Design considerations for Solar Water Heating System Techniques: A Critical Review

Dr. D.S. Deshmukh1,

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, SSBT`s, COET, Bambhori, Jalgaon, (M. S.), India
deshmukh.dheeraj@gmail.com
M.V. Raolani2,
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, SSBT`s, COET, Bambhori, Jalgaon, India
msdngp@gmail.com
M.V. Kulkarni3
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, SSBT`s, COET, Bambhori, Jalgaon, India
dheeraj.1.deshmukh@gmail.com
Abstract: Renewable energy is an important option for replacing electrical energy generated by
petroleum. Energy consumption from petroleum must be reduced because of the limited
petroleum resources and major contributor of pollution to the earth. Solar power is a source of
renewable energy and solar energy applications should be enhanced. More research is needed to
increase capability and reduce production costs of solar water heating system and make the solar
water heating system more efficient and practical. The objective of this paper is to study solar
water heating system design aspects. The economic benefits of the utilization of SWH can
mainly be realized through savings in fuel costs for water heating and environmental issues. The
review is done to obtain optimum output in the changes of collector area, storage tank,
insulation, volume, piping size and mass flow rate of water. Efficiency of flat plate collector,
storage tank and proper insulation are key parameters for any changes in size and in the
consideration of efficiency of SWHS. Review shows the water temperature will increase with
increasing area of flat plate collector, decreased with the increasing volume of insulated storage
tank, and decreased with increasing size of the pipe. Such study could provide data for the
optimum design with high capacity and all the design parameters would facilitate the future
study.

Keywords: Solar water heating system, solar energy, Economic trend

INTRODUCTION: Use of solar energy for heating water is one of the oldest and most mature
renewable energy technologies. India has nearly 250-300 clear sunny days per year and average
daily solar energy incidence varies from 4 to 7 KWh/sq. m. The sun provides a virtually
unlimited supply of energy. The energy from the sun is virtually free once the initial cost of the
system has been recovered. Solar energy usage in India is merely 0.5 % compared to other
energy resources. One of the popular devices that harness the solar energy is solar hot water
system (SHWS) [1]. The SWHS consists of solar thermal collectors, water tanks, interconnecting
pipelines, and the water, which gets circulated in the system. Figure -1 illustrates the simplified
form of working of a SWHS. Solar radiation incident on the collector heats up the tubes, thereby
transferring the heat energy to water flowing through it. The performance of the SWHS largely
depends on the collector’s efficiency at capturing the incident solar radiation and transferring it
to the water. With today’s SWHS, water can be heated up to temperatures of 60°C to 80°C.
Heated water is collected in a tank insulated to prevent heat loss. Circulation of water from the
tank through the collectors and back to the tank continues automatically due to the thermosiphon
principle.

HOT WATER TO LOAD

STORAGE
TANK

COLD WATER SUPPLY

COLLECTOR

Figure -1: General layout of a Solar Water Heating System

Apart from being highly polluting, conventional electric heaters consume only a percentage of
the actual electricity that is dispatched from the power plants across long transmission distances,
which have large transmission losses. A good reason to use SWHS instead of conventional
energy based systems, is that it offsets those greenhouse gases that would have been generated if
else the water heated by electric power or natural gas [2].

Most of the times, water heating (especially in the domestic sector) coincides with the peak load
timings of the grid. This results in higher peak loads. These include dairy, food processing,
textiles, hotels, edible oil, chemical, marine chemicals, bulk drug, breweries, and distilleries.
Many of these industries also use hot water in the range of 70 oC– 90oC corresponds to the
low/medium temperature range of solar thermal systems. Tapping solar energy will not only help
in bridging the gap between demand and supply of electricity but shall also save money in the
long run. Thus, a typical family can save 70%–80% on electricity or fuel bills by replacing its
conventional water heater with a solar water heating system. So also, usage of solar water heater
to supply pre-heated boiler feedwater can help saving of fuel bills. Reduction of pollution and
preservation of environmental health are some of the co-benefits of this technology. This is
probably why the use of solar energy for water heating has become one of the largest
applications of solar thermal systems today. Clearly, SWHS is one of the most cost effective,
viable, and sustainable options available for hot water generation today [3].

