with solar chimney power plant kW ing performance of solar chimney power generation systems has been
PP Payback period Year reviewed extensively by Kasaeian et al. [13] and Pradhan et al. [2].
𝑄𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 Air flow rate caused by solar chimney ventilation unit Various methods of adopting solar chimney ventilation units in build-
m3 /s ings have been compiled by Zhai et al. [11] and Monghasemi and Vadiee
𝑟𝑏 Ratio of maintenance & operation cost to the total in- [12]. Vargas-Lopez et al. [19] has reviewed the thermodynamic model-
vestment cost% ing of phase change material incorporated solar chimney building venti-
𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑠 Discount rate% lation units. However, review articles dealing with different types, con-
𝑟inf Inflation rate% figurations, applications and economics of solar chimney technologies
𝑅𝑐ℎ Radius of solar chimney m are not available in literature as per the author’s knowledge. Hence, this
𝑅𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 Radius of solar collector m review work, tries to fill this available gap. In this review article, the so-
RH Relative humidity% lar chimney technologies have been classified as shown in Fig. 1. The
𝑅𝑤 Radial distance from the center of chimney to the ex- classified solar chimney technologies have been reviewed extensively
treme edge of water pool containing submerged PV by highlighting their various modes of operation along with their pros
module m and cons in ventilation, desalination, atmospheric water extraction and
𝑇𝑎 Ambient temperature K power generation sectors. The present review is novel and it significantly
𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑜𝑢𝑡 Temperature at exit of solar chimney ventilation unit K differs in various aspects from the other existing reviews which can be
𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑖𝑛 Temperature at inlet of solar chimney ventilation unit K easily understood from the comparison given in Table 1. The author be-
𝑉 Volume of ventilated space m3 lieves that this review will be of a great companion to the researchers,
𝑉𝑐 Air velocity at solar chimney ventilation unit outlet m/s stakeholders, and policy makers working on sustainable technologies
𝑋𝑃 𝑉 Radial distance of the ground from the entrance of the and sustainability.
solar chimney collector covered with PV module m
𝜂𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 Thermal efficiency of solar chimney ventilation unit% 2. Solar chimney building ventilation systems
𝜌𝑎 Density of air kg/m3
𝜌𝑤 Density of water Kg/m3 Building ventilation refers to the supply of outdoor ambient air to the
𝜂𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 Efficiency of the solar chimney collector% desired space to remove or dilute the indoor air contaminants. Proper
𝜂𝑒𝑙𝑒 Overall efficiency of solar chimney power plant% ventilation is essential for the comfort and healthy living of the occu-
𝜂𝑔 Efficiency of generator in solar chimney power plant% pants inside the buildings/dwellings. Proper ventilation can be achieved
𝜂𝑠𝑦𝑠 Utilization factor of solar chimney power plant% either by utilizing mechanical devices or by the aid of natural buoy-
𝜂𝑡 Efficiency of turbine in solar chimney power plant% ancy phenomena [20]. Buoyancy driven natural ventilation systems are
highly preferred in modern buildings due to high energy consumption
2
Fig. 1. Classification of solar chimney technologies based on applications and configurations.
Table 1
Comparison of various published review articles on solar chimney with the current review article.
Areas Covered Guo et al. Kasaeian Zhai et al. Monghasemi Vargas-Lopez Bayareh Pradan et al. Present
[1] et al. [13] [11] and Vadiee [12] et al. [19] [18] [2] Review
Thermodynamic Modeling Yes (Energy No No No Yes (Energy Yes (Exergy Yes No

Analysis) Analysis) Analysis)
Classification No No Yes Yes (ventilation) No No No Yes
(ventilation)
Ventilation No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Power Generation Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes
Desalination No Yes No No No Yes No Yes
Atmospheric Water Extraction No No No No No No No Yes
Hybrid Mode – Solar No Yes No No No No No Yes
Chimney + Waste Heat
Hybrid Mode – Solar No No No No No Yes No Yes
Chimney + Geothermal Energy
Hybrid Mode- – Solar No No No No No No No Yes
Chimney + PV modules
Poly-Generation Mode No No No No No No No Yes
Performance Enhancement No Yes (Power Yes (Venti- Yes (Ventilation) Yes (Ventilation) No Yes (Power Yes
Techniques Generation) lation) Generation)
Economics No No No No No No No Yes
of mechanical ventilation devices. Moreover, natural ventilation also Solar chimney is an ancient technology used by the Persians and the
minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and increases building sustainabil- Romans for achieving natural ventilation in their dwellings [12]. So-
ity [21]. In addition, natural ventilation has also been highly recom- lar chimney can also be used for creating passive natural ventilation in
mended in isolation centers by the world health organization (WHO) buildings located in temperate climatic zones [23]. In solar chimney, the
during COVID-19 break out to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among heat energy is converted into kinetic energy thereby air flow is achieved
the isolated people [22]. [21]. Solar chimney used for building ventilation can be of vertical wall
3
Fig. 2. Adaptive comfort standard specified for thermal comfort in naturally

ventilated rooms [25].
type, roof top type and a combination of both the types [20,24]. These
configurations can also be classified as diurnal ventilation and nocturnal
ventilation units based on their absorber surface heat capacity. Diurnal
ventilation chimneys are preferred for tropical climates while nocturnal
ventilation chimneys are preferred for warm climates [19]. The compar-
ison of adaptive comfort standards for naturally ventilated rooms with
the corresponding local ambient temperature is shown in Fig. 2.
The performance of the solar chimney ventilation unit can be esti-
mated by its air flow rate and thermal efficiency.
Air flow rate through the solar chimney ventilation unit is given as
[21],
𝑄𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝐴𝑐 × 𝑉𝑐
The quantity of ventilated air that replaces the fresh air in the occu-
pant space per hour is called air change per hour (ACH) which is given
as [21],
𝑄𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 × 3600
𝐴𝐶𝐻 =
𝑉
The thermal efficiency of the solar chimney ventilation unit is given
as [21],
( ) Fig. 3. Concept of room a) cooling and ventilation b) heating and ventilation
𝜌𝑎 × 𝑄𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 × 𝐶𝑝𝑎 × 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑜𝑢𝑡 − 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑖𝑛 using vertical wall type solar chimney during summer and winter season, re-
𝜂𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 = × 100 spectively [26].
𝐼𝑠 × 𝐿 × 𝑑
2.1. Vertical wall type solar chimney building ventilation unit

and solar radiation intensity. Solar chimney is capable of providing com-
fortable indoor air temperature within the adaptive comfort standard
In vertical wall type, the southern wall of the building/house in the
during daytime even under poor solar radiation intensity of 215 W/m2
northern hemisphere is modified into solar chimney. The schematic of
and low ambient temperature of 5 °C. The optimum inlet, outlet open-
vertical wall type solar chimney integrated with a building for room
ing, and air gap size is about 0.20 m for a room size of 4.0 m x 4.0 m
cooling and passive ventilation during summer season is shown in
x 3.125 m dimension [25]. Vertical wall type solar chimney is highly
Fig. 3a. It consists of a glazing installed against the southern wall of
relevant for high rise buildings as the stack effect of chimney is pro-
the building by maintaining necessary gap between them. The surface
portional to the building height. Air circulation rate of about 1.50 m/s
of the wall facing the glazing is black coated while its other surface fac-
can be achieved in a 60 m high building using vertical wall type solar
ing interior of the room is insulated. Major portion of the solar radiation
chimney having an aperture area ten times the cross sectional area of
passing through the glazing gets absorbed by the absorber wall thereby
the building under a solar radiation intensity of 800 W/m2 [20]. Khan-
the wall gets heated up, which in turn heats up the air trapped between
nal and Lei [27] recommended slight inclination of the solar chimney’s
the glazing and the wall by convection. The hot air due to its lower den-
glazing (up to 6°) towards the absorber for minimizing the reverse flow
sity rises up and leaves through the exit at the top of the chimney. The
of air occurring near the chimney’s exit to achieve maximum ventila-
empty space thus created inside the chimney is subsequently replaced
tion air flow rate. The recommended gap between the glazing and the
by the indoor air from the room. In the mean time, the fresh air from the
absorber of solar chimney ventilation unit is about 0.2 m. Further in-
ambient enters the room via the window in the northern wall thus the
crease in gap beyond 0.2 m has caused no significant enhancement in
room/building gets ventilated by solar chimney during summer [21].
ACH [25].
Vertical wall type solar chimney ventilation is also found to be more ef-
fective in room heating during winter season. Concept of room heating
and ventilation during sunny winter season with vertical wall type solar 2.1.1. Vertical wall type solar chimney ventilation unit with insertions
chimney is shown in Fig. 3b. In conventional vertical wall type solar chimney, the heated glazing
The indoor temperature highly depends on the vertical wall type so- loses heat energy to the ambient rapidly if the ambient temperature is
lar chimney’s air gap, inlet and exit openings, ambient air temperature relatively low. This causes poor heating of the air trapped within the
4
Table 2
Transmissivity and reflectivity of various com-
ponents of vertical wall type solar chimney ven-
tilation unit with transparent insertions [28].
Components Transmissivity Reflectivity
Outer Glazing 0.848 0.076

