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School of Civil and Building Services Engineering

2013-09-01

Analysis of the Thermal Performance of a Solar

Water Heating System with Flat Plate Collectors in
a Temperate Climate
Lacour Ayompe
Dublin Institute of Technology, lacour.ayompe@dit.ie

Aidan Duffy
Dublin Institute of Technology, aidan.duffy@dit.ie

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Recommended Citation
Ayompe, L. and Duffy, A. Analysis of the thermal performance of a solar water heating system with flat plate collectors in a temperate
climate. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2013.04.062.Applied Thermal Engineering (2013): 58; 447-454.

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Analysisofthethermalperformanceofasolarwaterheatingsystemwithflatplate
collectorsinatemperateclimate
L.M.Ayompe1andA.Duffy
SchoolofCivil&BuildingServicesEngineeringandDublinEnergyLab,DublinInstituteof
Technology,Dublin1,Ireland.

Abstract
Thethermalperformanceofasolarwaterheatingsystemwith4m2flatplatecollectorsin
Dublin, Ireland is presented in this paper. The experimental setup consisted of a
commercially available forced circulation domestic scale system fitted with an automated
subsystemthatcontrolledhotwaterdrawoffsandtheoperationofanauxiliaryimmersion
heater.Thesystemwastestedoverayearandthemaximumrecordedcollectoroutletfluid
temperaturewas70.4 oCwhilethemaximumwatertemperatureatthebottomofthehot
watertankwas59.9 oC.Theannualaveragedailyenergycollectedwas19.6MJ/d,energy
deliveredbythesolarcoilwas16.2MJ/d,supplypipelosswas3.2MJ/d,solarfractionwas
32.2%,collectorefficiencywas45.6%andsystemefficiencywas37.8%.Supplypipelosses
represented16.4%ofenergycollected.
Keywords:Solarwaterheatingsystem,flatplatecollector,solarcontroller,temperate
climate
1.

Introduction
A glazed flat plate collector (FPC)consists of a metal absorber in a flat rectangular

casing. A glass cover on the upper surface and insulation at the bottom and sides reduce
thermal losses. Air is present in the space between the metal absorber and transparent
cover.Theflatmetalplateservesasaheatexchangerthatabsorbssolarradiation,converts
itintoheatandtransferstheheattoaflowingfluid.Theheatcanbeuseddirectlyifwateris
1

Correspondingauthor:Emailaddress:lacour.ayompe@dit.ie(L.M.Ayompe);Tel:+35314027937

usedasthetransferfluidortransferredtowaterinastoragetankusingaheatexchangerif
asolarfluidisused[1].
Theannualaverageefficiencyofwelldesignedsolarwaterheatingsystems(SWHSs)
with FPCs in northern temperate climates is typically around 3540% [2]. Temperate
climates are those without temperature extremes and precipitation (rain and snow) with
changesbetweensummerandwinterbeinggenerallyrefreshingwithoutbeingfrustratingly
extreme. A temperate weather however, can have a very changeable weather in both
summerandwinter.Onedayitmayberaining,thenextitmaybesunny.Theseclimatesare
locatedinzonesintherangeoflatitudesbetween40and60/70oNorth[3].
SolarenergycollectorsarethemaincomponentofSWHSsthereforeevaluatingtheir
thermalperformanceisvital.Anumberofstudiesonthe performanceofFPCshavebeen
carriedoutundersteadystateandquasidynamictestconditionsfollowingEN129752[4]
and ASHRAE 9386 [5] standards. Zambolin and Del Col [6] carried out a comparative
performance analysis of the thermal performance of flat plate and evacuated tube
collectorsinPadova,Italy.Theypresentedanewsetofdatacollectedforbothflatplateand
evacuated tube collectors tested simultaneously from steadystate and quasidynamic
efficiencytestsfollowingthestandardEN129752.
Tiwarietal.[7]analysedtheperformanceofsolarFPCsmanufacturedinIndiawith
FRULvaluesrangingbetween5.139and7.024.Ameretal.[8]developedatransientmethod
to characterise the dynamic behaviour of solar FPCs and validated their results for F()e
and FUL against those obtained from steady state tests based on the ASHRAE 9386
standard. They also investigated the effects of inlet temperature and incidence alngle on
collector parameters. Chen et al. [9] carried out tests to evaluate the efficiencies of two
solar FPCs at different flow rates. Sakhrieh and AlGhandoor [10] conducted an
experimental study to characterise the overall performance of four types of FPCs and an
evacuatedtubecollectorusedinJordan.