Basic types of Solar Water Heating Systems : The choice of system depends on heat
requirement, weather conditions, heat transfer fluid quality, space availability, annual solar
radiation etc. The SWH systems are economical, pollution free and easy for operation in warm
countries like ours. Solar water heating has applications in several consuming categories such as
domestic, hotels, institutions, industrial etc. SWH Systems for industrial and commercial
applications are better known by the type of solar collector used. Based on the type of collectors,
SWHS are divided into following two types -

a) Flat Plate Collectors (FPC) based Solar Water Heaters: The solar radiation is absorbed by Flat
Plate Collectors which consist of an insulated outer metallic box covered on the top with glass
sheet. Inside there are blackened metallic absorber (selectively coated) sheets with built in
channels or riser tubes to carry water. The absorber absorbs the solar radiation and transfers the
heat to the flowing water.
b) Evacuated Tube Collectors (ETC) based Solar Water Heaters: The collector is made of double
layer borosilicate glass tubes evacuated for providing insulation. The outer wall of the inner tube
is coated with selective absorbing material. This helps absorption of solar radiation and transfers
the heat to the water which flows through the inner tube. ETC is highly efficient with excellent
absorption (>93%) and minimum emittance (<6%) as the tubes are round and sun rays are
striking the tubes at right angles thus minimizing reflection. The entire system is controlled and
monitored by an automatic control panel. There is no scaling in the glass tubes thus, suitable for
areas with hard water.

Further solar water heating systems are of two categories according to the quality of water at
inlet. They are: closed Loop system and open loop system. In the first one, heat exchangers are
installed to protect the system from hard water obtained from borewells or from freezing
temperatures in the cold regions. In the second system, directly water is circulated through the
solar collector. Solar water heating systems could be divided into two types, depending upon the
method of water circulation.

a) Natural Circulation Systems (thermosyphon solar system): In these SWHS the natural
tendency of a less dense fluid to rise above a denser fluid can be used in a simple solar water
heater to cause fluid motion through a collector. The density difference is created within the solar
collector where heat is added to the liquid. In the system as water gets heated in collector, it rises
to the tank and the cooler water from the tank moves to the bottom of the collector, setting up a
natural circulation loop. It also called a thermosyphon loop. Since these water heaters not use a
pump, it is a passive water heater. For the thermosyphon to work, the storage tank must be
located higher than the collector. These systems are usually simple and relatively inexpensive.

b) Forced circulation systems: In these SWHS, as name suggests, the forced circulation systems
employ electrical pumps to circulate the water through collectors and storage tanks [4,5,6].

SWHS DESIGN ASPECTS: Designs and structures of the solar water heaters vary depending
on the quantity and temperature requirement of the application. While systems used for
institutional and industrial applications are customized for the desired application, systems used
in domestic application are fairly standard. The overall performance of all solar energy systems
depends on the weather and it cause in successful application of solar heating systems. In a solar
heating systems, both the energy collected and energy demanded (i.e. the heating load) are
functions of the solar radiation, the ambient temperature, and other meteorological variables. The
weather may be viewed as a set of time-dependent forcing functions imposed upon solar energy
systems. A flat-plate collector is the most common choice for domestic heat and hot water from
solar energy, which is widely used for water heating in many parts of the world. The flat-plate
collector absorbs as much as possible of the incident solar energy that falls upon it. Since the
collector is normally fixed in position, the plate is close to perpendicular to the beam of sunlight
(and therefore maximum absorption) for only part of the time, and the level of energy received
therefore varies more strongly with time and season than does the actual intensity of the solar
radiation. A flat plate collector is designed for applications at moderate temperatures up to 100
o
C. They use both beam and diffuse solar radiation. It does not require any tracking of the Sun.
The design of main components are discussed here -