Insertion 1 0.651 0.062
Insertion 2 0.391 0.139
Absorber Wall 0.000 0.100
Fig. 4. Schematic of vertical wall type solar chimney ventilation unit with trans-
parent insertions [28].
Fig. 6. Schematic of vertical wall type solar chimney with split staggered ab-
sorbers [6].
chimney without insertions [28]. Gong et al. [6] obtained 57% higher
ventilation air flow rate by adopting three staggered split absorber in-
side the solar chimney ventilation unit (shown in Fig. 6.), of dimension
Fig. 5. Energy absorber and reflected in various components of a) Vertical wall 2.8 m height, 1.0 m width and 0.84 m gap.
type solar chimney ventilation unit and b) Vertical wall type solar chimney
ventilation unit with transparent insertions [28]. 2.1.2. Vertical wall type solar chimney with evaporative cooler
The indoor thermal comfort of an occupant is affected by the di-
rect and diffuse solar radiation transmitted through the glass window of
solar chimney which in turn affects the ventilation air flow rate. This the room. Apart from this, the long wave radiation exchange happening
drawback can be avoided by insulating the outer glazing with transpar- between the human body and space components (especially widow in-
ent insulation but this result in an expensive ventilation unit. Another ner surface temperature) also affects the thermal comfort. The thermal
option is to insert a number of transparent glazing having different sur- comfort of the occupants can be enhanced by incorporating evaporative
face properties (absorptivity, reflectivity and transmissivity) within the cooled window [29]. The schematic of vertical wall type solar chim-
solar chimney as shown in Fig. 4. Moreover, dividing single column of ney assisted with evaporative cooler unit is shown in Fig. 7. The main
the vertical wall type solar chimney into two columns is found to be components of the evaporative cooled window are evaporative cooler,
more efficient in increasing stack effect due to the creation of a large glazing section and solar chimney. Evaporative cooler section consists
number of small plumes. These inserted transparent glazing absorbs part of water absorbing sheets attached to its inner surface and is insulated
of the incident solar radiation and gets heated up which in turn heats outside to prevent the effect of incident solar radiation. The glazing sec-
up the air surrounding them leading to increased buoyancy effect [28]. tion includes window of the room and an outer glazing in front of it. The
Insertion of transparent glazing reduces the solar radiation intensity solar chimney consists of an outer glazing and absorber surface on the
reaching the absorber wall thereby the absorbed heat is distributed uni- wall which is insulated at its back. The entering ambient air exchanges
formly among the insertions and the absorber wall as shown in Fig. 5. sensible and latent heat energy with the water absorbing sheets of the
The recommended optimum number of glazing insertions is around two evaporative cooler and becomes relatively cold. The cold air coming in
to three and the optimum thickness of each glazing insertion is about contact with the window of the room and the outer glazing removes heat
3.0 mm, respectively [28]. It is always recommended to have outer glaz- energy and reduces surface temperature thereby the room temperature
ing with low solar radiation absorbtivity to minimize heat loss to the drops considerably.
ambient. The transmissivity and reflectivity of the glazing, insertions This unit is capable of reducing the window temperature and en-
and the absorber wall is listed in Table 2. The mass flow rate of the ergy consumed for space cooling significantly during hot and dry sea-
ventilation air generated by the vertical wall type solar chimney with sons which can be seen from Fig. 8. The annual space cooling energy
insertions is about 30 to 60% higher than the vertical wall type solar consumption has reduced by about 8.8% with the addition of this unit
5
Fig. 9. Schematic of roof top solar chimney ventilation unit [32].
Fig. 7. Solar chimney driven evaporative cooled window [30].
Fig. 8. Impact of solar chimney driven evaporative cooling unit on window

temperature and energy consumption for space cooling activity of the room for
various months [30].
to the room. The unit has reduced the room temperature to 35.3 °C
even though the ambient temperature is about 44.0 °C. However, the Fig. 10. Schematic of roof top solar chimney ventilation unit recommended for
performance of the system is not significant during winter season with COVID isolation centers and old age homes [22].
high moisture content in the ambient air [30]. Incorporation of evap-
orative cooled window reduces the solar radiation intensity entering
the room. In addition, lower temperature of the window achieved by 2.2.1. Roof top solar chimney ventilation unit with wind catcher
evaporative cooling minimizes the impact of long wave radiation on the Wind catcher is an effective traditional strategy used in dwellings
occupant thereby the occupants thermal comfort improves significantly of hot arid locations to improve cross ventilation. Wind catcher catches
[29]. the ambient air flowing through its opening in the windward side and
diverts the wind through the house there by fresh air is circulated within
the room and the indoor air is pushed away through the openings on
2.2. Roof top solar chimney ventilation unit
the wind catcher’s leeward side. Moosavi et al. [33] studied different
cases of wind catcher integrated roof top solar chimney for assessing its
The roof of the house can be modified into a natural ventilation unit
suitability in space cooling and ventilation sectors.
as shown in Fig. 9., and such unit is called roof top solar chimney ven-
tilation unit. Roof top solar chimney ventilation unit can be integrated
with wind catcher, solar concentrator, PV module, evaporative cooler Case 1: The ventilation air enters the ground floor of the building via
and vertical wall type solar chimney ventilation unit. Combined verti- wind catcher (which is on the northern side of the building) and
cal and roof top solar chimney configuration can improve the air flow then passes through the first floor and exists the building via the
rate by about 24.0% [31]. The roof top vertical solar chimney ventila- solar chimney (southern side opening) as shown in Fig. 11a.
tion unit shown in Fig. 10., is highly recommended for old age homes Case 2: The inner walls of the wind catcher is lined with fabric and
and isolation centers where patients are isolated to test for contagious sprayed with water as shown in Fig. 11b., to facilitate cooling
air borne diseases. The air change per hour (ACH) provided by the roof inside the building.
top vertical solar chimney ventilation unit is about 7.22 even under a Case 3: Both the ground and first floor are ventilated by the air en-
low solar radiation intensity of 200 W/m2 which is greater than the min- tering the water sprayed wind catcher simultaneously (ie. the air
imum value of 6 ACH recommended by the WHO for COVID-19 isolation is distributed to both the floors) and leaves via the solar chimney
rooms [22]. as shown in Fig. 11c.
6
Fig. 11. (a-c): Different investigated cases of roof top solar chimney ventilation unit with wind catcher [33].
The observed average temperature of the ground floor and first floor
for Case 3 is about 28.7 and 35.3 °C, respectively during noon for an am-
bient temperature of 32.0 °C which clearly indicates that the distributed
ventilation has resulted in overheating and poor air flow rate in the first
floor. Hence, Case 3 is not a suitable option. In Case 2, the observed av-
erage temperature of the ground floor and first floor is about 27.2 and
27.8 °C which is lower than the observed average temperature of the
rooms in Case 1. The optimum inlet opening area of the wind catcher,
opening area between the wind catcher and the ground floor, opening
area between the ground floor and the first floor, opening area between
the first floor and the chimney inlet, opening area of the chimney to the
ambient and height of the chimney are 6.0 m2 , 6.0 m2 , 6.0 m2 , 3.0 m2 ,
6.0 m2 and 6.0 m (two times the height of each floor), respectively for
an building of ground area 1100×600 m.
2.2.2. Concentrator assisted roof top solar chimney ventilation unit

