An experimental investigation into the performance of a domestic thermosyphon solar water heater under varying operating conditions

An experimental investigation has been carried out on a thermosyphon solar water heater. The system consisted of a flat-plate collector of 1.5 m² absorber area with 21 tubes/m width and storage tank of 125 litre capacity. Experiments were carried out for both cloudy and clear weather conditions in winter and summer. The hourly system performance was evaluated for all test conditions. The final mean tank temperature was measured daily which enabled the calculation of the possible contribution of solar energy for domestic hot water supply in Basrah, Iraq (latitude 30.76°N). The system was tested at both no-load and loading conditions. Intermittent and continuous load was imposed, and system performance was evaluated for each condition.     

Year round performance of a cylindrical solar water heater

A cylindrical collector-cum-storage type solar water heater has been designed, developed and tested. Its year round performance has been carried out and reported in this paper. The heater can provide 50 litres of hot water at 50–60°C in the afternoon and a temperature of 35°C can be retained till the next day for early morning use. The heater receives approximately 30% more radiation as compared to a flat surface. The economics of the heater has been worked out and it has been found that the cost can be recovered within one year.     

Study of a solar water heater using stationary V-trough collector

There are various types of solar water heater system available in the commercial market to fulfill different customers’ demand, such as flat plate collector, concentrating collector, evacuated tube collector and integrated collector storage. A cost effective cum easy fabricated V-trough solar water heater system using forced circulation system is proposed. Integrating the solar absorber with the easily fabricated V-trough reflector can improve the performance of solar water heater system. In this paper, optical analysis, experimental study and cost analysis of the stationary V-trough solar water heater system are presented in details. The experimental result has shown very promising results in both optical efficiency of V-trough reflector and the overall thermal performance of the solar water heater.     

Experimental observations on a continuous flow type domestic solar water heater

The operation of a continuous flow type domestic solar water heater is explained with the help of a schematic diagram. Steady state thermal analysis of such a water heater is carried out. A water heater of this type with a collector area of 1 m² is subjected to tests. The experimental results are compared with predicted results. The experimental results have also been compared with those obtained from a water heater operating on thermosiphon flow. The performance of the continuous flow type water heater is shown to be comparable to that of the thermosiphon flow type. It is concluded that, in the Indian context, the continuous flow type water heater has more advantages than the thermosiphon flow type water heater in view of its low capital cost and the ease of operation and maintenance.     

Refrigerant-charged integrated solar water heater

The performance of two R-11-charged integrated solar water heater collectors was investigated experimentally for forced and natural circulation water flows. The heat transfer from the refrigerant loop to the hot water storage tank took place through a condenser of novel design integrated within the collector frame. The effect of the condenser inclination on the system efficiency was remarkable for natural circulation water flow but had no significant effect for forced circulation flow. The difference in thermal response between the refrigerant and water loops caused buildup of stored energy in the condenser. This energy affected the buoyancy forces and generated flow pulsation that caused a harmonic-like variation of the system efficiency. This effect vanished with forced water circulation flow. The system efficiency varied between 20 and 50% depending on the solar insolation.     

A simplified approach for evaluating performance of a solar water heater with side losses

We present a simplified method which could be used to calculate, to a first approximation, the energy losses from the sides of a solar collector/water heater. The inclusion of energy losses through the side walls of a reasonable thickness reduce the efficiency of the system by about 5%. The integrated side energy losses for the whole day are not equal for the various segments of the wall. Hence, it will be economical to construct wedge shape walls, thickness decreasing downward, instead of usual rectangular walls.     

Modelling the thermosiphonic solar water heater with draw-off

A model of the time-dependent behaviour of the solar water heating system with natural circulation is modified to include the effects of water draw-off. Through computer simulation, the model is used to study the influence of the draw-off starting temperature T_s and the draw-off rate m_d on the overall system efficiency. Hot water withdrawal is assumed continuous from the moment the tank mean temperature reaches T_s. The results presented show that efficiency increases as T_s is decreased and/or m_d is increased. However, the draw-off parameters should be optimized in relation to the collector area and the tank volume for the location considered.     

Performance prediction of a solar water heater with intermittent output

A solar water heater constructed from readily available materials in the countryside has earlier been discussed in the continuous flow mode. Water flows in the tubes at a constant rate throughout the day. In any realistic situation, however, the rate of flow will be a function of time depending on the requirements of the user. In this paper a theoretical method is developed which is used to predict the outlet water temperature of the time dependent flows. The effect of various design parameters like the position of the water pipes, choice of sensible heat storage material etc. are discussed taking different functions of rate of flow. The inexpensive water heater can provide hot water for a small household even in the late evening hours provided no heat is withdrawn from the system during the day time.     

Experimental investigation of a two-phase closed thermosyphon solar water heater

In this study, experiments were performed to find out how the thermal performance of a two-phase thermosyphon solar collector was affected by using different refrigerants. Three identical small-scale solar water heating systems, using refrigerants R-134a, R407C, and R410A, were constructed and tested side-by-side under various environmental and load conditions. The performance of the system under clear-sky conditions has been investigated with and without water load. Detailed temperature distributions and cumulative collection efficiencies were determined and presented. The experimental results were compared to the results found in the literature and they showed good agreement.     

A new type of solar water heater

This investigation reports a new type of solar water heating system without water pipes on the collector surface or a separate storage tank. The water to be heated continuously flows perpendicularly from an upper transparent cover to a porous absorber and is stored in a small volume beneath this assembly. Three different systems were designed, manufactured and tested but only one proved to be successful; this design indicated higher thermal efficiency compared to conventional collectors at high flow rates whereas at low flow rates the opposite is true.     

