Solar air heater applications in India

Solar air heaters of many types have been developed in India and their performance studied in detail. The application of these air heaters are limited to a few demonstration projects for food dehydration, and space heating. Some of these case studies are described in this paper. For a few cash crops, the potential of solar air heaters for the drying process has been assessed in detail. Space heating by solar air heaters and their use for natural ventilation has also been discussed and results of a theoretical study presented to make out a case for more intensive research in the fields of solar air heater applications in India.     

Solar and geothermal heating and cooling of the European Centre for Public Law building in Greece

The European Centre for Public Law in Legraina near Athens in Greece is heated and cooled by a combined solar and geothermal system. The main components of the system are a saline groundwater supplying well, water storage tank for 6 h autonomy, inverter for regulating geothermal flow, heat exchanger, two electrical water source heat pumps placed in cascade, fan coils, air handling units, as well as solar air collectors for air preheating in winter. In addition, hot water is supplied to the building hostel by solar water heaters. Monitoring of the energy system during heating showed excellent energy efficiency and performance.     

Solar operated absorption air-conditioner for a Kufra house

The use of solar energy for domestic water heating and space heating has proved to be viable. Space cooling is another promising avenue for utilization of solar energy. Solar operated absorption air-conditioning systems, in different situations, have been found to be feasible. Such systems can make use of the expensive collectors which are, in any case, installed for water and space heating.

In this paper the cooling of a prototype house, in Kufra, is reported. Starting with measured radiation and ambient data, calculations are performed on an hourly basis to determine the cooling load, radiation in the collector plane, heat delivered by the collectors and the heat stored in or discharged from the storage tank. Three different types of collectors with varying efficiencies are considered. These collectors are of the evacuated tube, selective coated and black painted types. The study confirms that the water-lithium bromide absorption system can provide summer air conditioning in arid zones of Jamahiriya where there are diffuclties with the supply of electricity and fossil fuels.     

太阳能吸收式空调及供热系统的设计和性能

一套太阳能吸收式空调及供热综合系统已在山东省乳山市建成。该系统由热管式真空管集热器、溴化锂吸收式制冷机、储水箱、循环、冷却塔、空调箱、辅助燃油锅炉和自动控制系统等内部分组成,具有夏季制冷、冬季供热和全年提供生活用热水等功能。太阳能集热器总采光面积540m∧2,制冷、供热功率100kW,空调、采暖建筑面积1000m∧2供生活用热水量32m∧3／d。文中着重介绍了系统的设计特点和测试性能。     

Solar cooling system using concentrating collectors for office buildings: A case study for Greece

On a European level there is intense research activity to broaden the applications of solar thermal systems beyond their established domains (hot water, space heating support) and to foster their participation in the energy maps of the EU-Member States. Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) systems are expected to play a key role in this effort, especially for achieving the medium and high temperatures needed, for electricity generation, for industrial applications but also for hybridized solar heating/cooling and desalination applications.This paper presents a proposal for implementation of a CST system in the building sector, based on a research carried out in the Laboratory of Environmental and Energy Efficient Design of Buildings and Settlements at the University of Thrace. Specifically, an integrated solar cooling system using parabolic trough solar collectors and double-effect chiller is discussed, used to cover the cooling needs of typical office building in Greece.As it was shown, the use of concentrating solar collectors leads to significantly higher output temperatures that can enable the use of two stage absorption chillers with a higher COP. Alternatively, when low or medium temperature heat is required, the use of CST systems takes less space to cope with it than traditional flat plate collectors. The combination of these parameters can contribute to removing key barriers associated with the broader diffusion of solar cooling technology, enhancing the potential to become more competitive to the conventional air conditioning technologies.     

A comparison of solar absorption air conditioning systems

A computer simulation of solar powered absorption air conditioning systems is discussed. The results of simulations of various systems composed of conventional flat plate or evacuated tube collectors, wet or dry cooling towers, lithium bromide-water or aqua-ammonia working fluids and hot water, chilled water or refrigerant storage alternatives are obtained over a common operating cycle. Performance of the lithium bromide-water working fluid is shown to be superior to aqua-ammonia. Relative performance gains realized with the evacuated tube collector and relative performance losses associated with the dry cooling tower are presented. Chilled water storage is shown to be advantageous for an evacuated collector, dry cooling tower, lithium bromide-water system.     

