Solar Energy Systems 1

Solar energy systems reduce the environmental impact of buildings by providing a viable energy alternative to reliance on diminishing fossil fuel reserves. They also provide a fuel cost saving for the building user.

Energy from the sun can be used for heating swimming pools, preheating ventilation air and for space heating. The most common application in the UK is for heating water for domestic use. Many new homes feature solar systems a as contributory to their heat energy source performance from a boiler criteria. is still However, conventional back-up

required to compensate when solar energy capture is limited.

Operating and installation principle

Solar collector Domestic hot water supply Conventional boiler installation as back-up

Thermal store

Fill and drain Fill and drain Expansion vessel

Note:

Safety

and

other

over-temperature

controls

and

filling

accessories omitted to emphasise the main components. Further details are shown on pages 84, 85, 95, 96 and 113.

111

Solar Energy Systems 2

Solar collectors there are many variations, most based on the following types:

Flat plate a relatively thin rectangular box with a glass or transluscent cover over a series of small diameter pipes positioned above a black painted absorber plate, insulated on the underside. Installed mainly on south facing pitched roofs (see next page).

Batch or bread box a black painted storage vessel incorporating an insulated tank lined with glass. Located in any position exposed to the sun. Cold water entry is at the base and hot water is drawn from the top. In effect, the bread box functions as a collector, absorber and store of energy in hot water.

Transpired a south facing exposed external masonry wall used as an active thermal store. Its performance is enhanced by over-laying the wall with a dark coloured sheet metal plate collector, perforated to draw in outdoor heated air. This air or the heat energy in the wall can be used to directly pre-heat air conditioning/ventilation air or indirectly across the evaporator of a heat pump (see pages 290293).

Evacuated glass tube (detailed on page 114).

Overheating A correctly sized expansion vessel will be adequate for all but extreme situations. However, the effect of the sun is variable and very high This water could temperatures result in and pressures high can occur in solar hot collectors. excessively domestic stored

water and possibly system fractures. Some control can be achieved with automatic blinds, but more reliable self venting controls are required. Building Regulations Part G, Approved Document G3 specifically mentions solar systems and defines safety back-up requirements. See pages 84 and 85 for safety facilities applied to sealed systems and page 96 for thermal stores.

Approximate sizing of solar collector area (see also pages 115 and 116): Domestic hot water 1.0 to 2.0m2 per person served. Swimming pool 0.05 to 0.10m2 per 1.0m2 pool surface. Space heating 15 to 20% of the heated floor area.

112

Solar Energy Flat Plate Collector

Solar energy can contribute significantly to hot water requirements. In some countries it is the sole source of energy for hot water. In the UK its efficiency varies with the fickle nature of the weather, but fuel the savings collector of about be 40% 4 are possible. in For domestic at application, an angle of should to 6 m2 area, secured

40 to the horizontal and facing south. The solar cylinder capacity of about 200 litres is heated to 60C. The cylinder and associated pipework must be very well insulated and the solar part of the system should contain a blend of water and non-toxic anti-freeze. The pump is switched on when the temperature of water at point X exceeds that at point Y by 2 to 3C. The solar cylinder and the conventional cylinder may be fitted on the same level, or to save space a combined solar/ conventional cylinder can be obtained from specialist suppliers.

6 mm sheet glass

20 mm air space

Surface painted matt black

Section Aluminium foil 100 mm of insulation

Detail of flat plate solar collector

Elevation

Solar collector

Air valve Control panel

Expansion vessel

Non-return valve

Y Pump Solar cylinder

Filling point

Conventional cylinder

Hot water supply to taps Detail of system

113

Solar Energy Evacuated Glass Tube Collector

Although having the general appearance of a panel, the evacuated glass tube collector functions differently from a flat plate collector. The panel is made up of a series of refrigerant charged copper tube elements as heat exchangers responsive The or heat pipes contained with concentrically performance for greater within individual vacuum sealed glass tubes. The advantage is that a refrigerant in low is more than water, glass better provide light conditions. outer tubes

efficiency at high temperatures. The refrigerant within the inner heat pipes evaporates in response

to solar gain. This generates a convection cycle as the hot vapour gives off its heat energy into water circulating through a header pipe compartment or manifold. The cooling vapour condenses into a fluid, returning to the lower part of the heat pipe to continue the cycle.

