PREPARED BY:

ATMESH POUDYAL
068MSR502

5th JANUARY 2014

INTRODUCTION
 solar water heating: widely known solar thermal
application
 Typical applications:
domestic water heating,
heating of swimming pools,
space heating,
water processes for industrial heating
agricultural drying
 global SWH market is mainly dominated by domestic
applications
 Global SWH Market
About 70 million houses are now using solar water heating (SWH)
systems worldwide (Renewable Energy Policy Network, 2010)
Types of Solar Water Heating
Systems : Passive & Active
Passive SWH systems
 rely on heat-driven convection to circulate water or
heating fluid in the system
 efficiency is significantly lower than active system
 Overheating and freezing are major concerns
 can be further classified into two types:
1. Integral collector-storage (ICS) system
2. Thermosyphon system
Integral collector-storage system
 ICS or Batch Heater system uses a tank that acts as both storage and
solar collector
 suffer from significant heat loss at night since the side facing the sun is
largely un-insulated
 only suitable in moderate climates.
 selective absorber surface coatings, insulating materials, and multiple
glazing glass covers have been used to reduce the heat losses
 Thermosyphon System
 convection heat storage unit (CHS) system
 works on the principle of density difference to transport heat energy
 natural convection drives the water from collector to the storage tank
 Water becomes less dense due to solar heating and expands according to the
temperature rise.
 Hot water is circulated to the storage tank, and the relatively cooler water from
the bottom of the tank is circulated to the solar collector device.
Thermosyphon System
 storage tank must be located above the collectors for
convection to work properly
 flow is dependent on the duration of sunshine, since it
aids density variation which in turn affects the flow
 usually more expensive than ICS systems
 main benefits over ICS system:
(1) storage tank can be better insulated
(2) as panels are located below the storage, heat loss in
the panels will not cause convection
Active SWH Systems
 Use of one or more pumps to circulate water and/or heating fluid
More expensive but have the following advantages:
 tank can be situated lower than the collectors, allowing
increased freedom in design and pre-existing storage tanks to be
used
 storage tank can be hidden from view
 storage tank can be placed in conditioned or semi-conditioned
space, reducing heat loss
 Drainback tanks can be used.
 Superior efficiency.
Active SWH Systems can be further divided into two types:
1. Direct system
2. Indirect system
 Direct circulation systems
(open loop)
 Pumps circulate water through the collectors and into
the storage tank
 work well in climates where it rarely freezes.
 relatively cheap and easy to install.
Direct circulation systems
 can have the following drawbacks:
offer little or no overheat protection unless they have a
heat export pump
offer little or no freeze protection, unless the collectors
are freeze-tolerant
Collectors accumulate scale in hard water areas, unless
an ion-exchange softener is used.
 Indirect circulation systems
(closed loop)
 use a heat exchanger that separates the water from the heat-
transfer fluid (HTF) that circulates through the collector.
 The two most common HTFs:
 water
 antifreeze/water mix that uses non-toxic propylene glycol.
 After being heated in the panels, the HTF travels to the heat
exchanger, where its heat is transferred to the potable water.
 offer freeze protection and overheat protection
 slightly more expensive
 can be again divided into two types:
 Antifreeze system
 Drainback system
Pressurized antifreeze or pressurized glycol system
 uses a mix of antifreeze (non-toxic propylene glycol)
and water for HTF in order to prevent freeze damage
Pressurized antifreeze or pressurized glycol system
Antifreeze systems have many drawbacks:
 If the HTF gets too hot (for example, when the homeowner is on
vacation,) the glycol degrades into acid.
 After degradation, it begins to eat away at the components:
collectors, pipes, pump, etc. thus reducing longevity of parts
 Excessive temperatures in the tank cause increased scale and
sediment build-up, possible severe burns if a tempering valve is
not installed, and, if a water heater is being used for storage,
possible failure of the water heater's thermostat
 glycol/water HTF must be replaced every 3–8 years, depending
on the temperatures it has experienced
 Even though the HTF contains glycol to prevent freezing, it will
still circulate hot water from the storage tank into the collectors
(reverse of the desired process) at low temperatures (e.g. below
4 °C), causing substantial heat loss
 Drainback system
 the HTF is almost always pure water
 collector piping is not pressurized and includes an open Drainback
reservoir that is contained in conditioned or semi-conditioned space. I
 if the pump is switched off, the HTF drains into the Drainback
reservoir and none remains in the collector.
Drainback system
 collector cannot be damaged by freezing or
overheating.
 require no maintenance other than the replacement of
failed system components.
 Since the system relies upon being able to drain
properly, all piping above the Drainback tank,
including the collectors, must slope downward in the
direction of the Drainback tank.
A rough comparison of SWH systems
Collectors used in SWH Systems
 collectors capture and retain heat from the sun and use it
to heat a liquid.
 Two important physical principles governing the
technology of solar thermal collectors:
 equilibrium effect: Any hot object ultimately returns to
thermal equilibrium with its environment, due to
conduction, convection and radiation; thermal insulation
can be used to slow down heat loss
 delta-t effect: Heat is lost more rapidly if the temperature
difference between a hot object and its environment is
larger
Challenge: limit the heat loss from the tank to delay the time
when thermal equilibrium is attained
Types of collectors used in SWH systems
 Two basic forms of collectors: Concentrating and Non-
concentrating