Addition of concentrators (3 mirrors - 2 at the sides and 1 at the Fig. 12. Photograph of a) Concentrated inclined roof type solar chimney as-
bottom) to the inclined roof type solar chimney (2 m x 2 m x 2 m) ven- sisted ventilated test wooden house b) Concentrated assisted roof type solar
tilation unit has increased the chimney’s maximum air velocity from chimney [34].
0.20 m/s to 0.30 m/s [34]. Concentrator enhances the temperature of
the chimney’s absorber thereby the buoyancy effect also enhances which
in turn results in improved ventilation rate. The photograph of concen- get reversed via chimney’s outlet opening. This reverse flow can be pre-
trated assisted inclined roof type solar chimney ventilation unit is shown vented by causing discrete heating on solar chimney’s glazing [36].
in Fig. 12(a-b). Tilt angle of roof top solar chimney ventilation unit af- In addition, incorporation of phase change materials (PCM) in solar
fects the air flow rate through the chimney hence it is always recom- chimney can also help to extend chimney’s operation time significantly.
mended to select optimum tilt angle based on the location of the site Phase change material (PCM) can be attached to the back side of the
[35]. absorber wall of the chimney thereby, the incident excess solar radia-
tion gets stored in the PCM and is then released after sun set hours as a
2.2.3. Phase change material (PCM) and photovoltaic (PV) module result, the ventilation process continues for long hours than in the case
incorporated roof top solar chimney ventilation unit of solar chimney ventilation unit without PCM. The long charging and
In general, the solar chimney might not be able to provide proper discharging duration of PCM due to its low thermal conductivity can be
ventilation to the building/room after sun set thereby, the air flow may reduced by about 60.0% by adding copper foam [37].
7
The roof top type solar chimney based ventilation unit’s utilization
factor can be improved by replacing its absorber wall with solar PV mod-
ule. In this configuration, apart from ventilation; electric power is also
produced without any additional space occupancy [38]. Incorporating
PV module as absorber can rapidly increase PV operating temperature
and diminish PV electrical output & working life [39]. Hence, incorpora-
tion of effective thermal management strategy becomes mandatory for
PV modules that are installed as absorbers in solar chimney ventilation
unit to minimize those above mentioned drawbacks. PCM can be used
below the rear side of the PV module to prevent temperature increase of
the module above certain temperature (which is limited by the melting
temperature of PCM) thereby the drop in electrical efficiency and life of
the module can be prevented to a large extent.
The schematic representing inclined roof top solar chimney with PV
module-PCM is shown in Fig. 13. Addition of copper foam as fins within
the PCM lined over the rear surface of PV module in solar chimney sys-
tem has enhanced the ventilation rate by about 20.0% [31]. The elec-
trical efficiency of solar chimney-PV-PCM unit is about 2 to 3% higher
than the solar chimney-PV unit. In addition, the electrical efficiency of
solar chimney-PV-PCM unit is just 1% higher than the ground mounted
PV unit during noon with high solar radiation intensity. However, the
Fig. 13. Inclined roof top solar chimney with solar PV module as absorber and daily electrical efficiency of ground mounted PV module is still higher
PCM based thermal energy storage medium [31]. than that of both solar chimney-PV-PCM unit and solar chimney-PV unit
due to the benefit of forced convection heat transfer occurring over its
surface caused by the flowing ambient outdoor wind. In case of the other
Fig. 14. Schematic of Roof Top Solar Chimney Ventilation Unit with Earth to Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) [23].
8
two units, the heat loss from the PV surface is only due to natural con-
vection occurring within the chimney [38].
The ventilation air flow rate of solar chimney-PV-PCM unit and solar
chimney-PV unit is about 4.22% higher and 1.20% lower than conven-
tional solar chimney ventilation unit. Solar chimney-PCM unit gener-
ates 1.18%, 7.31% and 6.02% higher ventilation air flow rate than solar
chimney-PV-PCM unit, solar chimney-PV unit and solar chimney unit,
respectively [38]. PV module integrated solar chimney ventilation unit
configuration has very low air ventilation rate during low solar radiation
hours. However, the ventilation air flow rate can be improved signifi-
cantly by adding fins within the PCM. It has also been found that the fin
height, fin mass, PCM material type and its mass influences the perfor-
mance of roof type solar chimney-PV-PCM ventilation unit significantly
[31].
2.2.4. Roof top solar chimney ventilation unit with earth to air heat
exchanger (EAHE)
The indoor thermal comfort in summer and winter seasons can be
improved significantly by integrating the roof top solar chimney venti-
lation unit with earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) unit [23,37]. Gen-
erally, in EAHE (Earth to air heat exchanger) unit, fresh air from the
ambient is drawn through the pipes buried under the earth with the
help of fans and this arrangement facilitates exchange of energy with
the sub-soil of the earth. The air passing through the EAHE either gets
heated or cooled inside the EAHE by utilizing the earth’s stored energy
and is then distributed to the rooms with the aid of fans. The integration
of EAHE with solar chimney improves natural ventilation and eliminates
circulation fans thereby the energy consumption for space conditioning
is reduced significantly [23].
The schematic of natural ventilation system for a room with the aid Fig. 15. a) Air flow rate in room with solar chimney-EAHE with and without
of roof top solar chimney and EAHE unit is shown in Fig. 14. Solar PCM b) EAHE outlet temperature for solar chimney-EAHE with and without
chimney dimensions (height, width, glass thickness and absorber thick- PCM [23].
ness), weather conditions (solar radiation, ambient temperature and
wind speed), and earth-air heat exchanger dimensions (pipe length, pipe
2.3. Role of ambient conditions on performance of solar chimney based
diameter and number of passes) affects the ventilation air flow rate from
ventilation units
the chimney (ie.) ventilation unit in the house/building. The roof top so-
lar chimney-EAHE ventilation unit reduces the temperature of the room
Performance of solar chimney ventilation unit is affected by the cli-
by about 5.0 to 9.0 °C in comparison to the ambient temperature during
matic conditions like solar radiation intensity, wind velocity, altitude
summer seasons. In addition, the unit can reduce the total annual elec-
and relative humidity in addition to its geometric conditions like height,
tricity consumption and CO2 emission by about 42.9 kWh/m2 and 4.55
width, gap and aperture area. It has been estimated that the solar chim-
tons, respectively in a two story residential building with four occupants
ney can provide significant ventilation only if the incident solar radia-
[40]. The operation of this unit can be extended up to early morning by
tion intensity is at least 400 W/m2 and its height and aperture area is
adding 0.05 m thick PCM to the absorber of the roof top solar chimney
at least 5.0 m and 15.0 m2 , respectively. Increased ambient wind speed
unit. The PCM incorporated unit can improve the room ventilation by
over the solar chimney’s glazing from 1.5 to 6.0 m/s deteriorated solar
increasing the ventilation air flow rate & its temperature and by decreas-
chimney’s performance by about 25.0% even at a high solar radiation
ing the ventilation air flow rate & its temperature during night and day,
intensity of 900 W/m2 . This observation is due to the increased con-
respectively [23] which can be justified from Fig. 15(a-b).
vection heat losses from the glazing to the ambient caused by increased
wind speed [32]. The ambient air pressure, air density and temperature
2.2.5. Roof top solar chimney ventilation unit with evaporative cooler decreases with increase in altitude. The exit temperature of air at chim-
The schematic of roof top solar chimney ventilation unit with evapo- ney outlet increases with chimney height due to increased heat exchange
rative cooler is shown in Fig. 16. The dry ambient air is first humidified occurred between the chimney absorber surface and the in flowing air.
by spraying water and is then allowed to circulate through the room with However, as altitude increases, the heat loss from the chimney glazing to
the aid of roof top solar chimney to improve thermal comfort of the oc- the ambient increases due to low ambient temperature at high altitudes
cupants. This arrangement is suitable only for hot and dry climates and as a result the chimney air exit temperature decreases with increase in
is capable of saving at least 20.0% of the space cooling energy demand altitudes. Moreover, the mass flow rate of ventilation air from a 3.0 m
of the room [41]. high chimney drops from 0.33 kg/s to 0.31 kg/s, with increase in alti-
The photograph of an ancient dwelling place with wind catcher and tude from the sea level to 2000 m due to drop in ambient air density
underground cisterns for enhancing indoor comfort is shown in Fig. 17. with altitude. Increasing chimney height from 3.0 m to 9.0 m favors im-
These kinds of architecture are mainly found in the Persian and Roman proved ventilation air mass flow rate from 0.31 to 0.88 kg/s because of
cities. In this architecture, instead of spraying the water, the ambient improved stack effect [42]. Hence, solar chimney ventilation unit’s de-
air is first allowed to flow over the underground water cistern thereby sign must be optimized based on the altitude of the concerned location
the air gets humidified which then flows through the room with the aid also [42].
of roof top solar chimney. The room temperature in this case drops by Density of air plays an important role in ventilation air mass flow
about 7.0 to 13.0 °C in comparison to the ambient condition and it also rate. Density of moist air and dry air decreases with increase in temper-
improves the comfort of the occupants significantly [4]. ature and the decreasing rate is high with increase in relative humidity
9
The summary of various aspects of different solar chimney based

ventilation systems is tabulated in Table 3.
The major features of solar chimney based ventilation systems are
[20,22,31, and 46]
a. Inevitable part of net-zero buildings

b. Can be manufactured using less expensive items like concrete and
glazing hence more suitable for developing countries
c. No moving parts, less maintenance requirements and has good life
span
d. Optimized configuration can provide reliable and clock round ven-
tilation
e. World Health Organization (WHO) recommended natural ventila-
tion arrangement for old age homes and air-borne disease isolation
centers
f. No fossil fuel consumption hence environmental contamination and
space conditioning bills are reduced
g. Low efficiency and performance highly depends on ambient condi-
tions like solar radiation intensity, wind direction, humidity, altitude
of location etc.,
3. Solar chimney power generation systems
Solar chimney power plants fall under non-concentrating solar ther-

mal power generation systems [47]. In solar chimney power plant, ki-
netic energy of the hot air generated in the solar collector is used to
rotate the generator coupled turbine to produce electric power [48,49].
It is considered as a simple alternate to the existing large scale solar
power generation systems [18]. Solar chimney used for power gener-
ation can be classified as conventional solar chimney and sloped solar
chimney power plant [50]. The detailed thermodynamic model of so-
lar chimney power plant can be found in [51,52]. The electric power
output of solar chimney power plant is related to its chimney height,
solar collector area, solar radiation intensity, ambient temperature and
Fig. 16. Schematic of inclined roof type solar chimney assisted ventilation unit efficiency of collector, turbine, and generator [48,53], which can seen
with inlet air humidification by spraying water [41].
from the equation given below,
2 𝑔 𝐻𝑐ℎ 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 𝜂𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 𝜂𝑡 𝜂𝑔 𝐼𝑠
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 =
3 𝐶𝑝𝑎 𝑇𝑎 1000
The overall efficiency of the solar chimney power plant is given as
[54],
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝜂𝑒𝑙𝑒 = × 100
𝐼𝑠 × 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙
3.1. Conventional solar chimney power plant
The schematic of conventional solar chimney power plant is shown