太阳能吸收式空调系统的经济性分析

针对一个特定的对象,进行了太阳能吸收式空调系统寿命周期内的模拟计算及影响因素的分析,结果表明：（1）单纯太阳能空调（无采暖与热水供应）的经济性很差,太阳能空调与供热的复合系统的经济性要优于单纯的太阳能空调系统;（2）太阳能采暖与空调的复合系统,采暖与供冷的负荷比对系统的经济性有很大影响,即使在最佳的负荷比时仍无法和常规的系统竞争;（3）太阳能与生活热水系统的负荷系统中,热水负荷所占比重越大,经济性越好,当太阳能空调使用生活热水系统夏季多余的热量时,太阳能空调系统经济上可以和天然气锅炉＋电动制冷机竞争,并具有很好的节能性和环境效益。     

Parametric Analysis of Solar Heating and Cooling Systems for Residential Applications

Abstract

In this paper, a parametric analysis of two solar heating and cooling systems, one using an absorption heat pump and the other one using an adsorption heat pump, was performed. The systems under investigation were designed to satisfy the energy requirements of a residential building for space heating/cooling purposes and domestic hot water production. The system with the absorption heat pump was analyzed upon varying (i) the solar collectors’ area, (ii) the volume of the hot water storage, (iii) the volume of the cold water tank, and (iv) the climatic conditions. The system with the adsorption heat pump was evaluated upon varying (i) the inlet temperature of hot water supplied to the adsorption heat pump, (ii) the volume of the hot water storage, (iii) the volume of the cold water tank, and (iv) the climatic conditions. The analyses were performed using the dynamic simulation software TRNSYS in terms of primary energy consumption, global carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and operating costs. The performance of the solar heating and cooling systems was compared with those associated with a conventional system from energy, environmental and economic points of views in order to evaluate the potential benefits.     

Proposal for the production and seasonal storage of hot water to heat a city

It is proposed to use an artficial lake, thermally insulated in the upper part only, to be filled during the spring, summer and autumn with hot water at 98°C, as a big storage of heat. Both the lake and the solar collectors should be placed in the mountains in order to exploit the low cost of the land and the higher solar radiation. An aqueduct with a low cost thermal insulation and with a negligible temperature drop even with 100 km length, can heat a city with more than 1 million people. In order to extract the maximum heat from the water, the aqueduct first feeds usual heaters then, in cascade, radiating panels and finally warm air conditioners equipped with a heat pump so that the discharged water is at 5°C. Convenient solar collectors to be placed in the mountains and for large production of hot water are the ones with concentration by fixed cylindrical mirrors. The design of the relevant moving tubular boiler is presented. The estimated cost per person is half of the cost required by a conventional heating system.     

A critical review of photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors for air heating

Integrated photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors have become of great interest in the solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV) research communities. Solar thermal systems and solar PV systems have each advanced markedly, and combining the two technologies provides the opportunity for increased efficiency and expanded utilization of solar energy. In this article, the authors critically review photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors for air heating. Included is a review of photovoltaic thermal technology and recent advances, particularly as applied to air heaters. It is determined that the photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) air heater is or may in the future be practicable for preheating air for many applications, including space heating and drying, and that integrated PV/T collectors deliver more useful energy per unit collector area than separate PV and thermal systems. Although PV/T collectors are promising, it is evident that further research is required to improve efficiency, reduce costs and resolve several technical design issues related to the collectors.     

A review on thermal energy storage systems in solar air heaters

The drying needs of agricultural, industrial process heat requirements and for space heating, solar energy is one of the prime sources which is renewable and pollution free. As the solar energy is inconsistent and nature dependent, more often there is a mismatch between the solar thermal energy availability and requirement. This drawback could be addressed to an extent with the help of thermal energy storage systems combined with solar air heaters. This review article focuses on solar air heaters with integrated and separate thermal energy storage systems as well as greenhouses with thermal storage units. A comprehensive study was carried out in solar thermal storage units consisting of sensible heat storage materials and latent heat storage materials. As the phase change heat storage materials offer many advantages over the sensible heat storage materials, the researchers are more interested in this system. The charging and discharging characteristics of thermal storage materials with various operational parameters have been reported. All the possible solar air heater applications with storage units have also been discussed.     

Integrated performance of liquid-based solar heating systems

A closed form model for the integrated performance of liquid-based solar heating systems is presented. The model is general enough to be used for most liquid-based systems. It can be used for systems with either flat plate or concentrating collectors and the load is not restricted to space heating applications. Three new system parameter are introduced by this model. These are the system heat storage factor, the solar distribution factor and the load distribution factor. These three factors respectively account for the reduction in system performancev which results from finite storage, non-uniform solar flux and non-uniform load. These factors are discussed in detail and closed form mathematical expressions, from which numerical values can be calculated, as persented.     