Year-round performance of an improved collector-cum-storage type solar water heater

Systematic studies have been carried out on collector-cum-storage type solar water heaters, and efforts were made to minimise heat losses so that this type of water heater can be used for getting hot water at 40°–45°C for taking baths in the early morning hours of the next day. This paper reports year round performace, the performance equation and economics of this new improved solar water heater. This heater can supply 100 litres of hot water at 60°–70°C in the afternoon, and 40°–45°C temperature can be retained till next day morning. Its efficiency is 70.1%.     

Effect of thermal trap on the performance of an underground shallow solar pond water heater

A simple analysis of an underground shallow solar pond water heater has been presented. The effect of a thermal trap at the top of the system has also been incorporated in the analysis. Using the model, the effect of various system parameters, viz. thermal trap thickness, heat capacity of water mass, flow rate and duration of flow rate have been studied in detail. Numerical calculations have been made for a typical winter day at New Delhi (India). It is concluded that the system with thermal trap gives better performance in comparison with a system with a movable insulation system.     

Performance study of forced circulation solar water heaters using packed-bed collectors

A performance study of forced circulation solar water heaters using packed-bed solar collectors is presented. Iron chips, gravel and stones have been used as packing materials. Thermal energy stored in the tank, system overall efficiency and pay-back capital for these solar water heaters are compared with those for solar water heaters using a plane collector. It is observed that the performance of the solar water heater is improved appreciably by packing its collector with packing material. A solar water heater using an iron chip, packed-bed collector shows the best performance.     

Simulation and experimental investigation of two hybrid solar domestic water heaters with drain water heat recovery

In this paper, the performance of two solar domestic hot waters (SDHW) with drain water heat recovery (DWHR) units is investigated. Both SDHW systems are recently installed at the Archetype Sustainable Twin Houses at Kortright Center, Vaughan, Ontario. The first SDWH system in House A consists of a flat plate solar thermal collector in combination with a gas boiler and a DWHR unit. The second SDHW system in House B includes an evacuated tube solar collector, an electric tank, and a DWHR unit. Both systems are modeled in TRNSYS, and the models are validated by experimental data. The addition of the DWHR and the flat‐plate solar thermal collector would result in 1831 kWh of annual energy saving in House A. While the addition of the DWHR and the evacuated tube collector in House B would result in an annual energy saving of 1771 kWh. Subsequently, the models are used to investigate the performance of similar systems for five major Canadian cities of Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver. The conjunctions of solar thermal collectors with DWHR units are found most beneficial in Edmonton. It is also noted from experimental and simulated results that flat‐plate solar collector‐based water heater produced more thermal energy than the system based on the evacuated tube solar collector for all major Canadian cities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient analysis of forced circulation solar water heating system

This paper presents a transient analysis of a solar water heating system with forced circulation. Two modes of hot water retrieval have been taken into account viz direct from the tank and through a heat exchanger placed in the tank. Analysis has been presented both for constant flow and constant collection temperature modes. Effects of heat exchanger length and time of starting hot water retrieval on the system performance have also been studied. Numerical calculations have been made for a typical cold day (26 January, 1980) at Delhi.     

分体式家用太阳热水器

指出了传统太阳热水器存在的一些问题,为克服太阳热水器在高层建筑应用中受到的限制,研制了 一种靠重力循环的分体式家用太阳热水器。在冬季,用集中供暖系统中的热水为辅助热源加热蓄热水箱中的 水,以解决仅利用太阳能加热供水温度太低的问题,与利用辅助电加热相比,可降低运行费用。     

家用太阳热水器与太阳热水系统的技术经济比较

分析了户用太阳热水器和太阳热水系统工程的经济技术特点,对两者成本构成、项目财务净现值、投入回收期和财务内部收益率等有关指标进行了经济技术比较.分析比较表明,太阳热水系统与家用热水器相比,节省安装占地,与建筑相结合得好,在降低成本,缩短投资回收期,提高经济效益方面有明显的优势.     

Detailed comparison of the performance of flat-plate and vacuum tube solar collectors for domestic hot water heating

The performance of a DHW system fitted with flat-plate and vacuum collectors has been analysed. Simulations were carried out on the basis of equal aperture or gross areas of basis using TMY data for hour-by-hour dynamic simulation generated for 1036 sites located in different regions of the world. The performance indicators of solar fractions and number of days were determined for specific water mean temperatures in the storage tank of 37 °C, 45 °C and 55 °C. It has been shown that vacuum tube collectors provide slightly better DHW performance indicators than typical flat-plate collectors having the same aperture area. However, since the space that needs to be provided and directly or indirectly paid for is what matters to the user of solar heating systems, the analysis was also carried out on equal gross area basis; on this basis, the advantages of using vacuum collectors are not obvious.     

Transient analysis of forced circulation solar water heating system with collectors in series

This communication presents an analysis of the thermal performance of a hot water system consisting of N collectors in series with a storage tank; forced circulation and withdrawal of hot water by displacement with cold water are built into the thermal model. Two modes of withdrawal of hot water, viz. (i) constant flow rate and, (ii) constant hot water temperature (during the day), have been considered. For a quantitative appreciation of the results, numerical calculations have been made for the two modes of hot water withdrawal corresponding to a typical cold day (26 January, 1980) in Delhi.     

Experimental and analytical performance study of a thermosyphon water heater

The performance of a thermosyphon solar water heater was studied analytically and experimentally. A finite-difference model was used to predict year-round performance. Tests were conducted on an experimental heater subjected to acutal weather conditions in Benghazi, Libya. Satisfactory qualitative and quantitative agreement was found between experimental and predicted results. A storage volume of 60 liters per unit collector area was found to be optimum for Benghazi conditions. The day-end temperature was found to vary between 23° and 51°C for the test period, which occurred in winter, with an average of 41°C.