in Fig. 18. Main components of conventional solar chimney power plant
are solar collector, central chimney and wind turbine connected to a gen-
erator. Plastic film or glass cover stretched and raised above the ground
acts as solar collector. The transparent film or glass cover allows only
short wave solar radiation to pass through it and prevents escape of
Fig. 17. Photograph of a Persian architecture with wind catcher and cistern to long wave radiation re-radiated from the ground. This greenhouse ef-
achieve thermal comfort for occupants [4]. fect heats up the air trapped between the ground and cover thereby air
density drops and it rises through the chimney causing turbine rotation
resulting in power generation. The up thrust and volume of air flow-
of the air. Ventilation air mass flow rate from a solar chimney ventilation ing through the chimney depends on the air temperature and chimney
unit increases with increase in solar radiation intensity and air relative height, respectively. Chimney is a source of negative pressure which en-
humidity (up to 50.0%). Further increase in relative humidity beyond hances buoyancy effect. Once the heated air moves upwards, cold air
50.0% has caused no significant impact on ventilation air mass flow rate enters the collector from the ambient automatically. The power output
of the solar chimney [43]. Twenty four hour ventilation (including time is proportional to the pressure drop across the turbine and volume flow
from evening to early morning) with solar chimney has been made pos- rate of air. The unit can produce power throughout the year even un-
sible by increasing the thermal mass of the absorber wall by modifying der cloudy conditions. Moreover, solar chimney power plants are con-
its properties like specific heat capacity, density, thickness, height and sidered as an attractive alternate option to conventional wind turbine
density. However, this modification may affect the air flow rate slightly power plants which are highly dependent on intermittent natural wind
[44]. [55].
10
Table 3
Summary of various solar chimney based ventilation systems.
S. No Solar Chimney Ventilation Influencing Parameters Optimum Values Effect Type of Investigation
System
1. Vertical wall type [27] Passive wall inclination 6° inclination Prevents reverse flow of air at Prototype - experiment
chimney exit
2. Vertical wall type [28] Transparent insertions 2 to 3 insertions within the Heat is distributed uniformly Prototype – experiment
gap thereby ventilation air flow rate and simulation
enhances by 30 to 57%
3. Vertical wall type [25] Inlet opening, outlet opening 0.2 m, between 0.2 to 0.3 m Improves thermal comfort inside Simulation
and gap thickness and 0.2 m room during winter season
4 Vertical wall type [42] Altitude of the location NA Air flow rate drops with increase Simulation
in altitude
Chimney height NA Air flow rate drops with increase
in chimney height
5. Inclined roof top type [44] Thermal mass of Absorber Increase in thermal mass Facilitates ventilation for 24 hrs Simulation
(Specific heat, height, improves early morning and
thickness and density) late evening ventilation
.6. Inclined roof top type with Absorber temperature NA Increased absorber temperature Experiment
solar concentrator [34] improves ventilation air velocity
7. Inclined roof top type with PCM mass & Fin dimensions Paraffin wax + copper foam Ventilation duration and capacity Simulation
PCM incorporated finned PV (212 kg) and Fin (80 no, increased by 17.6% and 7.7%
module as absorber ([31] 46 mm height, 3 mm compared to finless case
thickness) PV power output and ventilation Simulation
duration increases by 16% and
101% compared to the solar
chimney-PV absorber without
PCM
8. Inclined roof top type + Earth Temperature of the earth NA 5° to 9 °C lower indoor Simulation
Air Heat exchanger [40] below the surface temperature compared to
ambient temperature in summer
9. Inclined roof top type + Earth Temperature of the earth NA Inlet temperature of air to the Experiment
Air Heat exchanger [45] below the surface room is about 12.5 °C (maximum)
lower than the ambient
10. Inclined roof top type with Thermal inertia of PCM NA Ventilation air flow rate at night Simulation
PCM absorber + Earth Air Heat has enhanced by 50% in
exchanger [23] comparison to the unit without
PCM
11. Roof top type with water Evaporative cooling NA Indoor temperature has dropped Simulation
sprayers at air inlet to the by 7 °C to 13 °C from the ambient
room [4] temperature
12. Vertical wall type with Air Humidity NA Performs well during summer Experiment
evaporative cooled window with low humidity Unfavorable
[30] performance in winter due to
increased ambient air humidity
Solar chimney power plant with 1000 m diameter collector and solar chimney power plant depicted in Fig. 19., is recommended for
350 m high chimney is capable of producing 1–2 MW electric power power generation [61]. The sloped solar chimney power plant utilizes
[48]. Hassan et al. [56] found that by providing divergence angle of the slope of the available mountains or hills [50]. The sloped solar chim-
about one degree to the chimney outlet can improve the power output ney power plant has a sloped collector and a short chimney. Collector
by about 108% due to significant increment in airflow rate from 9.1 m/s in conventional solar chimney power plants is nearly horizontal while it
to 11.6 m/s thereby the required chimney height and collector diame- is highly sloped in sloped solar chimney power plant. Shorter chimney
ter can be reduced for the required power output. Parabolic chimney requirement of the sloped unit is predominantly due to the high buoy-
profiles can enhance the power output of conventional solar chimney ancy effect provided by its sloped collector. The sloped solar chimney
power plant by about 80% [57]. The slope angle of the solar collector power plant having chimney height & radius of 252.2 m & 14.0 m, col-
must not be increased beyond 6° as it can cause recirculation of the gen- lector radius & tilt angle of 607.2 m and 31° is capable of generating
erated hot air which in turn prevents its entry into the chimney thereby 5.0 MW power at an overall system efficiency of about 0.57 to 0.64%.
the performance of the power plant may drop considerably [56]. The Even though it has very low efficiency it is still attractive in comparison
recommended optimum ratio of turbine pressure drop to the total pres- to the fossil and nuclear fuel based power plants due to its environment
sure potential is around 0.70 to 0.85 to obtain better performance of friendly nature [62].
the solar chimney power plant [58]. However, this optimum pressure The construction cost of sloped solar chimney power plant is ex-
ratio is also dependent on the plant size and solar radiation potential pected to be lower than that of conventional solar chimney power plant
[59]. The solar chimney power plant in Manzanares, Spain has collec- because of its requirement of shorter chimney [63]. Collector tilt an-
tor radius, collector height from ground, chimney height, and chim- gle must facilitate maximum air flow rate over the turbine rather than
ney radius of about 122 m, 1.85 m, 194.6 m and 5.08 m, respectively. collection of maximum solar radiation intensity for obtaining maximum
The turbine and generator efficiency are 80.0% and 95.0%, respectively power output in sloped solar chimney power plants. Hence, in some
[60]. studies, solar collector of the sloped chimney power plant has been tilted
by about 20 to 25° larger than local latitude to achieve maximum air
3.2. Sloped solar chimney power plant flow rate. In some studies, it is suggested to have a tilt angle of about
5 to 7° lower than the local latitude to achieve maximum air flow rate.
Conventional solar chimney power plant cannot be constructed eas- If the tilt angle is made lower than the optimum value, the power out-
ily on mountainous and hilly regions. However, in these regions, sloped put decreases due to significant reduction in solar energy collection and
11
Fig. 18. Schematic of conventional solar chimney power plant [55].
Fig. 19. Schematic of sloped solar chimney power plant [60].
12
3.4.1. Hybrid flue gas– solar chimney power plant

