Program for Solar Water Heating Systems Based on the F-Chart Method

This paper aims at presenting an application developed in Java for optimizing the design of centralized solar water heating systems with forced circulation, based on the f-chart method. The program uses data from the Brazilian Solar Atlas, performance data of flat plate collectors and thermal reservoirs from the standardized tests run within the Brazilian Labeling Program, and values of water consumption of appliances defined by the ABNT. The program finds the inclination of the collector that maximizes the annual solar fraction, or for the winter, and enables the use of arrays in series and parallel collectors. From the investment costs and O ＆ M （operations and maintenance） of solar heating systems, the program carries out economical analysis using classical parameters as net present value, discounted payback and internal rate of return. The program was validated through examples from the book of Duffle ＆ Beckman and also by comparison with the results from a project developed at UFRGS, having obtained good agreement.

Overview of China's National Standards for Solar Water Heating

Energy supply is one of the major challenges facing China. The rate at which demand is outstripping supply led the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to pass the Renewable Energy Law of the PRC at its fourteenth session in February, 2005. The document points out that 'The law is legislated to promote exploitation and utilization of renewable energy, increase the supply of energy sources, improve the structure of energy sources, ensure the security of energy sources, protect the environment, and achieve the sustainable development of economy and society.' 'Renewable energy under the law is non-fossil energy, including wind, solar, water, biomass, geothermal, and ocean energies, etc.' 'The nation determines that the exploitation and utilization of renewable energy takes precedence in the development of energy sources, and propels the establishment and development of the renewable energy market.' 'The Standardization Administrative Department of the State Council should constitute and promulgate the national grid-connection standards for renew- able electricity, and other national technical standards that are related to renewable energy technology and products.'

Numerical Analysis of Phase Change and Container Materials for Thermal Energy Storage in the Storage Tank of Solar Water Heating System

This study evaluates the effectiveness of phase change materials(PCMs) inside a storage tank of warm water for solar water heating(SWH) system through the theoretical simulation based on the experimental model of S.Canbazoglu et al.The model is explained by five fundamental equations for the calculation of various parameters like the effectiveness of PCMs,the mass of hot water,total heat content,and duration of charging.This study simulated eleven PCMs to analyze their effectiveness like Sodium hydrogen phosphate dodecahydrate(SHPD),OM 37,N-Eicosane(NE),Lauric acid(LA),Paraffin wax(PW),OM 48,Paraffin wax C_(20-33)(PW-C20-33),Sodium acetate trihydrate(SAT),Palmitic acid(PA),Myristic acid(MA),and Stearic acid(SA).Among all PCMs,the SHPD has found the highest value of effectiveness factor of 3.27.So,it is the most recommended PCM for the storage tank of the SWH system.The study also includes the melt fraction analysis of all enumerated PCMs corresponding to container materials of stainless steel,glass,aluminum mixed,tin,aluminum,and copper.This melt fraction analysis is performed by making a coding program in the FORTRAN programming language.Through the analysis,copper container material is found to have high melting rate for all PCMs so it is superior to other container materials.

Life cycle cost analysis of new FRP based solar parabolic trough collector hot water generation system

Parabolic trough collectors （PTCs） are employed for a variety of applications including steam generation and hot water generation. This paper deals with the experimental results and an economic analysis of a new fibre reinforced plastic （FRP） based solar PTC with an embedded electronic controlled tracking system designed and developed for hot water generation in a restaurant in Madurai, India. The new collector performance has been tested according to ASHRAE Standard 93 （1986）. The performance of a new PTC hot water generation system with a well mixed hot water storage tank is investigated by a series of extensive tests over ten months period. The average maximum storage tank water temperature observed was 74.91℃, when no energy is withdrawn from the tank to the load during the collection period. The total cost of the new economic FRP based solar PTC for hot water generation with an embedded electronic controlled tracking system is Rs. 25000 （US$ 573） only. In the present work, life cycle savings （LCS） method is employed for a detailed economic analysis of the PTC system. A computer program is used as a tool for the economic analysis. The present worth of life cycle solar savings is evaluated for the new solar PTC hot water generation system that replaces an existing electric water heating system in the restaurant and attains a value of Rs. 23171.66 after 15 years, which is a significant saving. The LCS method and the MATLAB computer simulation program presented in this paper can be used to estimate the LCS of other renewable energy systems.

