INTRODUCTION TO SOLAR

THERMAL APPLICATIONS

1 Dr. Ahmed Amine Hachicha

Spring 2022/2023
HOW TO USE SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY

Working fluid
Solar Radiation Solar Thermal Energy

2
Solar collector

thermal energy

working fluid

2
 TYPES OF SOLAR COLLECTORS
CPC
 Collectors and working temperature FPC ETC

Low temperature

Medium
temperature

High temperature

HFC
PDR 3

LFR
PTC
SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY APPLICATIONS

 Low temperature installations

 Swimming pool heating (T ~25°C)
 DHW (dwellings, gyms, schools, hotels...) T = 45-60°C

 Space heating (radiant floor T = 30-35°C, radiators T -

70C)
 Medium temperature installations (T > 90°C till T
= 250°C)
 Industrial processes, desalination, sterilization, etc.
 Absorption cooling

 High temperature installations, thermoelectric

power generation (CSP),desalination,... 4
CLASSIFICATION BY TYPE OF CIRCULATION
 Passive systems: are natural circulation systems,
due to buoyancy forces allowing water or heat-
transfer fluid to move through the system
without pumps.
Pros: They contain no electric components, thus
are more reliable, easier to maintain, and possibly
longer-lasting than active systems.
Cons: They require careful planning to optimize
performance, there is a poor control of over-
heating. For a better circulation, the hot water
storage tank must be located above the collector
level 5
CLASSIFICATION BY TYPE OF CIRCULATION
 Active systems: Installations with forced
circulation, pumps are required for circulation of
the HTF through the collectors.

Pros: Integral protection against freezing,

overheat control, heat is delivered from the
collector at optimal rate, greater choice of collector
and pipe layout
Cons: Pumps requires electricity and must be
controlled. Are more complex systems and in
general more expensive
6
OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS
 Depending on the level of concentration /
efficiency:
 low-to-medium temperature, non-concentrating, 30-50%
 medium and high temperature, concentrating, 50-75%
 Relative position respect to the sun
 Fixed surfaces
 One-axis tracking
 Two-axis tracking
 Depending on the number of covers
 etc

7
LOW-TO-MEDIUM TEMPERATURE SYSTEMS
 Solar thermal DHW systems for single and two
family homes, thermosiphon
 Solar thermal DHW systems for single and multi-
family homes, forced circulation
 Combi-systems for one and two family homes

 Large solar thermal systems for large DHW

consumers
 Solar thermal process heat systems

 Solar-Active-Houses with high solar fraction

 Solar district heating systems with and without

seasonal heat storage 8

 Solar thermal assisted cooling

NATURAL CIRCULATION SYSTEMS.
THERMOSIPHONS
 Usually 2-3 m2 flat plate
collector area and a 150 litre
store are used for a family of
three/four. The coverage of the
house DHW load is about 50 %.
 There is no need for
circulations pumps, self-
regulating system
 They are compact, low
maintenance, easy assembly
 Low mass flow rate system,
depending on the solar 9

radiation
SOLAR THERMAL DHW SYSTEMS FOR
SINGLE AND MULTI-FAMILY HOMES

 They are suitable for both

new-build and retrofit.
 The collector is installed
on the roof and the hot
water store is usually
situated in the basement.
 The solar heated transfer
fluid circulates through
the hydraulic solar circuit
with the help of a pump.
 About 4-6 m2 at plate
collector area and a 300
litre store are used for a 10

family of four.
FORCED CIRCULATION SYSTEMS. DHW
The pumps are controlled by a regulatory element.
It can be:
 By temperature difference

 By minimum solar radiation

 A combination of both

11
INSTALLATIONS WITH FORCED CIRCULATION.
HEATING+DHW (COMBISYSTEMS)
 Solar heating systems for combined domestic hot water
preparation and space heating
 These are mainly used in central Europe, especially in
Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France
 15 to 30 m2 at plate collector and a 1-3 m3 hot water store
 the overall building heat demand for DHW and space
heating is about ( 20 ~40%)
 There is an excess of energy during summertime
 Solar combisystems generally consist five elements: a solar collector
loop; a storage subsystem; a control subsystem; an auxiliary
subsystem; and a heat distribution subsystem