Yazdi et al. [71] simulated the performance of solar chimney power
plant with 6.0 m collector diameter, 0.15 m chimney diameter, 6.65 m
chimney height coupled with four flue gas carrying channel under its
collector canopy. The flue gas passes through the channel at a tempera-
ture and mass flow rate of about 116.0 °C and 0.0015 kg/s, respectively
and leaves the unit near the start of the chimney structure as shown in
Fig. 21. The flue gas is not allowed to flow through the chimney of the
solar chimney power plant in this configuration. Blackened pebbles of
0.10 m thick are also distributed above the ground to facilitate storage
of excess incident solar energy during day time. This hybrid unit gen-
erates about 11.48% higher power than the unit without flue gas flow
and energy storage unit at night time. For a solar radiation intensity of
1000 W/m2 and flue gas channel’s surface temperature of 100 °C the
power output is about 23.1% higher than the conventional solar chim-
ney power plant [72].
Esmaili et al. [60] simulated the impact of flare gas hot combustion
Fig. 20. Schematic of solar double chimney power plant [54]. products injection on conventional solar chimney power plant’s power
output. The hot flue gas obtained by the combustion of flare gas is about
air flow speed [64]. The detailed thermodynamic model of sloped solar 1000 to 2000 K and is injected either in a concentrated form at the cen-
chimney power plant can be found in [65,66]. ter of solar chimney just above the turbine hub or in a diluted form
at different radii (30 or 60 or 90 m) of the solar collector as shown in
3.3. Solar double chimney power plant Fig. 22a., and Fig. 22b. Power output increases and solar energy share
decreases with increase in mass flow rate of the injected flared gas com-
The chimney height of sloped solar chimney power plant is lower bustion products. Power output of the solar chimney power plant with
in than conventional solar chimney power plant. However, sloped solar flared gas injection is about 539 to 788 kW, which is about 978 to 1476%
chimney power plants are suitable only for special geographical con- higher than the actual power output of the conventional solar chimney
ditions like hilly regions. One of the alternate ways to maintain rela- power plant. The injection of flared gas combustion products reduces
tively lower solar chimney height is by utilizing double chimney. The the required solar chimney’s height for the desired power output. This
schematic of solar double-chimney power plant is shown in Fig. 20. So- method can be used to operate the solar chimney power plant even dur-
lar double-chimney power plant is a combination of both conventional ing night hours. Moreover, the energy content of the flared gas has also
and sloped solar chimney power plant. It consists of tilted solar col- been utilized effectively which might have been wasted otherwise.
lector, horizontal solar collector, two concentric solar chimneys at the
center of the solar collector and a turbine coupled with electric gen- 3.4.2. Hybrid geothermal energy– solar chimney power plant
erator. This arrangement favors increased utilization of incident solar Due to variations in instantaneous solar radiation intensity, the per-
radiation without any additional ground area requirement and it also formance of the conventional solar chimney power plant is highly af-
increases the strength of the structure due to the incorporation of tilted fected. In order to overcome this limitation in a sustainable way, the
solar collector above the horizontal collector. earth’s geothermal energy can be utilized to facilitate continuous oper-
Horizontal solar collector is connected with the inner chimney while ation of the solar chimney power plant. Hot water geothermal energy
the tilted solar collector is connected with the outer chimney. Air heated source is highly exploited and utilized in many regions of the globe.
by the horizontal collector flows through the inner chimney and the Hot water geothermal energy source can be classified as high tempera-
air heated by the tilted collector flows through the gap between the ture (>150 °C), medium temperature (90–150 °C) and low temperature
inner and outer chimney. The yearly average power output of this unit is (<90 °C). High temperature geothermal energy is used for power genera-
about 1.59 and 2.77 times larger than the power output of conventional tion while the low and medium temperature geothermal energy is used
solar chimney and sloped solar chimney power plant, respectively which for space heating, industrial process, fish farming and other domestic
confirms that the chimney height requirement of the this unit per unit activities [73]. Habibollahzade et al. [74] recommended utilization of
power delivered is relatively lower than other available units [54]. geothermal energy in solar chimney power plant if the solar radiation
intensity falls below 200 W/m2 .
3.4. Hybrid solar chimney power plant Cao et al. [73] developed a new configuration of solar chimney
power plant (dimensions similar to the unit in Spain) to utilize low tem-
Solar chimney power plant cannot generate power during late perature geothermal energy to improve solar chimney power plant’s per-
evening and night hours due to the absence of solar radiation [67]. This formance. The schematic of the hybrid geothermal-solar chimney power
limitation can be rectified by coupling the solar chimney power plant plant is shown in Fig. 23. Spirally coiled geothermal water to earth heat
with thermal energy storage [68,69] or with any other external heat en- exchanger is installed on the ground area below the solar collector and
ergy source. Solar chimney power plant utilizing other energy sources is insulated at the bottom to avoid direct contact with the earth’s soil.
in addition to the incident solar energy for its operation is called hy- Low temperature geothermal water from the geothermal reservoir well
brid solar chimney power plant. The external heat energy source can be enters the heat exchanger which then exchanges its heat energy to the
geothermal energy or waste flue gas from conventional thermal power ground and exits the heat exchanger. The gap between the coiled tubes
plants. Due to corrosive nature and variable quality, the gas obtained is covered with sand which acts as a thermal energy storage unit.
during oil extraction is generally not utilized as fuel in commercial gas The proposed configuration was simulated for three modes namely
based power plants hence it is flared at the extraction site itself. Flaring full scale solar mode (FSM) (plant is operated only using solar energy),
of gas in oil extraction sites has resulted in wastage of a potential energy full scale geothermal mode (FGM) (plant is operated only using geother-
resource. The amount of gas flared every year is capable of powering the mal energy) and geothermal-solar mode (GSM) (plant is operated us-
entire African continent for one year. Moreover, the flue gas obtained ing both geothermal energy and solar energy). The mass flow rate and
from the combustion of flare gas can be utilized in solar chimney power temperature of the utilized low temperature geothermal water is about
plant to enhance its power output and operation time [60,70]. 150 kg/s and 60 °C, respectively. The energy input from the solar radi-
13
Fig. 21. Schematic of hybrid flue gas-solar chimney power plant [71].
ation is very much higher than the geothermal energy thereby the plant black coiled tubes as shown in Fig. 24a. These coiled blackened tubes
produces about 87.44 and 16.34 kW of power in full solar mode and with water absorbs solar energy and stores excess incident solar energy
full geothermal mode, respectively. However, in GSM, the power out- as heat energy which can be utilized for the operation of the unit during
put is about 110.48 kW which is around 6.45% larger than the sum of late evening/non sun-shine hours. The black tubes can be eliminated
the power output obtained in FSM and FGM. In addition, the proposed if the site is closer to the sea and has high solar and wind potential.
unit can generate power continuously by utilizing geothermal-solar en- However, for inlands it is always recommended to have the blackened
ergy during sunshine hours and sole geothermal energy after sunset tube based collectors. The ambient humid air (25.0 °C, 60% relative hu-
hours. Geothermal-solar mode (GSM) is found to be highly beneficial midity) coming in contact with the heated blackened tube gets heated
and its prototype has been developed and demonstrated by Mokrani up and enters the chimney. Temperature rise of the air by about 5.0 K
et al. [75] in Algeria. from the ambient is sufficient for the operation of this unit to gener-
The major features of the solar chimney based power generation sys- ate condensate. At a certain height inside the chimney, the water va-
tems are: por in the hot humid air condenses by releasing its latent heat over
the inner surface of the chimney. The height at which the water va-
a. Chimneys of discarded conventional coal power plants can be uti-
por in the air condenses inside the chimney depends on the chimney
lized
height, temperature difference between the air entering the chimney
b. Flue gas from conventional fossil fuel based power plants and flare
and ambient, and the relative humidity of the air [76] which can be seen
gas combustion can be utilized to operate the system at non-sunshine
clearly from Fig. 24b. Moreover, this unit is favorable in arid regions
hours
with low natural precipitation and it is unsuitable in regions with high
c. Continuous, reliable operation with high power output can be
natural precipitation levels [78] which can be well understood from the
achieved by utilizing geothermal energy as heat source along with
Fig. 24c., where the ratio of the water produced by this unit to the local
the solar energy
natural precipitation is plotted against the natural precipitation of the
d. Suitable option for installations in bare hills and arid regions
sites.
e. Large ground area occupancy and low energy conversion efficiency
Ming et al. [79] found that by incorporating water sprayers inside
f. High initial cost due to requirement of heavy and high structures
the chimney (as shown in Fig. 25.,) can enhance condensate genera-
g. Diverging chimney can give high power output but its construction
tion rate. Condensate generation process begins only when the water
cost is high due to the requirement of special expertise in building
spray rate is beyond 0.4 kg/s. Moreover, increasing water spray rate
tall diverging structures
from 0.4 kg/s to 0.8 kg/s enhances condensation efficiency from 0.0% to
The summary of various aspects of solar chimney power generation 79.4%. In addition, the required chimney height to cause condensation
systems is tabulated in Table 4. of water vapor drops from 210 m to 15 m with increase in water spray
rate from 0.1 kg/s to 0.5 kg/s. It has been assessed that the installation of
4. Solar chimney potable water production systems potable water generating solar chimney units can improve the microcli-
mate, promote rainfall and prevent droughts in those installed locations
Solar chimney can be implemented to extract water from the atmo- [80].
sphere [76,77]. Ming et al. [78] replaced the greenhouse canopy type The summary of major findings in solar chimney based sole potable
solar collector section of solar chimney power plant with water filled water production systems is tabulated in Table 5.
14
Fig. 22. a: Schematic of hybrid flare gas combustion products (injected top of the turbine)-solar chimney power plant [60] b: Schematic of hybrid flare gas combustion
products (injected under the collector)-solar chimney power plant [60].
15
Table 4
Summary of various solar chimney power generation systems.
S.No Solar Chimney Power Plant Investigated Parameters Optimal Values Observations Type of Investigation
1. Conventional solar chimney Collector diameter – 200 to Collector diameter - 1500 m, Power output increases with Simulation
power plant [48] 1400 m, chimney height – 50 Chimney height - 400 m to increase in chimney height and
to 600 m, chimney diameter produce 5 MW power collector diameter
2. Conventional solar chimney Chimney divergence angle – One degree Output power increased by 108% Simulation
power plant [56] 1 to 3 ° due to increase in air velocity
Collector slope angle – 4, 6, Less than 6 ° Beyond 6° slope air recirculation Simulation
8, 10 ° occurs
3. Double chimney solar power NA NA 1.59 and 2.77 times higher power Simulation
plant [54] production than conventional
and sloped solar chimney power
plant, respectively System
efficiency – 1.20%
4. Sloped solar chimney power Collector tilt angle - 0 to 75°, Optimum tilt angle of Better performance in spring and Simulation
plant [62] Collector radius – 607.2 m, collector – 31°, System autumn seasons
Chimney height – 252.2 m, efficiency – 0.57 to 0.64%
Chimney radius – 14 m
5. Sloped solar chimney power Collector tilt angle - 35°, Optimum tilt angle Varies At optimum tilt angle of the Simulation
plant [61] Collector radius – 122 m, with latitude and slope of the collector, the horizontal span and
Chimney height – 124.6 m, mountainous regions chimney height decreases by 18%
Chimney diameter – 10.16 m, and 36%, respectively in
Inlet height – 1.85 m comparison to simple solar
chimney power plant for similar
power generation capacity
6. Hybrid flue gas- solar Solar radiation intensity – Solar radiation intensity of at Hybrid system produces 11.48% Simulation
chimney power plant 100 to 1300 W/m2 ; Flue gas least 400 W/m2 is essential higher power output at night
carrying pipe temperature - to cause reasonable power than the conventional solar
100 °C [72] output from the system chimney power plant
External heat source is
needed when radiation
intensity falls below
300 W/m2
Flare gas combustion Power output increases with 978 to 1476% higher power Simulation
products temperature - 1000 increase with flue gas mass output than conventional solar
to 2000 K, flue gas flow rate flow rate and temperature chimney power plant Required
– 0 to 80 kg/s, [60] chimney height drops by half
7. Hybrid geothermal energy - Collector radius – 50 to Collector radius - 572.8 m, Geothermal energy is a suitable Simulation
solar chimney power plant 2500 m, chimney radius – 5 chimney radius - 15 m, backup for solar chimney power
[74] to 20 m, chimney height – chimney height - 500 m, plant when the solar radiation
200 to 500 m, geothermal geothermal well depth - 1000 falls below 200 W/m2
well depth – 1000 to 2000 m m
Ambient temperature – 280
to 310 K
8. Hybrid geothermal energy - Chimney height – 194.6 m; Combined geothermal and This configuration is suitable for Simulation
solar chimney power plant Chimney radius – 5.08 m; solar energy utilization continuous operation of the
[73] Collector radius – 122.0 m; system at night and in winter
Inlet height – 1.85 m; season. 6.45% higher power
Geothermal water inlet output than the sum of the power
temperature - 70 °C; output of full scale solar mode
Geothermal water flow rate – and full scale geothermal mode
150 kg/s operated system
Table 5
Summary of major findings in solar chimney based sole potable water production systems.
S.No Potable Water Production Investigated Parameters Optimum Values Observation Type of Investigation
Systems
1. Atmospheric water extraction Temperature of air at the NA Potable water production increases Simulation
[78] chimney entrance, Relative with increase in temperature and
humidity of the air at the relative humidity of air at chimney
chimney entrance, natural entrance. More efficient in arid
precipitation of the location. regions with low natural precipitation
Chimney radius – 50 m;
Chimney height – 3000 m
2. Solar chimney with water Water spray rate at chimney 0.50 kg/s water Required chimney height for Simulation
sprayers at chimney inlet entrance – 0 to 0.80 kg/s spray rate occurrence of water condensation
[80] Chimney height – 200 m decreases with increase in water
Chimney radius – 5 m Solar spray rate due to rise in relative
collector radius – 120 m humidity Beyond water spray rate of
0.50 kg/s the percentage rise in
condensation efficiency is not drastic
16
Fig. 23. Schematic of hybrid geothermal-solar chimney power plant [73].
5. Poly-generation/co-generation solar chimney power plant power plant and at the same time the glass cover of solar still gets cooled
by the flowing air thereby its productivity can be increased further.
Solar chimney power plant occupies large ground area and this Zuo et al. [89] modified solar chimney power plant (chimney height
area can be effectively utilized either by incorporating solar distillation and diameter 200 m and 10 m; collector 250 m diameter and 2.0 m
units or PV module or agricultural greenhouse within the solar chim- height) configuration by introducing solar basin stills in annular fash-
ney power plant there by additional power, potable water and food ion below the solar chimney’s collector and by providing rock based
crops can be obtained and the utilization factor of solar chimney power energy storage (40 m diameter) at the inner annulus below the collector
plant can also be improved [81]. Such integrated solar chimney power as shown in Fig. 26. Solar energy transmitted through the glass cover of
plant with more than one useful output is called co-generation/poly- the solar collector and solar still, heats up the basin liner and initiates
generation units. The utilization factor of solar chimney power plant saline water evaporation inside the basin. The evaporated water con-
under poly-generation mode (desalination, turbine power output and denses over the glass cover of the still by releasing its latent heat. This
integrated PV power output) is given as [82], latent heat along with convection and radiation heat losses from the
· still’s glass cover heats up the air inside the collector which gets heated
𝑚𝑐 ℎ𝑓 𝑔 + 𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 + 𝑃𝑃 𝑉 up further while coming in contact with the energy storage unit. The
𝜂𝑠𝑦𝑠 = × 100
𝐼𝑠 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 density of the heated air inside the solar collector is lower than the cold
ambient air at the same altitude thereby natural convection facilitated
by buoyancy occurs. This makes the hot air to enter the chimney where
5.1. Hybrid basin still-solar chimney power plant the mechanical energy of the flowing air is converted into electrical en-
ergy by the wind turbine coupled generator installed at the chimney’s
Basin solar still has low distillate yield of about 2.15 kg/m2 d and entrance. The annual power output, fresh water production rate and
its distillate yield can be enhanced by 46.5%, 31.2%, 51.0%, and 85% CO2 emission reduction rate of this unit is about 283,000 kWh, 69,462
by adding magnets [83,84] magnetic powder [85], crushed sand gravel tons and 269 tons, respectively for six hour operation per day. The daily
[86,87] and by incorporating heat pump & slack wax [88], respectively. utilization factor of the conventional solar chimney power plant and the
However, the latent heat of condensation in basin solar still is still left plant integrated with desalination units is about 1.0% [89] and 16.1 to
unutilized. Similarly, the huge land area below the solar chimney power 55.0% [89,90], respectively.
plant’s collector is not effectively utilized. Hence, combining solar chim- (Zuo et al. [91], Zuo et al. [92]) proposed a concept of incorporating
ney power plant and solar still will be mutually beneficial for both the air gap membrane distillation unit within basin solar stills placed under
units. In hybrid system, the latent heat of condensation of solar still the collector roof of solar chimney power plant. The schematic of basin
will be utilized for heating the flowing air in collector of solar chimney solar still with integrated air gap membrane distillation unit installed
17
Fig. 24. a) Schematic of solar chimney power plant with coiled water filled black tube as collector [76] b) Effect of temperature rise of chimney’s inlet air from
ambient, chimney height and relative humidity of air on height of condensation site [76] c) Linear relation between water production by solar chimney efficiency
and local natural precipitation [78].
below the solar chimney collector is shown in Fig. 27. Air gap mem- 5.2. Hybrid basin still-solar chimney power plant with wind supercharger
brane distillation unit has a hydrophobic membrane placed next to the
water inside the basin which is then followed by air gap (5.0 mm) and The utilization factor of solar chimney power plant has been im-
condensation plate cooled by incoming feed water. The feed water thus proved significantly by incorporating solar distillation units within it
preheated enters the basin still as make up water. The distillate produc- but this improvement comes with a significant trade off in power out-
tion from the integrated air gap membrane distillation unit is about five put. This reduction in power output can be prevented by adopting wind
times higher than the distillate production from the basin unit. The daily superchargers (modified H- type vertical axis wind wheel structure) in
utilization factor of the hybrid basin still-membrane distillation-solar hybrid basin still-solar chimney power plant as shown in Fig. 28. The
chimney power plant is around 46.0% for a sea water depth of 0.12 m height of chimney in solar chimney power plants is about 200 m, which
in the basin [91,92]. Covering the entire ground space below the solar makes it possible to utilize the high altitude wind energy to improve
collector of the solar chimney power plant with solar stills increases cap- the power output by installing wind supercharger at chimney’s top. The
ital cost and fresh water production but the actual power output will be high altitude wind rotates the blades of the wind supercharger as a result
dropped by about 50.0%. Hence, optimum configuration is essential to negative pressure is created at the chimney outlet thereby the pressure
generate fresh water and electricity with reasonable economic returns. drop across the turbine (inside the chimney) increases resulting in in-
Asayesh et al. [93] found that by covering the ground area between creased power output. In addition, the air flow rate over the glass cover
85 m to 125 m radius below the solar collector of solar chimney power of the solar distillation units also increases which causes reduced basin
plant with solar stills can produce fresh water (6.50 kg/s) and power glass cover temperature and enhanced distillate yield [94]. The opti-
(18.5 kW) in an economical way. mum blade installation angle for the chimney turbine blade and wind
18
Fig. 25. Schematic of potable water producing solar chimney with water sprayer [79].
Fig. 26. Schematic of hybrid basin still-solar chimney power plant [89].
19
Fig. 27. Schematic of basin still with inbuilt

