Solar application potential and thermal property optimization of a novel zero-carbon heating building.

• An optimization method for thermal properties of envelopes of BIHP is proposed. • Thermal design principle of envelopes of BIHP is obtained. • Optimal BIHP greatly improves indoor thermal discomfort by 36 %–100 %. • BIHP is recommended in areas with RRTD greater than 5 W/(m2·K). Building Integrated Heat Pipes (BIHP), specifically a novel passive solar house integrated with gravity heat pipes, realizes envelopes with variable thermal properties and makes effective and efficient use of solar energy to reach zero-carbon heating, and can greatly improve the indoor thermal environment in winter. In this paper, an efficient method based on particle swarm optimization for the optimization of thermal properties of the BIHP interior envelope is proposed. The key thermal properties of the heat pipe and the exterior and interior envelopes are optimized, and the solar application potential of improving indoor thermal discomfort by BIHP in five representative cities of northern China is obtained. The results show that the equivalent thermal conductivity of the heat pipe is suggested to be greater than 2 × 104 W/(m·K). The optimal BIHP should have exterior envelopes with high thermal resistance and interior envelopes with large thermal capacity. In the selected areas, the optimal BIHP improves indoor thermal discomfort by 36 %–100 % and increases the minimum indoor operative temperature by 5.1–10.5 °C compared to the reference building. BIHP is recommended in areas with the ratio of radiation to temperature difference greater than 5 W/(m2·K) and can reach zero-carbon heating in Lhasa and Yinchuan. This research provides a global matching and optimization method for the effective and efficient utilization of solar energy to reach zero-carbon heating and evaluates the application potential of BIHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]