Experimental study with operational solar‐sorption cooling

Building integrated solar systems have been considered as a reasonable system for building heating, cooling and hot water supply. Various types of solar collectors, such as plate type, evacuated tube type and solar air collector, have been used as the heat source, whereas adsorption chillers, absorption chillers and desiccant dehumidification systems have been considered to match the above solar heat sources. Now, such sorption chillers are more matured, but their coupling with suitable solar heat source is not well researched. Experimental study has been done in this paper to analyse four kinds of typical solar air‐conditioning system with different sorption chillers and solar collectors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Collector cum storage solar water heaters with and without transparent insulation material

The integrated collector–storage solar water heaters are less expensive and can offer the best alternative for domestic applications particularly to small families to meet hot water requirements. The top heat losses of such solar water heaters are quite high during the night and the temperature of stored hot water is considerably reduced unless covered with extra insulating cover in the evening which is a cumbersome job. The transparent insulation material widely used in Europe for space heating can also minimize top heat losses, if used in such solar water heaters. For this purpose, two units of solar collector cum storage water heaters have been designed to study the relative effect of TI for retaining solar heated hot water for a night duration. Both units were identical in all respects except one of them was covered with TIM. The theoretical exercise was carried out to evaluate design parameters of ISC which revealed total heat loss factor (U_L) 1.03 W/m² K with TIM glazed against 7.06 W/m² K with glass glazed. The TIM glazed has been found to be quite effective as compared to glass glazed SWH and yielded hot water at higher temperature by 8.5 to 9.5°C the next morning. The storage efficiency of such solar water heaters has been found to be 39.8% with TIM glazed as compared to 15.1% without TIM. The TIM glazing means not having to cover the ISC solar water heater with a separate insulator cover in the evening and thus makes its operation much simpler.     

Design of a solar heating and cooling system for CSU solar house II

This paper describes the design of a solar air heating and night/day exchange cooling system with emphasis on the operational modes. In this type of system the collector absorbs solar energy and converts it to heat for space heating and domestic water heating. Cooling is accomplished by using the cool night air available in dry climates) to cool a pebble-bed storage unit and subsequently using the cool pebbles to lower the air temperature in the building during the day. Circulation is from the solar system to the building in the same manner as most modern heating and air conditioning units but uses air as the medium for heat transfer. The air system is particularly suited for climatic regions where heating loads are high and cooling requirements are moderate. The system utilized in Solar House II operates in either the heating or cooling mode as selected through a seasonable change-over switch. Solar preheated hot water is furnished for domestic use in either mode.     

Design considerations for residential solar heating and cooling systems utilizing evacuated tube solar collectors

As solar heating systems become a commercial reality, greater efforts are now being employed to incorporate solar cooling components in order to obtain a complete solar heating and cooling system and thus take advantage of the cost-effectiveness of year-round use of the solar equipment. Because of the exceptional performance and high efficiency of evacuated tube solar collectors, these advanced collectors are receiving considerable attention for use in solar heating and cooling systems. While improved performance is readily obtained with these sophisticated solar collectors, there are also numerous difficulties and problems associated with their use in a solar system. This paper addresses many of the design considerations which must be included in any realistic solar system design. Most of the considerations presented here are based on the experience gained in the design and performance of the solar heating and cooling systems for CSU Solar Houses I-IV.     

太阳能生活热水系统相变储能研究进展

该文阐述了太阳能生活热水（SDHW）系统用相变材料的选择与封装情况,综述了相变材料在SDHW系统水箱、太阳能集热器和SDHW系统循环中的储能及其改进与强化换热研究进展情况,并对今后SDHW系统相变材料应用发展方向提出建议和展望。研究表明,石蜡与三水醋酸钠应用于SDHW系统水箱和集热器的研究较为广泛,其封装形式主要是的塑料、铝、不锈钢的宏封装,形状为管、柱体、球等,且相变材料加入到传统的SDHW系统中均能提高太阳能生活热水器的储热性能,其储热性能还有较大的提升与改进空间。     

A review for absorbtion and adsorbtion solar cooling systems in China

In the past decades, solar water collectors were installed for the main purpose of preheating domestic hot water or to cover a fraction of the space heating demand in China. However, solar cooling systems were constructed just for demonstration purposes. Since the building of the first solar-powered absorption cooling system in Shenzhen in 1987, there have been over 10 additional solar cooling demonstration projects constructed. In this paper, the most representative five projects including both absorption and adsorption cooling systems are introduced and summarized. From the demonstrations, solar absorption cooling systems have been shown to be more suitable for large building air-conditioning systems. Comparatively, solar adsorption cooling systems are more promising for small size air-conditioning systems. In order to attain high utilization ratio, it is highly recommended to design solar-powered integrated energy systems in public buildings. In addition, highly efficient heat pumps are considered as the most appropriate auxiliary heat sources for solar cooling systems, for the purpose of all-weather operation. In the 11th Five year research project (duration 2006–2010), solar cooling technologies will be further investigated to achieve a breaking through in the integration of solar cooling systems with buildings.     

Dependence of Techno-Economic and Ecological Indicators of Flat-Plate Solar Water Heating Collectors in Hot Water Supply Systems from the Temperature of Heating Water

The main ways of improving the performance efficiency of solar energy (SE) use in hot water supply systems (HWSSs) are discussed. It is established that the environmental characteristics of flat-plate solar water heating collectors (FPSWHCs) for heating water in HWSSs depend on the water heating temperature in these systems.