air-gap membrane distillation unit under solar
chimney collector [91,92].
Fig. 28. Schematic of hybrid basin still-solar

chimney power plant with wind supercharger
[94].
supercharger blade is about 17° and 3°, respectively [95]. The power through the turbine generates condensate by coming in contact with a
output and distillate yield of hybrid basin still-solar chimney power high efficiency condenser kept at the chimney exit (400 m height) (as
plant with wind supercharger and hot flue gas heating arrangement is shown in Fig. 29a.). The condensate is then allowed to flow through a
about 21.6% and 14.7% higher in comparison to hybrid basin still-solar water turbine kept at the lower part of the chimney to generate addi-
chimney power plant with sole hot flue gas arrangement [96]. tional power. The power output from this unit is about 55.3 MW (39.2
MW from the air turbine inside the chimney and 16.1 MW from the
5.3. Hybrid direct water evaporation-solar chimney power plant water turbine) which is nearly 57.0% lower than the power output of
conventional solar chimney power plant of similar dimensions. The fresh
Incorporation of basin stills inside solar chimney power plant is ex- water production capacity of this unit is about 3807.0 kg/s. However,
pensive hence (Zhou et al. [97]) suggested adoption of shallow water the utilization factor of this unit is only 0.20% due to low power output
beds below the collector canopy. Direct water evaporation from the shal- in comparison to the conventional solar chimney power plant hence this
low water beds results in wet-air stream. The wet air stream after passing configuration seems to be non-economical.
20
Fig. 29. Schematic of hybrid direct water evaporation-solar chimney power plant with a) water bed covering the entire ground area below the collector [97] b)
water bed covering partial ground area below the collector [99].
Adoption of wind supercharger in hybrid direct evaporation-solar water pool, (Kiwan et al. [99]) suggested a water pool of 30 m radius
chimney power plant has improved its power output by 34.6%. How- and 4.0 cm depth as shown in Fig. 29b. The annual power produc-
ever, distillate yield from the wind supercharger incorporated unit is tion and fresh water generation capacity of this configuration is about
about 3.51% lower than the similar unit without wind supercharger 9.95 kWh/m2 and 2.43 ton/m2 , respectively under the climatic condi-
[98]. Instead of covering the entire ground space below collector with tions of Jordan at an annual efficiency of 66.0% [99].
21
power plant-PV panel- water distillation unit is given by the ratio of

