Comparison study of two different testing methodologies used to characterize an opaque solar component

The work described in this paper was aimed at comparing two different testing methodologies, set up in order to define performance properties and reliability of passive or hybrid solar components. The former facility is based on the use of outdoor real-size Test Cells, designed to simulate a conventional living environment with a thermal mass distributed approximately in the same way as in a real dwelling. The latter uses an indoor real-size test cell reproducing a common piece of a dwelling; such a cell can assume various spatial arrangements and simulate in a cyclic way any temperature conditions and solar input on the walls under test. Experiments on a same opaque multilayer component were run with both facilities and the comparison of the obtained results are given; the good agreement of the efficiency values and the analysis of the most important working parameters of the tested component points out the effectiveness and the peculiarity of both methodologies.