Numerical Study of Thermal Performance of Phase Change Material Energy Storage Floor in Solar Water Heating System

The conventional solar heating floor system contains a big water tank to store energy in the day time for heating at night,which takes much building space and is very heavy.In order to reduce the water tank volume even to cancel the tank,a novel structure of integrated water pipe floor heating system using shape-stabilized phase change materials(SSPCM)for thermal energy storage was developed.A numerical model was developed to analyze the performance of SSPCM floor heating system under the intermittent heating condition,which was verified by our experimental data.The thermal performance of the heating system and the effects of various factors on it were analyzed numerically.The factors including phase transition temperature,heat of fusion,thermal conductivity of SSPCM and thermal conductivity of the decoration material were analyzed.The results show that tm and kd are the most import influencing factors on the thermal performance of SSPCM floor heating system,since they determine the heat source temperature and thermal resistance between SSPCM plates and indoor air,respectively.Hm should be large to store enough thermal energy in the day time for nighttimes heating.The effects of kp can be ignored in this system.The SSPCM floor heating system has potential of making use of the daytime solar energy for heating at night efficiently in various climates when its structure is properly designed.

Operation Performance of Central Solar Heating System with Seasonal Storage Water Tank in Harbin

This paper presented a preliminary research on the central solar heating system with seasonal storage(CSHSSS)used in cold climate in China.A mathematical model of the solar energy seasonal storage water tank used in the central solar heating system was firstly developed based on energy conservation.This was followed by the simulation of the CSHSSS used in a two-floor villa in Harbin,and analysis of the impacts on storage water temperature of tank volume,solar collector area,tank burial depth,insulation thickness around the tank,etc.The results show there is a relatively economical tank volume to optimize the system efficiency,which decreases with increasing tank volume at the constant collector area,and increases with increasing collector area at the constant tank volume.Furthermore,the insulation thickness has obvious effect on avoiding heat loss,while the tank burial depth doesn't.In addition,the relationship between the solar collector efficiency and storage water temperature is also obtained,it decreases quickly with increasing storing water temperature,and then increases slowly after starting space heating system.These may be helpful for relevant design and optimization in cold climates in China and all over the world.

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.

Performance Analysis of a Solar Continuous Adsorption Refrigeration System

A study is conducted on the performances of a solar powered continuous-adsorption refrigerator considering two particular days as references cases,namely,the summer solstice(June 21st)and the autumn equinox(September 21st).The cooling capacity,system performance coefficient and the daily rate of available cooling energy are assessed.The main goal is to compare the performances of a solar adsorption chiller equipped with a hot water tank(HWT)with an equivalent system relying on solar collectors with no heat storage module.The daily cooling rates for the solar refrigerator are found to be 102.4 kWh and 74.3 kWh,respectively,on June 21st and on September 21st,using a total collector’s area of 43.47 m2.The corresponding values for the adsorption chiller equipped with a hot water tank of 2 m3(and using a total collector’s area of 72.45 m2),are 127.1 kWh and 106.13 kWh,respectively.

Energy efficiency performance of multi-energy district heating and hot water supply system

A district heating and hot water supply system is presented which synthetically utilizes geothermal energy,solar thermal energy and natural gas thermal energy.The multi-energy utilization system has been set at the new campus of Tianjin Polytechnic University(TPU),A couple of deep geothermal wells which are 2 300 m in depth were dug,Deep geothermal energy cascade utilization is achieved by two stages of plate heat exchangers(PHE) and two stages of water source heat pumps(WSHP).Shallow geothermal energy is used in assistant heating by two ground coupled heat pumps(GCHPs) with 580 vertical ground wells which are 120 m in depth.Solar thermal energy collected by vacuum tube arrays(VTAs) and geothermal energy are complementarily utilized to make domestic hot water.Superfluous solar energy can be stored in shallow soil for the GCHP utilization.The system can use fossil fuel thermal energy by two natural gas boilers(NGB) to assist in heating and making hot water.The heating energy efficiency was measured in the winter of 2010-2011.The coefficients of performance(COP) under different heating conditions are discussed.The performance of hot water production is tested in a local typical winter day and the solar thermal energy utilization factor is presented.The rusults show that the average system COP is 5.75 or 4.96 under different working conditions,and the typical solar energy utilization factor is 0.324.

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 °C, 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.