summation of electric power output of generator & PV modules and the
energy required for water evaporation to the incident solar radiation
over the solar chimney collector [82]. Flowing air and evaporating wa-
ter pool helps to lower the PV panel temperature as a result better PV
performance is expected.
The major findings of this theoretical study are listed below [82]:
- Covering the whole area beneath the solar chimney collector in-
creases utilization factor of the plant as power output of PV unit
increases. However, the power output of solar chimney generator
decreases significantly. Optimum radial distance from the entrance
of collector to be covered with PV modules is found to be 5.0 m.
- By incorporating submerged PV module in water pool within the
solar chimney power plant increases utilization factor further due to
the additional production of distilled water
- Increasing thermal conductivity of the ground from 0.0 to 4.0 W/mK
increases efficiency of PV module installed over the ground below
the solar chimney collector from 14.25 to 14.80%
- Increasing submerged PV module area increases PV power output
and reduces generator’s power output
- Increasing height of the chimney from 250.0 m to 2000.0 m increases
Fig. 30. Top view of hybrid solar chimney -PV module power plant and water
both system utilization factor and PV power output from 4.37% to
distillation unit [82].
48.0% and 418 kW to 435 kW, respectively.
- Increasing solar radiation, increases water production rate and tur-
Table 6
bine power output but it has negative impact on utilization factor as
Geometrical dimensions of simulated
hybrid solar chimney [82].
PV module efficiency drops at high solar radiation intensity due to
increased PV module temperature
Geometry Dimension - Increasing ambient temperature reduces utilization factor due to
(m)
drop in water production rate and PV power output. Drop in wa-
Hch 200.0 ter production is due to reduced heat energy loss from the walls of
Dchim 10.0 the chimney to the outside
Dcoll 250.0
- Annual power output is about 45.35% higher than the power output
Hin 2.0
Dw 0.03 of sole PV modules occupying similar area under similar climatic
XPV 5.0 conditions
Rw 15.0 - Annual potable water production is about 4503.7 m3
5.5. Hybrid solar chimney-PV modules-Agricultural greenhouse-heat pump