Cool in

Hot out

Water compartment or header manifold

Series of glass tubes secured to a metal frame

Solar panel

Hot bulb in water compartment Seal

Copper heat pipe Heat pipe

Evacuated glass tube Partial vacuum

Heat transfer refrigerant circulates by convection

Longitudinal section

Lateral section

114

Solar Energy Collector Panel Size-1

The area of a solar collecting panel should not exceed the potential of the system it serves. A relatively large collector area does not necessarily provide greater effect or efficiency. Over-sizing can cause an excess of hot water and possibly over-heating (heat stagnation). Heating system components are not designed to withstand persistent and excessively high temperatures and pressures. If they are subjected to this, they may malfunction and create safety issues for the end user, particularly with regard to risk of scalding. See Note 2 relating to thermal stores and solar panels on page 96 and the reference to Building Regulation G3.

The

basis

for

sizing

solar

system

is

determined of of services water floor

by

the

daily

hot

water demand. This can be calculated from data in BS 6700: Design, installation, for The domestic BS testing use and maintenance buildings on be used and volumes supplying by water within can their curtilages. used area Specification. appliances. in the UK

provides

guidance

Alternatively, government

figures

from

data

publication,

Standard

Assessment

Procedure

for

Energy

Ratings of Dwellings (SAP). Some other guidance is shown on page 118.

2.4kWh

2.6kWh

2.6kWh

2.8kWh

2.8kWh

3.0kWh 3.0kWh Average daily solar irradiation on 1 m2 of surface inclined at approximately 30

115

Solar Energy Collector Panel Size-2

Guidance for sizing a solar panel for domestic hot water 1. Estimate the quantity of energy required (Q) in kWh/day.

Daily requirement for hot water

Shc of water

Temp. diff.

Where: C Shc

Daily requirement or capacity in litres. 4180 J/kgK Converting to Wh where 1 kWh 4180 3.6 1.16Wh/kgK. 3.6MJ

(million

joules

Temp. diff.

Difference between desired water temperature (60C) and incoming water temperature (10C), i.e. 50K.

Eg. For a hot water storage facility of 200 litres daily use: Q 200 1.16 50 11600 Wh or 11.6 kWh

2. Estimate the size of solar collector panel area (A) in m2. No. of days Annual solar irradiation Q Solar fraction Average system efficiency

Where: No. of days is 365 if the panel is in use all year. Q is taken from the calculation above. Solar fraction is the amount of energy provided and effectiveness of the collector relative to the total amount of energy that the installation requires. Zero is where there is no solar facility and 1 or 100% is for all energy from a solar source. 55% is a typical figure for the UK. Annual solar irradiation see map on previous page or take an annual estimate from the map on page 654. Average system efficiency related to that at the equator, up to 60% in the UK. Eg. Using a figure of 2.6kWh/day (map on previous page): 2 .6 365 949 kWh/m2

Applied to the solar collector panel sizing formula: 365 11.6 55 949 60 232870 56940 4.09m2 ie. 4.1m2

116

Properties of Heat Hot Water

The heat energy properties of water are fundamental for determining pipe sizes and component dimensions in hot water and heating systems. HEAT is a form of energy, otherwise known as thermal energy. The standard unit of energy is the joule (J). 1 joule amount of energy supplied by 1 watt (W) in 1 second (s).

Other units of energy found in older textbooks and product references include: 1 British thermal unit (1 Btu) 1 calorie (1 cal) 1 therm (1 therm) 4187 J 36 MJ 1055 MJ 1 kilowatt hour (1 kWh) 1055 kJ

POWER is a measure of work rate. Power (W) Thus, 1 W heat energy (J) time in seconds (s) 1 joule/second

TEMPERATURE is measured on a scale between two fixed points. These points are chosen at normal atmospheric pressure to represent water at the melting point of ice as zero, and the boiling point at 100, hence the term centigrade. A point on this scale is known as degrees Celcius (C). The thermodynamic or absolute scale of temperature is represented in degrees Kelvin (K). Temperature intervals are the same as Celcius, but Kelvin originates at more internal energy can be 27315C, the point at which no from a body. Temperature extracted

change intervals of 1C and 1 K are the same, except that: thermodynamic temperature (K) e.g. 1: water at 30C 30315 K temperature in C 27315

e.g. 2: a hot water system with primary flow and return temperatures of 80C and 70C respectively, has a temperature differential of 10 K. SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY (Shc) is the amount of heat energy required to raise 1 kilogram (kg) of a substance by 1 K. Some approximate values of Shc (will vary slightly with temperature and pressure): Water Ice Nylon Air From the above, 4180 J/kg K 2100 1700 1010 it can be seen Aluminium Cast iron Copper/zinc Lead that it would 910 J/kg K 500 385 126 require over four

times as much heat energy to raise 1 kg of water 1 K, than 1 kg of air (4180 1010 414). Conversely, as the Shc of water is relatively high, it is a good medium for storing heat. This is also a reason why hot water plant occupies less space than warm air systems, i.e. pipes are much smaller than air ducts conveying the same amount of energy.