Situation of China's solar water heater industry,related national standards,testing and the Golden Sun certification program

China is the largest solar water heater producer and market in the world.Despite the fast growth and an installed capacity that accounts for the majority of the global gross,China's per capita solar hot water capacity is still very low,implying a huge margin of market potential;and the recognition of the industry in the global market is handicapped by the scattered scale of production and inconsistent product quality.To ensure continued growth of China's solar water heating(SWH) industry,Chinese Government has established a series of national SWH standards,three national testing centers,and a certification program to lay the foundation for the development of the Golden Sun product labeling system.China General Certification Center(CGC) developed the Golden Sun product certification and labeling system on a pass/fail basis evaluating with established criteria.The system was designed to help manufacturers acclimate to explicit consistent requirements and to identify and fix the deficiencies in the design and execution of the program itself.Timely revision and integration of the national standards are recommended to accommodate the test procedures and requirements to new technologies and the evolving SWH market.Strict implementation of the Golden Sun certification and labeling system are suggested to avail improving the quality control and forging internationally reputable brands of Chinese solar water heating products.

Comparison and Performance Analysis of Heat Storage Equipment in Solar Heating System

Solar heating system is widely used recently.Heat storage equipment is the guarantee for steady performance of solar heating system.A design of latent heat storage exchanger with submerged coil was introduced with the structure,working principle,and the main advantages.This heat exchanger was integrated into solar heating system as the heat storage equipment.Advantage comparison of the designed heat exchanger in solar heating system with hot water tank was carried out.The analysis results show that the latent heat storage exchanger is superior to hot water tank obviously.The heat exchanger performance parameters and variations of these parameters are got:(1)with the increase of phase change material(PCM)volume ratio,heat storage equipment volume ratio decreases;(2)heat storage efficiency has the same varying tendency with outdoor and air temperature;while the bigger PCM volume ratio is,the weaker the effect of outdoor air temperature on heat storage efficiency is;(3)heat storage capacity and heat storage efficiency increase together;when PCM volume ratio is big,heat storage efficiency is high and the system can begin operating efficiently and quickly;(4)with the increase of heat storage capacity,life cycle operation cost(LCOC)of system increases gradually in high speed;but with the increase of PCM volume ratio,the difference between the two systems LCOCs becomes smaller and smaller;(5)the reasonable range of PCM volume ratio is 0.5-0.7.Temperature characteristic analysis shows that,with the filled PCM,heat storage medium temperature presents several segments at different time,under conditions of different heat storage capacity and different PCM state.

Overview of China's National Standards for Solar Water Heating

Introduction 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.……

Photoelectrochemical evaluation of SILAR-deposited nanoporous BiVO4 photoanodes for solar-driven water splitting

We report a photoelectrochemical investigation of BiVO4 photoanodes prepared by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction(SILAR),a facile method that yields uniform nanoporous films.After characterization of the phase,morphology,composition,and optical properties of the prepared films,the efficiencies of charge separation(ηsep)and water oxidation(ηox)in solar water splitting cells employing these photoanodes were estimated following a previously reported procedure.Unexpected wavelength and illumination direction dependencies were discovered in the derived efficiencies,casting doubt on the validity of the analysis.An alternative approach using a diffusion–reaction model that explicitly considers the efficiency of electron collection resolved the discrepancies and explained the illumination direction dependence of the photocurrent.Electron diffusion lengths(Ln)of 0.45μm and 0.55μm were derived for pristine and cobalt phosphate(Co-Pi)modified BiVO4,respectively,which are much shorter than the film thickness of^2.1μm.The Co-Pi treatment also increasedηoxfrom 0.86 to^1,which is the main reason for the overall performance enhancement caused by adding Co-Pi.These findings suggest that there is little scope for improving the performance of SILAR-deposited BiVO4 photoanodes by further catalyzing water oxidation,but enhanced performance is achievable if electron transport can be improved.

Analysis of water vapour flux between alpine wetlands underlying surface and atmosphere in the source region of the Yellow River

An underlying wetland surface comprises soil, water and vegetation and is sensitive to local climate change. Analysis of the degree of coupling between wetlands and the atmosphere and a quantitative assessment of how environmental factors influence latent heat flux have considerable scientific significance. Using data from observational tests of the Maduo Observatory of Climate and Environment of the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, CAS, from June 1 to August 31, 2014, this study analysed the time-varying characteristics and causes of the degree of coupling(Ω factor)between alpine wetlands underlying surface and the atmosphere and quantitatively calculated the influences of different environmental factors(solar radiation and vapour pressure deficit) on latent heat flux. The results were as follows:(1) Due to diurnal variations of solar radiation and wind speed, a trend developed where diurnal variations of the Ω factor were small in the morning and large in the evening. Due to the vegetation growing cycle, seasonal variations of the Ω factor present a reverse "U" trend. These trends are similar to the diurnal and seasonal variations of the absolute control exercised by solar radiation over latent heat flux. This conforms to the Omega Theory.(2) The values for average absolute atmospheric factor(surface factor or total) control exercised by solar radiation and water vapour pressure are 0.20(0.02 or 0.22) and 0.005(-0.07 or-0.06) W/(m2·Pa), respectively. Generally speaking, solar radiation and water vapour pressure deficit exert opposite forces on latent heat flux.(3) At the underlying alpine wetland surface, solar radiation primarily influences latent heat flux through its direct effects(atmospheric factor controls). Water vapour pressure deficit primarily influences latent heat flux through its indirect effects(surface factor controls) on changing the surface resistance.(4) The average Ω factor in the underlying alpine wetland surface is high during the vegetation growing season, with a value of 0.38, and the degree of coupling between alpine wetland surface and atmosphere system is low. The actual measurements agree with the Omega Theory. The latent heat flux is mainly influenced by solar radiation.

