Abstract
The present study involves a validated TRNSYS model for solar assisted space heating system as applied to a residential building in Jordan using new detailed radiation models of the TRNSYS 17.1 and geometric building model Trnsys3d for the Google SketchUp™ 3D drawing program. The annual heating load for a building (Solar House) which is located at the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) in Jordan is estimated under climatological conditions of Amman. The aim of this paper is to compare the measured thermal performance of the Solar House with that modeled using TRNSYS. The results showed that the annual measured space heating load for the building was 6,188 kWh while the heating load for the modeled building was 6,391 kWh. Moreover, the measured solar fraction for the solar system was 50% while the modeled solar fraction was 55%. A comparison of modeled and measured data resulted in percentage mean absolute errors for solar energy for space heating, auxiliary heating, and a solar fraction of 13%, 7%, and 10%, respectively. T e validated model will be useful for long-term performance simulation under different weather and operating conditions.

Key words: TRNSYS, space heating, flat plate collector, solar house