The solar collector area supplying a

combisystems will be typically 3 times 12
the area supplying a DHW systems alone
 SOLAR WATER HEATER

Direct (open loop) Indirect (close loop)

User
User

Passive

(Thermosyphon)

User User

Active

Heat 13
exchanger
 SOLAR WATER HEATER
 Installation direction
 For northern hemisphere → Facing south
 For southern hemisphere → Facing north

 Installation tilt angle

 The angle of the collector is
roughly equal to the local
latitude

14
LARGE SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEMS FOR
LARGE DHW CONSUMERS
 In multi-family buildings,
hotels, hospitals, residential
homes, etc. with a high DHW
demand
 These systems are usually
forced circulation systems with
the collector area on the roof
and a central hot water store in
the basement.
 A typical size is 0.5 to 1 m2
collector area per occupant and
50 litre hot water volume per
m2 collector area.
 The larger the system the 15
higher the hot water demand
satisfied by the solar system
PROCESS HEAT
 About 40% of the heat demand
is used for process heat in
industry and agriculture. Solar
thermal energy could cover a
sizeable part of this demand.
 E.g. for washing processes,
only a low temperature of
about 50°C is needed, other
processes might require up to
95°C.
 For these processes the
collector field technology can
vary from at plate collectors to
evacuated tube collectors or 16

even low concentrated CPC

PROCESS HEAT
 Market potential of industrial process heating

17
HIGH TEMPERATURE APPLICATIONS
 The most common
application is for electricity
production Large collector
fields, concentrate beam
radiation to obtain a high
Parabolic trough
temperature fluid in order to
produce electricity
 Different technologies are
currently being used e.g.
PTC, solar tower, linear
Solar Tower
Fresnell, parabolic dishes
 Solar-to-power efficiency
~10-20 % 18

Parabolic Dish.
COMPONENTS OF SOLAR COLLECTORS
 Absorber
 Glazing

 Frame and insulation

 Liquid or gaseous heat transfer medium

 Pipes to transport the heat transfer medium.

 Heat store with none, one or several heat

exchangers
 Auxiliary system

 Pumps with a drive to maintain the heat carrier

cycle, sensors and control instruments are
required 19
COMPONENTS OF SOLAR COLLECTORS

20
COLLECTOR DESIGNS

21
 SOLAR THERMAL COOLING
 Active cooling

Use solar thermal collectors to provide thermal energy for driving thermally
driven chillers.

Heat source Cooling tower

Cooling distribution
Chiller

22
SOLAR THERMAL COOLING
 Basic type of solar thermal chiller
 Absorption cooling－LiBr+H2O
Closed cycle
 Adsorption cooling－silica gel+H2O
 DEC, Desiccant Evaporative Cooling Open cycle

23
 SOLAR THERMAL COOLING
Conventional compression Adsorption/absorption cooling
cooling

QL QL
Qg
high pressure vapor
high pressure vapor
condenser condenser

We desorption
We expansion
compressor expansion
valve
(switch) valve

absorption

Qa
evaporator evaporator
low pressure vapor low pressure vapor QC
QC
24
COPelect=QC/We COPthermal=QC/Qg
COPelect=QC/We
ABSORPTION CYCLE

25
DESICCANT EVAPORATIVE COOLING

26
SOLAR THERMAL COOLING

27

"Solar Assisted Cooling – State of the Art –,“ESTIF, 2006.

SOLAR THERMAL COOLING

28
SOLAR THERMAL COOLING
 Passive Cooling (solar ventilation, solar chimney)
 A way of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using
convection of air heated by passive solar energy.
 Direct gain warms air inside the chimney causing it to rise out the top
and drawing air in from the bottom.

29
SOLAR DESALINATION/DISTILLATION
 Solar humidification-dehumidification (HDH)
 HDH is based on evaporation of brackish water and consecutive
condensation of the generated humid air, mostly at ambient pressure.
 The simplest configuration: the solar still.
 In sophisticated systems, waste heat is minimized by collecting the heat
from the condensing water vapor and pre-heating the incoming water
source.

30
SOLAR THERMAL APPLICATIONS

31