Experimentation of a Plane Solar Integrated Collector Storage Water Heater

In order to popularize the use of the solar-water heaters, especially in the residential and tertiary sectors with the third world, it appears to be necessary to reduce their cost while improving their performances. It is the object of this integrated storage collector thus created and tested in the south of Tunisia. It is simply made up of a tank playing the double part of solar absorber and storage tank of warm water, of a glazing to profit from the greenhouse effect and of an insulating case. Its measured energy performances, by the method of input-output proves its effectiveness to produce hot water, in spite of its simplicity of manufacture, usage and maintenance. Indeed a temperature of water exceeding 70?C is reached towards the afternoon True Solar Time, and for an efficiency of 7%. Thus, this type of collector with integrated storage is entirely satisfactory and could be available to larger mass.

Solar Hot System and Design of Buildings

Domestic solar hot water system, the use of the status quo and existing problems, by analyzing the solar water heating equipment and building integrated and building integrated design.

Intensive-visible-light-responsive ANbO_(2)N(A = Sr, Ba) synthesized from layered perovskite A_(5)Nb_(4)O_(15) for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting

Nb-based, perovskite-type oxynitrides ANb(O,N)_(3)(A = Sr, Ba) have been significantly attractive semiconductor materials for photoelectrochemical(PEC) water splitting due to their absorption abilities of intensive-visible-light. However, PEC activities of these perovskites are relatively low due to reduction of Nb species during nitridation leading to the generation of anion defects and impurity phases.Herein, we propose nitridation of A-rich, layered perovskite A_(5)Nb_(4)O_(15) as starting oxides for general synthesis of photoactive ANbO_(2)N. These layered perovskite A_(5)Nb_(4)O_(15) were completely transformed to single phase perovskite-type ANbO_(2)N by nitridation. Wavelength onsets of light absorption were observed at 700 nm for SrNbO_(2)N and at 740 nm for BaNbO_(2)N. According to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results,excess Lewis base A species significantly suppressed the generation of reduced species such as Nb^(4+) and Nb^(3+)during nitridation, although it led to an amorphous surface of the as-prepared oxynitride.Subsequent annealing in Ar largely enhanced surface crystallinity of ANbO_(2)N. As a result, Co(OH)_(x)/ANbO_(2)N/FTO photoanodes, prepared by loading Co(OH)_(x) electrocatalyst, showed high photocurrent density of 1.6(A = Sr) and 2.4 m A cm^(-2)(A = Ba) at 1.23 VRHEunder AM 1.5 G simulated sunlight. These results demonstrate that A-rich layered perovskite A_(5)Nb_(4)O_(15)are effective starting precursors for preparing lowdefective ANbO_(2)N, thus improving PEC water splitting activity.

Effect of Adsorbent/Adsorbate Couple on the Performance of Adsorption Solar Refrigerator

This work presents a contribution to the study of the process of cold production by adsorption from solar energy. In this paper, we discuss a comparative study of the operation of a solar adsorption refrigerator using the silica gel-water couple and the zeolite-water couple through dynamic modeling and simulation. The mathematical model representing the evolution of heat and mass transfer at each component of the adsorption solar refrigerator has been developed. It appears from this study that the evolution of the temperature of the two adsorbents (zeolite and silica gel) is quasi-similar throughout the operating cycle. However, the maximum mass of water vapor adsorbed by the silicagel (0.24 kg/kg) is higher than that adsorbed by the zeolite (0.201 kg/kg). In the same way, the mass of water vapor cycled, obtained with the silicagel-water couple which is 0.14 kg/kg, is higher than that obtained with the zeolite-water couple which is 0.081 kg/kg. Therefore, the amount of cold produced 9.178 MJ and the solar coefficient of performance 0.378 obtained with the solar refrigerator using the silica gel-water couple, are better.

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.