Potential application of a novel building-integrated solar facade water heating system in a subtropical climate:A case study for school canteen

The design and potential application analysis of the novel solar-absorbing integrated facade module and its corresponding building-integrated solar facade water heating system are presented in this study.Compared with the conventional building envelope,the main novities of the proposed facade module lie in its contributions towards the supplied water preheating to loads and the internal heat gain reduction.Besides,the proposed building-integrated solar facade water heating system broadens the combination modes of the solar thermal system and the building envelope.A dynamic model is introduced first for system design and performance prediction.To evaluate the energy-saving potential and feasibility of the implementation of the proposed facade module,this paper carried out a suitable case study by replacing the conventional facade module in the ongoing retrofitting project of a kitchen,part of the canteen of a graduate school.The detailed thermal performances of three system design options are compared in the typical winter and summer weeks and throughout the year,and then,with the preferred system design,the economic,energy,and environmental effects of the proposed system are evaluated.It was found that the system with a high flow rate of the circulating water is suggested.The annual electricity saved reaches 4175.3 kWh with yearly average thermal efficiency at 46.9%,and its corresponding cost payback time,energy payback time,and greenhouse gas payback time are 3.8,1.7,1.7 years,respectively.This study confirms the feasibility and long-term benefits of the proposed building-integrated solar facade water heating system in buildings.

Arrangement of Multirow Solar Collector Array on Limited Roof Width

At the limited roof north-south （N-S） width of a building, for the array with multirow collectors based on no shading at winter solstice noon and sloped at latitude, this paper studied the shading and the radiant energy striking on solar collector array. Based on Kunming solar radiation data, the annual and monthly solar radiant energy striking on multi-array collectors was analyzed and estimated, from no shading to partial shading by adding 1-3 collector row, at the slopes of 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30°, 35° and 40°, respectively. The results showed that properly increasing the row number by reducing the slope of collectors was reasonable in order to get more annual radiant energy. Adding 1 row at 10° of slope was economical for Kunming, based on the 5-row array at 25°. And adding collector row by 20% at 10° of slope could increase the radiant energy striking on the array by 19%.

Solar Heater Technologies Selection Using Multi-criteria Analysis

Regarding sun＇s potential in Middle East and North Africa zone and particularly in Morocco, we focus our work on the development of the knowledge and information concerning the solar heaters for domestic applications, in order to help the industrial and the consumer to select an adaptive technology. As a result, a Moroccan mapping of solar water heating systems is presented in this work. This mapping concerns two technologies commonly used： the FPC （flat plate collectors） and the ETC （evacuated tubes ones）. It is based on three criteria： firstly, the efficiency of the STC （solar thermal collectors）; secondly, the economic aspect and at last, the reliability requirements. Based on these information, the multi-criteria outranking methodology PROMETHEE （preference ranking organization method for the enrichment evaluations） allows us to define an adequate solar heater technology linked with the climatic zoning of Morocco.

Efficiency enhancement of building multi-layer solar collector with SiO2–TiO2 hybrid nanofluids

Due to the depletion of conventional energy sources and its limitless resources,solar energy is currently being considered as a viable alternative,especially for water heating systems.The thermal performance of multilayer solar collectors for water heating systems can be improved further by introducing hybrid nanofluids as advanced fluids.This study demonstrates the utilisation of hybrid nanofluids in heating systems by employing a multilayer absorber solar collector.The SiO2–TiO2 hybrid nanofluids at volume concentrations up to 2.0%were tested at various flow rates(1.7 to 3.7 LPM)and solar radiation intensities(250 to 1000 W/m2).The thermal performance of the solar collector was assessed by measuring the temperature variation,heat loss,and overall efficiency of the collector.At the optimal volume concentration,the temperature difference for solar collectors employing SiO2–TiO2 hybrid nanofluids increased significantly.The optimal volume concentration of 1.5%yields a maximum temperature difference of 9.5°C.In addition,the efficiency and fluid temperature of the solar collector containing hybrid nanofluids have been enhanced by 22%and 37%,respectively.The SiO2–TiO2 hybrid nanofluids with the optimal volume concentration of 1.5%were therefore recommended for maximum efficiency in the solar collector.