Concentrating solar water collector

Concentrating solar water collector
 uses direct beam of radiation by concentrating irradiation
on the absorber, thus increasing intensity of radiation on
the absorber
 uses mirror or lens to concentrate light.
 preferred in regions with more than 2,500 W/m2 annual
sunshine
 obtain fluid temperatures above 150°C.
 concentrator is normally equipped with a tracking device
 Linear focusing concentrator is used in solar water heating
 Main application: Desalination plants
Non-concentrating solar water collector
 fully utilize the global radiation
 absorbers are black painted metal-either copper,
aluminum, steel or plastic plates.
 temperatures up to 80°C with conversion efficiency of
about 50-60% can be achieved

Classification of non-concentrating types:

ICS or batch collectors
Flat plate collectors
Unglazed collectors
Evacuated tube collectors (ETC)
 ICS or batch collectors
 reduce heat loss by placing the water tank in a thermally insulated box
 The box encases the water tank and allows heat to reach the water.
 other walls of the box are thermally insulated, reducing convection and
radiation to the environment.
 In addition, the box can also have a reflective surface on the inside
which reflects heat lost from the tank back towards the tank.
ICS or batch collectors
 ICS collectors have a characteristic that strongly limits the
efficiency : a small surface-to-volume ratio.
 Cylindrical objects such as the tank in an ICS collector have a
small surface-to-volume ratio
 the amount of heat that a tank can absorb from the sun is largely
dependent on the surface of the tank directly exposed to the sun,
a small surface would limit the degree to which the water can be
heated
 most modern collectors attempt to increase this ratio for
efficient heating
 For this there are many variations on this basic design
 some ICS collectors comprise of several smaller water containers
and even include evacuated glass tube technology, a type of ICS
system known as an Evacuated Tube Batch (ETB) collector.
Variations of the batch collector

Batch collector with multiple tanks Evacuated Tube Batch (ETB) collector
Flat plate collectors
 two horizontal pipes at the top and bottom called headers
 many smaller vertical pipes connecting the headers, called risers
Flat plate collectors
 The risers are welded (or similarly connected) to thin
absorber fins.
 Heat-transfer fluid from the storage tank reaches the
bottom header, travels up the risers, collecting heat
from the absorber fins, and then exits the collector out
of the top header
 type of glass used: low-iron, tempered glass
 Being tempered, the glass can withstand significant
hail without breaking, which is one of the reasons that
flat-plate collectors are considered the most durable
collector type
Unglazed (or formed) collectors
 similar to flat-plate collectors, except they are not
thermally insulated nor physically protected by a glass
panel
Unglazed (or formed) collectors
 much less efficient for domestic water heating
 Mostly used for pool heating applications
 the water in a swimming pool is often colder than the
ambient roof temperature
 the lack of thermal insulation allows additional heat to
be drawn from the surrounding environment.
Evacuated tube collectors (ETC)
 Heat gain is mostly through radiation alone, but heat loss is
through radiation and convection as well
 The heat loss due to convection cannot cross a vacuum
 two flat sheets of glass are normally not strong enough to
withstand a vacuum, so the vacuum is created between two
concentric tubes
Evacuated tube collectors (ETC)
 heat transfer fluid passes through pipes that are covered by
two concentric tubes of glass with a vacuum in between
 The tubes admit heat from the sun to heat the pipe but
limit heat loss to the environment
 inner tube is coated with a thermal absorbent
 Life of the vacuum varies from collector to collector,
anywhere from 5 years to 15 years.
 Most ETCs are made out of annealed glass, which is
susceptible to hail
 ETCs made from "coke glass," which has a green tint, are
stronger and less likely to lose their vacuum, but efficiency
is slightly reduced due to reduced transparency.
 Comparison between solar thermal
systems: Daily energy production
Technology Flat Flat Flat ETC 20 ETC 20
plate plate plate tubes tubes