117

Hot Water Storage Capacity

The the for capacity building rate of of hot water Exact storage vessels are must be adequate to and have an for purpose. energy requirements (see difficult below) buildings creates these determine, the time

but reasonable estimates are possible. These should include provision consumption next table Many often taken to reheat the water to the required storage temperature (see boiler use rating calculation page). This variable and inconsistent demands. overdesign types,

situation, unless care is taken to establish peak use periods and the system calculations adjusted accordingly. With building non-storage instantaneous fittings may be preferred.

For most buildings the following table can be used as guidance: Building purpose Storage capacity (litres/person) Dwellings: single bath multi-bath Factory/Office Hotels Hostels Hospitals Schools/Colleges: day boarding Sports pavilions
*

Energy consumption (kW/person)

30 45 5 35* 30 35*

075 100 010 100 070 100

5 25 35

010 070 100

Average figures

E.g. A student hall of residence (hostel) to accommodate 50 persons. Capacity: 50 30 1500 litres

Energy consumption: 50

070

35 kW

The nearest capacity storage vessel can be found from manufacturers' catalogues or by reference to BS 1566. For convenience, two or three cylinders of equivalent capacity may be selected.

118

Boiler Rating
Boilers energy imperial are per rated in of kilowatts, i.e. W British where 1 watt per equates hour for to 1 joule use of the second, J/s. Many manufacturers still their

measure

thermal

units

boilers.

For comparison purposes 1 kW equates to 3412 Btu/h. Rating can be expressed in terms of gross or net heat input into

the appliance. Values can be calculated by multiplying the fuel flow rate (m3/s) by its calorific value (kJ/m3 or kJ/kg). Input may be gross if the latent heat due to condensation of water is included in the heat transfer from the fuel. Where both values are provided in the appliance manufacturer's information, an approximate figure for boiler operating 24/30 Oil and efficiency can be obtained, e.g. if a gas boiler has gross and net input values of 30 and 24 kW respectively, the efficiency is 100/1 solid 80%. fuel appliances are normally rated by the maximum

declared energy output (kW), whereas gas appliances are rated by net heat input rate (kW[net]). Calculation of boiler power: kg of water S.h.c. Temp. rise

kW

Time in seconds

where: 1 litre of water weighs 1 kg S.h.c. K Temp. specific heat capacity of water, 42 kJ/kgK rise the rise in temperature mixed that the boiler will need 30C) to to the degrees Kelvin temperature interval existing water temperature takes to (say

increase Time in

the required storage temperature (say 60C). seconds time the boiler achieve temperature rise. 1 to 2 hours is typical, use 15 hours in this example. From the example on the previous page, storage capacity is 1500

litres, i.e. 1500 kg of water. Therefore: 1500 4. 2 1.5 (60 3600 30)

Boiler power

35 kW net

Given the boiler has an efficiency of 80%, it will be gross input rated: 35 100/80 43.75 kW

Note: unit

The

boiler

operating

efficiency to

is

the a

relationship unit of heat

between energy

a in

of

fuel

energy

consumed

produce

the appliance hot water. It is not to be compared with the seasonal efficiency of a boiler (SEDBUK), see page 125.

119

Pipe Sizing Primary Flow and Return

The water in primary flow and return pipework may circulate by convection. This produces a relatively slow rate of movement of about 02 m/s, depending on pipe length and location of boiler and cylinder. Modern systems are more efficient, incorporating a circulation pump to create a water velocity of between 050 and 30 m/s. This permits smaller pipe sizes and will provide a faster thermal response.

Inside diameter of pipe 50 mm* 50 mm

Velocity min. 0.50 m/s 1.25 m/s

Velocity max. (copper) 10 m/s 15 m/s

Velocity max. (steel) 15 m/s 30 m/s

Exceeding these recommendations may lead to excessive system noise and possible pipe erosion.

E.g. using the Copper Development Association design chart shown on the next page, with the boiler rating from the previous example of 43.75 kW gross heat input and 35 kW net heat input.

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

Boiler net heat input S.h.c. Temp. diff. (pf pr)

Temperature difference between primary flow (pf) and primary return (pr) in pumped water circuits is usually about 10 K, i.e. 80C 70C. With convected circulation the return temperature will be about 60C.

Mass flow rate

35 4 .2 10

0.83 kg/s

On the design chart, co-ordinating 0.83 kg/s with a pumped flow rate of 1 m/s indicates a 42 mm inside diameter copper tube. (35 mm is just too small.)

By comparison, using convected circulation of, say, 0.15 m/s and a mass flow rate with a 20 K temperature difference of 042 kg/s, the pipe size would be 76 mm.

*See also page 194.

120