5.4. Hybrid solar chimney -PV module power plant for power production unit
and water distillation
Power output of conventional solar chimney power plant is expected
Solar chimney has been a keen interest for researchers to tackle both to decrease by about 50.0% due to utilization of space below its canopy
power and water demand under one roof [100]. The glass roof of solar for agricultural greenhouse but it also saves a lot of land and improves
chimney power plant has been replaced with transparent PV modules the value of agricultural products [101]. PV modules, agricultural green-
to generate additional electric power [81]. Kiwan et al. [82] proposed house and air source heat pump can be integrated with solar chimney
and theoretically investigated this concept of hybrid solar chimney-PV power plant to produce additional power, food crops and support space
modules for electric power production and water desalination. The main heating activity. Xie et al. [102] proposed the concept of transforming
components of the unit are solar chimney, PV modules and water pool. a de-commissioned coal based power plant into this novel hybrid solar
Part of the PV modules is installed at the ambient air entrance region of chimney power plant. The 180.0 m high chimney of the Lingzhou power
the solar chimney collector. Remaining PV modules are installed around plant, China is utilized as chimney for this novel concept. The collector
the periphery of the generator located at the center of the solar chim- of solar chimney is partially covered with PV modules and the space
ney. PV modules installed around the generator section are submerged below the solar collector of the solar chimney is utilized as green house
in water pool. The installation details can be easily understood from for cultivating Chinese wolfberry. In addition, hot air flowing under the
Fig. 30. The geometrical dimensions of this simulated hybrid unit are solar collector is utilized as heat source for domestic heating using air
listed in Table 6. The schematic of this hybrid unit is shown in Fig. 31. source heat pump. The energy flow diagram of this hybrid solar chimney
Ambient air entering the solar chimney collector first recovers the power plant is shown in Fig. 32.
waste heat energy from the PV modules installed at the entrance. The The schematic representing operation of this hybrid solar chimney-
preheated air is then further heated by the bare ground region inside PV modules-greenhouse-heat pump unit is shown in Fig. 33. The inci-
solar chimney collector and it flows over the water pool surface thereby dent solar radiation over the collector of solar chimney is converted into
part of the water evaporates and mixes with the hot air increasing its electric power by the PV modules and generator coupled to the turbine
humidity. This hot humid air rises upward through the chimney driv- of the chimney, biomass by photosynthesis and hot air for space heat-
ing the turbine coupled to the generator to produce electric power. The ing by air source heat pump. The total power generation capacity of this
water vapor in the humid air condenses over the inner wall of the solar hybrid unit is about 343.50 MWh/d (334.20 and 9.30 MWh/d from the
chimney which is relatively at a lower temperature thereby distillate is PV module and solar chimney, respectively) at a conversion efficiency
produced. In this unit, electric power is generated by the PV modules of 14.2% which is nearly 5.98% and 36.9% higher than the power gen-
and the generator. The utilization factor of this hybrid solar chimney eration capacity and conversion efficiency of sole conventional PV mod-
22
Fig. 31. Schematic of hybrid solar chimney-PV module power plant for power generation and potable water production [82].
Fig. 32. Energy flow diagram for the hybrid solar chimney-PV module-Agricultural greenhouse-heat pump unit [102].
ule based power plant occupying similar ground area, respectively. The The summary of important findings in solar chimney based poly-
expected annual revenue from this hybrid solar chimney power plant generation systems is tabulated in Table 7.
is about 4.36, 0.61, and 0.50 million US dollars from its power genera- The features of hybrid solar chimney based poly-generation systems
tion unit, agricultural planting unit and space heating unit, respectively. are:
Moreover, this hybrid unit is capable of mitigating about 1.27 Megatons
a Electric power, food and potable water can be generated under one
of CO2 /year [102].
roof
23
Fig. 33. Schematic of hybrid solar chimney-PV module-Agricultural greenhouse-heat pump unit [102].
b High electric power output compared to solar PV array occupying chimney construction cost, collector construction cost and turbine cost
similar ground area occupies 25%, 75% and 5% of the total construction cost of solar chim-
c Improved utilization factor compared to sole solar chimney power ney power plant [78]. To reduce the cost associated with collectors,
plants PVC based transparent covers have been suggested for application in so-
d Wind supercharger assisted systems is more attractive as high alti- lar chimney power plants. Black plastic polyethylene tube of diameter
tude wind is effectively utilized 100 mm has also been suggested instead of glass based collector in solar
e Humid air may affect the performance of turbine in solar chimney chimney system especially for application in atmospheric water harvest.
power plant The cost of these tubes is about 2.6 USD/m [78]. The construction cost
f Quality of condensate obtained during condensation on solar chim- of 1 m2 reinforced concrete structure of chimney (200 to 500 m) is about
ney structures for human consumption is questionable 320 USD/m2 . The cost of PVC canopy is about 6.5 USD/m2 and the cost
g Transmission of electric power and potable water generated to the of turbine and other accessories is about 10% of the total construction of
residential areas requires additional distribution systems both chimney and collector [103]. The cost of glass cover and concrete
h Requires huge land and huge capital investment structure of solar chimney power plant has been taken as 200 USD/m2
i No practical units have been tested or in operation hence reliability and 300 USD/m2 , respectively in Ref [104]. The cost of basin solar stills
is questionable within the solar chimney power plant is about 20 USD/m2 [89].
( )
𝑈 𝑆𝐷
6. Economics of solar chimney assisted ventilation systems Chimneyconst ruct ioncost (𝑈 𝑆𝐷)= 320 2𝜋𝐻𝑐ℎ 𝑅𝑐ℎ
𝑚2
The economics of solar chimney assisted ventilation system is esti- ( )
𝑈 𝑆𝐷 ( )
mated by its payback period and energy saving potential. The initial Collect or const ruct ioncost (𝑈 𝑆𝐷)= 6.5 𝜋 𝑅2𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙 − 𝑅2𝑐ℎ
𝑚2
cost of EAHE-solar chimney ventilation system required for ventilating
a room of 2 × 2 × 2 m size is about 1854 USD. This system can save The capital cost of 100 MW conventional solar chimney power plant
up to 42.9 kWh/m2 of electrical energy used for ventilation [40]. Wind and sloped solar chimney power plant is about 537.58 million USD and
catcher assisted solar ventilation system can save at least 75% of the 130.37 million USD, respectively [70]. The total capital cost of solar
energy consumed for occupant space cooling [33]. The payback period chimney power plant with water bed below its canopy is about 1.25 mil-
of earth-air heat exchanger assisted solar chimney ventilation system is lion USD [104]. The capital cost of solar chimney power plant with basin
about 5.4 years under the climatic conditions of Egypt [40]. solar still with 283 MWh annual power generation capacity is about 3.68
The simple payback period of solar chimney ventilation system is million USD [89].
estimated by [40], Levelized cost of electricity is defined as the cost of electricity pro-
Initialcost duced by the system during its entire life time. It is dependent on initial
𝑃𝑃 = ( ) investment, discount rate, inflation rate, life time and annual energy
𝐸𝑠 × 𝐸𝑇
output. It is mathematically expressed as [103],
The annual electrical energy saved by the solar chimney ventilation
𝑁
system can be estimated by [33], 𝑖=𝑁
⎛ (1+𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑠 ) 𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑠 ⎞
( ) 𝐶 𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑣 ∑ ⎜ (1+𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑠 )𝑁 −1 ⎟
𝑖=365
∑ 11∶59∑𝑃 𝑀 ( ) 𝐿𝐶 𝑂𝐸 = ⎜ ( ) + 𝑟 𝑏 ⎟
𝑚𝑎 𝐶𝑝𝑎 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑜𝑢𝑡 − 𝑇𝑎 × Δ𝑡 𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 𝑁 𝑖=1 ⎜ 1 + 𝑟 𝑖 ⎟
inf
𝑖=1 00∶00𝐴𝑀 ⎝ ⎠
𝐸𝑠 =
𝜂𝑡−𝑒 × 3600 The levelized cost of electricity generated by the ground mounted
PV is about 0.030 to 0.048 USD/kWh. Similarly, the levelized cost of
7. Economics of solar chimney assisted desalination and power electricity generated by floating PV is about 0.035 to 0.064 USD/kWh
generation systems [105]. The levelized cost of electricity generated by 1 MW solar chimney
power plant in Tunisia at an interest rate, inflation rate and life time of
The investment cost in solar chimney power plant is mainly the con- 3.0%, 6.0% and 40 years, respectively is about 0.034 USD/kWh [103].
struction cost which is the summation of chimney, collector construc- The levelized cost of electricity generated by solar chimney power plant
tion cost and the costs of turbine and other accessories. In general, the with water bed drops from 4.0 USD to 1.5 USD per kWh, with increase in
24
Table 7
Summary of important findings in solar chimney based poly-generation systems.
S.No Poly-generation system System Parameters Optimum Values Observation Type of Investigation
1. Solar chimney + Saline water Collector radius, chimney Collector diameter – 6000 m, System efficiency – 0.20% Air Simulation
bed over ground + Condenser diameter and height Chimney height – 500 m, temperature and air velocity at
at top of chimney [97] Chimney radius – 80 m chimney inlet is lower
compared to sole solar chimney
power plant Potable water –
3807 kg/s Power output – 55
MW (57% lower power output
than conventional solar
chimney power plant)
2. Solar chimney + saline water Chimney height – 200 m, Water bed location – System efficiency – 66%, Power Simulation
bed over ground [99] chimney diameter – 10 m, between 5 and 15 m radii output – 487.5 MWh/year,
collector diameter – 250 m, from chimney center Potable water – 119 kilo
collector entrance height – 6 m, tons/year
water depth – 0.03 m. Optimal
water bed radius within the
system
3. Solar chimney + basin solar Chimney height – 200 m, Basin still location – between Potable water – 6.5 kg/s, Power Simulation
still over ground [93] collector diameter – 250 m 85 and 125 m radii from output – 18.5 kW (lower than
Optimal location of basin still collector entrance conventional solar chimney
within the collector power plant by 19% but higher
than the system with ground
area fully covered with basin
still)
4. Solar chimney + basin solar Chimney height – 200 m, NA System efficiency – 55.35%, Simulation
still over ground [89] chimney diameter – 10 m, Power output – 283 to
collector diameter – 250 m, 377 MWh/year, Potable water –
collector entrance height – 2 m, 69 to 92 kilo tons/year, Annual
Energy storage layer at center – CO2 reduction - 269 to 358 tons
40 m diameter, Ground area
covered with single basin solar
still
5. Solar chimney + Solar Solar chimney power plant – NA System efficiency – 38.46%, Simulation
still + membrane distillation dimensions similar to the Potable water – 11.55
[91] system at Spain Sea water tons/hour
thickness in basin – 8 cm
Membrane distillation – Air gap
type attached to the back wall
of solar still.
6. Solar chimney with wind Chimney height – 194.6 m, Optimum turbine rotational System efficiency – 16.73%, Simulation
supercharger + water chimney diameter – 10.16 m, speed – 100 rpm Power output – 45.6 kW (34.5%
bed + indirect condenser collector radius – 122 m, higher than similar unit without
[98] Collector roof height – 1.85 m, wind supercharger due to
wind wheel diameter – 10 m, utilization of high altitude wind
Blade inclination – 4°, Wind energy by wind supercharger),
wheel height – 15 m, Condenser Potable water – 9.805 ton/h
area – 5684.8 m2
7. Solar chimney + transparent Chimney radius & height, Chimney radius - 8 m, System efficiency – 1.01%, PV Simulation
PV cover + water bed above collector radius & height, air Collector radius – 100 m, power output- 419 kW, Turbine
ground with condensing mass flow rate over the glass Chimney height – 399.79 m, power output – 120.2 kW,
cover [81] cover of distillation unit Chimney entrance height – Potable water – 11,856 kg/h
2.99 m Air mass flow rate –
799.58 kg/s
8. Solar chimney + PV Area of the system – 1,069,015 Optimum canopy inclination Plant efficiency – 14.2%, Simulation
canopy + Agriculture + Heat m2 , Number of PV modules as – 38° (closer to local latitude) Annual revenue – USD 5.47
pump [102] canopy – 190,000, 80% area Million, Annual CO2 reduction -
below the canopy for Chinese 1.27×106 tons
wolfberry planting
chimney height from 120 to 240 m [104]. The power generation capac- estimated by including the cost of electricity generated by the system.
ity of solar chimney power plant with transparent PV module canopy The cost of distillate production in this case is given as [89],
and water bed is about 43% higher other solar chimney power plant ( 𝑁
) ( )
configurations due to the additional power generated by the PV mod- ( ) 𝐶 𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑣 𝐼 𝑅(1+𝐼𝑁𝑅) − 𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐 × Unit costofelect ricit y
(1+ 𝐼𝑅) −1
ules [82]. 𝐶 𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑤 𝑈 𝑆𝐷∕𝑚3 = ( )
𝑀𝑌
The cost of distillate produced by solar chimney based systems can 𝜌𝑤
be estimated by [89],
The cost per ton of distillate and cost per kWh of electricity generated
( 𝑁
)
( ) 𝐶 𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑣 𝐼 𝑅(1+𝐼𝑁𝑅) by a 130 MW solar chimney power plant with water bed is in the range
(1+ 𝐼𝑅) −1
𝐶 𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑤 𝑈 𝑆𝐷∕𝑚3 = ( ) of 0.20 to 0.70 USD/ton and 0.068 to 0.101 USD/kWh, respectively
𝑀𝑌
[97]. The distillate production cost of solar chimney power plant with
𝜌𝑤
basin stills ranges between 1.07 to 2.84 USD/m3 [89]. Similarly, the dis-
If the solar chimney system is generating power in addition to tillate water production cost of solar chimney power plant with trans-
potable water production then the cost of distillate production must be parent PV canopy and water bed is about 1.60 USD/m3 [82]. Potable
25
water production cost of solar chimney based systems are closer to that Data Availability
of conventional fossil fuel powered multi stage flash (1.13 USD/m3 ),
multi effect distillation (0.60 USD/m3 ) and reverse osmosis units (2.36 No data was used for the research described in the article.
USD/m3 ) [7].
8. Conclusion References
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Energy Nexus 10 (2023) 100184

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A detailed review on sole and hybrid solar chimney based sustainable

1. Introduction 30% every year [5]. In sustainable architecture/buildings, natural and

Nomenclature 𝜂𝑡−𝑒 Conversion eﬃciency from thermal energy to electrical

Fig. 1. Classiﬁcation of solar chimney technologies based on applications and conﬁgurations.

Thermodynamic Modeling Yes (Energy No No No Yes (Energy Yes (Exergy Yes No

Fig. 2. Adaptive comfort standard speciﬁed for thermal comfort in naturally

2.1. Vertical wall type solar chimney building ventilation unit

Components Transmissivity Reﬂectivity

Outer Glazing 0.848 0.076

Fig. 9. Schematic of roof top solar chimney ventilation unit [32].

Fig. 7. Solar chimney driven evaporative cooled window [30].

Fig. 8. Impact of solar chimney driven evaporative cooling unit on window

2.2.2. Concentrator assisted roof top solar chimney ventilation unit

The summary of various aspects of diﬀerent solar chimney based

a. Inevitable part of net-zero buildings

3. Solar chimney power generation systems

Solar chimney power plants fall under non-concentrating solar ther-

3.1. Conventional solar chimney power plant

The schematic of conventional solar chimney power plant is shown

Fig. 18. Schematic of conventional solar chimney power plant [55].

Fig. 19. Schematic of sloped solar chimney power plant [60].

3.4.1. Hybrid ﬂue gas– solar chimney power plant

Fig. 23. Schematic of hybrid geothermal-solar chimney power plant [73].

Fig. 27. Schematic of basin still with inbuilt

Fig. 28. Schematic of hybrid basin still-solar

power plant-PV panel- water distillation unit is given by the ratio of

5.5. Hybrid solar chimney-PV modules-Agricultural greenhouse-heat pump

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