Configuration Direct Thermo Indirect Indirect Direct

active syphon active active active
Overall size (m2) 2.49 1.98 1.87 2.85 2.97
Absorber size (m2) 2.21 1.98 1.72 2.85 2.96
Maximum efficiency 0.68 0.74 0.61 0.57 0.46
Energy Production per day
–3.2 kWh/m2/day
5.3 3.9 3.3 4.8 4.0
(temperate, e.g. Zurich,
Switzerland
6.5 kWh/m2/day 11.2 8.8 7.1 9.9 8.4
(tropical, e.g. Phoenix USA)
 System installation and
maintenance
 collector needs to be faced southward in the northern
hemisphere and northward in the southern hemisphere.
 The inclination of the collector with the horizontal needs
to be above or below 10-150 of the latitude of the location
depending upon the season.
 It is general practice that the collector be tilted latitude
plus 150 angle during winter and latitude minus150 angle
during summer season.
 If the inclination is to be kept constant throughout the
year, it is customary that the collector is tilted at an angle of
latitude plus 150 with the horizontal, since warm water is
most frequently required during winter
 System installation and
maintenance
 The required amount of heating is proportional to the daily
hot water usage and not to the size of the reservoir
 it is desirable to have a fairly large reservoir (i.e. equal to or
greater than daily usage) which will help prevent
fluctuations in water temperature.
 efficient insulation of all the water pipes including the
warm water outlets.
 collectors need to be cleaned at the outer surface regularly
to prevent dust and other obstructing particles
 Dis-integration of the whole system and overall cleaning
every 4-5 years
 Heat transfer in SWH system:
numerical example
Assumptions:
 Flat plate collector with thermosiphon system
 Collector efficiency = 50 %
 Collector location: Kathmandu
 Average solar insolation: 4.5 kWh/m2
 Average sunshine hours: 4.5 hours
 Thus, Average solar irradiance: 1kw/m2
 Collector size: 2 m2
 Heat transfer fluid: water
 Application: warm water for bathing C
 Initial water temperature: 150 C
 Final water temperature: 500 C
 Specific heat capacity of water, s = 4.18 kJ kg-1 0C-1
 Water tank capacity: 200 liters
 Heat transfer in SWH system:
numerical example
Basic heat transfer equation:
Q’ (kW) = m’ (kg/s) * s (kJ kg-1 0C-1 ) * dT (0C)
Here,
Q’ = 1kw/m2 * 2 m2 * 0.5 (efficiency) = 1 kW
Thus, after calculation, we get:
m’ = 0.0068 kg/s
Since m’ = M/t, hence the time taken for the whole 200
liters of water to reach the final temperature,
t = 8 hours (approximately)
SWH Systems in Nepal
 SWH use in the urban areas has increased rapidly over the
last decade
 roughly about 100 companies selling SWH systems
 Most of these companies are based in Kathmandu
 The household application almost dominates the whole
market
 a minor share of other applications such as swimming pool
heating, hot water in spas and hot water baths, herbal and
agro industries, etc.
 The most widely used SWH technologies in Nepal are the
flat plate and evacuated tube passive systems.
Popular Models
A few models marketed by Ultra
Group Pvt. Ltd.
Technical Data of SolarPlus Water
Heater :Jyotishree Pvt. Ltd.
SWH Price in Nepal
 government doesn’t provide any subsidy in the purchase and
installation of SWH systems, like other RETS.
 Hence, the price of SWH systems is relatively high, and therefore
still limited only to the urban residents who can afford it.
 Over the last few years prices are in the decreasing trend due to
more customers and subsequently more suppliers.
 A simple domestic SWH system for a small family costs between
Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 50,000 (source: [Link])
 With the increase in size and application the price may go up to
Rs. 200,000 and more.
 suppliers generally give a guarantee of about 2 to 5 years in the
collector and storage systems.
References
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
guidelines/
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
heating-system
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
 [Link]
THANK YOU!!!