1. The solar water heating system must not require pumps. It should utilise thermosiphon effects.

2. Solar collector controls: The control system should be used to achieve the optimal sun
exposure of the solar collector. The system should be based on the fact that maximum sun
exposure is achieved when sunlight hits the solar collector at a 90° angle. A mechanical system
should be designed to rotate and control the angle of exposure of the solar collector to achieve
optimal exposure. This mechanical system should be designed such that a rotational motion
device tracks the solar collector motion through input from an electronic device. The electronic
device, i.e. microcontroller or programmable logic controller (PLC) follows the motion based on
information obtained about the position of the solar collector relative to the sun.

3. All components of the system should be economical, light weight, compact, sturdy, easy to
repair or maintain and aesthetic aspect and must be instrumented with thermocouples and flow
rate meters. The material should endure flow and temperature variations, and should be resistant
to corrosion. The heating system components such as tubes and fittings must be standardised to
lower the cost. Design aspects of main components are briefly discussed here.

a) Solar Collector: The solar collector should be designed conceptually to have vertical runs of
parallel pipe. The main restriction for the design of the solar collector is the size of the collector.
This is due to the fact that it must remain portable and safe. Therefore, a custom size of 2 ft wide
by 3 ft long is specified, producing an overall area of 6 ft2. The 2 ft width and 3 ft height allows
for sufficient clearance in most doorways and would allow for safe transportation from storage to
a testing environment. Along with the solar collector frame, other components such as the
piping, absorber and glass needed to be considered. All of the solar collector components that
would be exposed to the sun must be painted black in order to attract more sunlight. The glass
cover over the absorber should be constructed of low-iron, tempered glass.

Collectors should be made mostly of copper, aluminum, and glass. The collectors are the most
materials-intensive components of an SWH system. Their costs have risen (and fallen)
dramatically in recent years. The increase and fluctuation in copper prices have led to more use
of aluminum as collector absorbers developing material substitutes and designing to minimize
copper, aluminum, and glass use can reduce the impact of commodity price volatility and its
effect on the capital costs of SWH systems.

b) Storage Tank: The tank should be selected from the design requires that it must be of a
vertical configuration. The tank also should be designed such that the water can enter and exit
the tank and allow for the thermosiphon effect to take place. The tank also must be designed
taking into account proper safety precautions. To reduce the amount of heat lost by the water in
the storage tank, standard insulation used for a water heater should be purchased to put it outside
of the tank. The insulation also provides a burn barrier to users if they may touch the outside of
the tank. The thermal performance of the storage tank depends on the tank dimension and
material of tank wall and tank insulation [7,8]. The most important parameter is the tank standing
heat loss, defined as the heat loss during a day (24 hours) from a tank without water draw-off; it
is expressed in kWh/24 h. Most SWH storage tanks are built with glass-lined steel or stainless
steel. The technology is the same as that used for conventional pressurized water heating tanks,
although commercial and industrial systems may require larger tanks than residential systems.
Inside the tank, water is the most common storage medium, but advancements in phase-change
materials could result in a shift away from water because these materials have the potential to
store more heat in smaller vessels.

c) Inlet/Outlet Piping: A piping system should be designed to allow minimum energy loss for
water to flow to and from the solar collector and the storage tank. The solar collector should be
constructed with sections of ¾" copper piping outside of the frame for the connecting piping. To
allow for proper rotation of the solar collector, sections of flexible tubing (standard, braided
vinyl tubing) should be used to connect the solar collector and the storage tank. The piping
should be designed in such a way that it should cause minimum frictional loss for water
circulation and should have minimum fittings and length of pipe. In short each design of solar
water heating system component concept should satisfy the following criteria: effectiveness,
cost, safety and size.

