Performance analysis of a solar air heating system with latent heat storage in a lightweight building

•Design, experimental validation and performance study of a solar air heating system with LHTES is presented.•System performance is evaluated with a coupled system numerical model and a building's thermal response model.•Solar system is optimized regarding to two indicators: the solar heating fraction and the utilizability of solar heat.•With the proposed system, solar heating fraction of 63% can be achieved in a case study lightweight building.•LHTES with PCM mass of 25 kg/m2 of the building's floor area is required for solar heating fraction >60%.