4. Mobility: The system should be flexible so as to receive direct sunlight during all the seasons
and day time sun positions. Therefore, the system should be mobile, allowing for placement in
sunlight. The system must also be designed so that it can be stored when not in use.

5. Operating performance is very much dependent on maintenance of the cleanliness of collector

surface. Small coating or thin dust layer reduces the heat transfer or collector efficiency greatly.
This part of cleaning the collector glass surface must be easily taken care for proper operation or
effectiveness of SWHS during its operating lifespan [12].

Acknowledgment: Authors are thankful to the SSBT`s, College of Engineering and Technology,
Bambhori, Jalgaon for providing library and financial support facility.

Conclusions: The technology of solar water heaters is not very complex, but it has certainly
advanced from simple design to more efficient systems. Technical innovation has also helped
improve performance, life expectancy and ease of use of these systems. Innovations have been
made broadly in areas such as type of collector (flat plate, evacuated tube); location of the
collector (roof mount, ground mount, wall mount); and location of the storage tank in relation to
the collector, as well as in the method of heat transfer (that is, open-loop or closed-loop with heat
exchanger). This calls for enhancing the knowledge status for technical capacity in designing
properly sized solar systems and in integrating them with the existing systems/processes. Though
SWHSs have high initial costs, they payback the cost relatively quickly. In the Indian context,
the payback period for a SWHS is in general less than four years. High cost being one of the
most important barriers. Finally, for adoption of SWHS among residential sectors the barrier can
be overcome vast scope lies in designing appropriate financial mechanisms and use of low cost
materials needs to be focused.

References:
[1] Hosni I. Abu-Mulaweh“Design and development of solar water heating system experimental
apparatus”, Global Journal of Engineering Education, Volume 14, Number 1, 2012, © WIETE.
[2] S.N. Agbo, M.Sc. “Effect of Hot Water Withdrawal Rate on the Mean System Temperature
of a Thermosyphon Solar Water Heater” The Pacific Journal of Science and Technology,
Volume 7. Number 2. November 2006 (Fall).
[3] Professor Ashok Gadgil Jennifer L. Jones, Margareta (Gogi) Kalka, Hector Mendoza,
Stefanie Robinson, Alejandra Rueda, Jessica Vechakul, Solar Water Heater Project “Design for
Sustainable Communities”, Final Report, May 13, 2009.
[4] E. Halawa “Thermal Performance Rating of Solar Water Heating Systems in ASEAN” World
Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 60 2011, Page 106-109.
[5] Francis de Winter & Associates Conferencia Latino Americana de Energía Solar (IV ISES
CLA) y XVII Simposio Peruano de Energía Solar (XVIISPES),Cusco, 1-5, 11, 2010
Winterfdw@ecotopia.com
[6] S. Farahat, F. Sarhaddi*, H. Ajam journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene
Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 1169–1174
[7] Shahidul Islam Khan, Asif Islam Smart Grid and Renewable Energy, 2011, 2, 396-398
doi:10.4236/sgre.2011.24045 Published Online November 2011
(http://www.SciRP.org/journal/sgre) *
[8] Dr.Salman H. Hammadi Al-Qadisiya Journal for Engineering Sciences Vol. 2 No. 3 Year
2009
[9] Govind N. Kulkarni, Shireesh B. Kedare, Santanu Bandyopadhyay, www.sciencedirect.com
Solar Energy 81 (2007) 958–968.
[10] A.Srinivas, S. Venkataiah International Journal of Mechanical Engineering ISSN : 2277-
7059 Volume 2 Issue 8 (August 2012)
[11] Dr. Saad T. Hamidi Mohamaad A. Fayath Anbar Journal for Engineering Sciences AJES-
2011, Vol.4, No.2
[12] Jacob G. Fantidis, Dimitrios V. Bandekas, Constantinos Potolias, Nick Vordos, Kostas
Karakoulidis Inzinerine Ekonomika-Engineering Economics, 2012, 23(1), 33-40