Dataobtainedfromthesetestsareusedtocharacterisecollectorsusingefficiency
curves. However, these test conditions do not represent typical weather and operating
conditionsunderwhichSWHSsaresubjectedto.Consequently,otherstudieshavefocused
onevaluatingtheperformanceofSWHSsunderrealweatherconditions.RodrguezHidalgo
et al. [11] studied the performance of a 50 m2 solar FPC array for domestic hot water
heatingandcoolingapplicationsinMadrid,Spain.
MichaelidesandEleftheriou[12]studiedthebehaviourofaSWHSwith3m2FPCand
a 68 L hot water tank in Cyprus using data collected over 2 years. Ayompe et al. [13]
comparedtheyearroundenergyandeconomicperformanceoftwoSWHSswithflatplate
and evacuated tube collectors operating under the same weather conditions in Dublin,
Ireland. Building Research Establishment [14] evaluated the performance of a SWHS in
Cambridgeshire, UK which had a flat plate solar panel (Clearline V30) manufactured by
ViridanSolar,UK.Thetestrigincludedanautomatedsystemthatincorporatedtheeffects
oftheauxiliaryheatingsystem(boilerorimmersionheater)anddailyhotwateruseofthe
average European household described by the EU reference tapping cycle (EU M324EN)
equivalent to 100 litres at 60C. Their results showed that over a year, the 3 m2 collector
generated5,266MJofheataccountingfor57%ofthehotwaterrequirement.
This paper presents results on the analysis of the thermal performance of a SWHS
with4m2FPCsusingdatafromafieldtrialinDublin,Ireland.TheSWHSistypicalofsystems
installed in average sized single domestic dwellings in Ireland with 46 inhabitants. An
automatedsubsystemwasdevelopedtocontrolhotwaterdrawoffstomimicthedemand
forhotwaterindomesticdwellings.Anelectricimmersionheaterwasusedtoprovidetop
upenergywheninsufficientsolarradiationwasavailable,asistypicalinIrelandandtheUK.
The data collected were used to evaluate energy performance indices notably: system
componenttemperatures,collectorenergyoutputs;energydeliveredtothehotwatertank;

collector and system efficiencies; pipework heat loss; and solar fraction on daily, monthly
andyearlybasis.
2.

Methodology
AforcedcirculationSWHSwith4m2FPCwasinstalledonaflatrooftopintheFocas

Institute, Dublin, Ireland (latitude 5320' N and longitude 615) and its thermal
performance was monitored over a one year period. The SWHS had a 300 litre hot water
tankequippedwithanelectricalauxiliaryimmersionheaterwhichwasusedtotopupthe
tanktemperatureto60oCinthemorningandeveningwheneverthesolarcoilfellshortof
doingso.Anautomatedhotwaterdrawoffsystemwasdevelopedtomimicdomestichot
water use (volumetric flow rates are shown in Fig. 1). System performance data were
collectedeveryminute.
70
62

62
60

Volume(litres)

50
40
30
24
20
13

11:30

2
19:00

10:30

18:30

18:15

18:00

16:30

09:30

07:45

09:00

08:45

2
07:30

15:30

14:30

10

Time

Fig.1.Volumeofhotwater(60oC)drawoffatdifferenttimesoftheday.

21:30

21:00

20:30

12:45

11:45

08:30

08:05

07:05

07:00

2.1.

Systemdescription
Typical solar water heating systems used in temperate climates consist of a hot

water storage tank, control unit, pump station and either flat plate or evacuated tube
collectors.TheFPCemployedinthisstudywassouthfacingandinclinedat53o,equaltothe
locallatitudeofthelocation.Thehotwatertankwasinstallednearbyinthebuildingsplant
room.Thesolarcircuitsconsistedof12mmdiameter(outside)copperpipesinsulatedwith
22 mm thick Class O Armaflex. All pipe fittings were insulated to reduce heat losses. The
solarcircuitpipelengthsupplyandreturnwere14mand15.4mrespectively.
ThecollectingsubsystemconsistedoftwoK420EM2Lflatplatecollectorseachwith
agrossareaof2.18m2andapertureareaof2m2connectedinseriesgivingatotalareaof4
m2. The absorber material consisted of aluminium coated with eta plus (a highly selective
coating with 95% absorbance and 5% emittance). The collectors each had a single
transparent cover made up of tempered solar safety glass. The collectors were insulated
with 30 mm thick mineral wool. Each collector had maximum operating and stagnation
temperaturesof120 oCand191 oCrespectively,amaximumoperatingpressureof10bar
andafluidcontentof1.73l.

Thestainlesssteelhotwatertank(modelHM300LD/coilU44332)was1,680mm

highwithadiameterof580mmandanoperatingpressureof3bar.Thetankwasequipped
withanelectricimmersionheaterof2.75/3.0kWcapacitylocatedatthemiddleofthetank.
Thetankhadaheatingcoilwithsurfaceareaof1.4m2andaratingof21kW.
ThehotwaterdemandprofileemployedwastheEUreferencetappingcyclenumber
3 (see Fig. 1), equivalent to a daily energy output of 42.1 MJ representing 199.8 litres of
waterat60oC.ItisbasedonhotwateruseoftheaverageEuropeanhouseholddescribedin

theEuropeanUnionmandatefortheelaborationandadoptionofmeasurementstandards
forhouseholdappliancesEUM324EN[15].

An automated hot water dispensing unit was designed and incorporated into the

SWHS to drawoff water from the hot water tank in such a way as to mimic real life
operation by households. The unit includes a programmable logic controller (PLC),
contactors,relays,electricalfittings,solenoidvalve,thermostatandimpulseflowmeters.A
softwareprogramwaswrittentocontroltheauxiliaryheatingsystemaswellasopeningand
shuttingthesolenoidvalves.

Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of the daily operation of the PLC. The PLC turned on the

immersionheateratthemiddleofthehotwatertankbetween58amand69pmdailyjust
before the two peak hot water drawoffs to ensure that hot water was available when
needed.Ananaloguethermostatplacedatthetopofthehotwatertankwassettoturnoff
theelectricitysupplytotheimmersionheaterwhenthetemperatureofthewateratthetop
ofthetankexceeded60oC.Hotwaterwasdispensedusingasolenoidvalvethatwasopened
andclosedusingsignalsfromthePLC.Apulseflowmeter(1pulseperlitre)installedatthe
endofthesolenoidvalvewasusedtocountthenumberoflitresofwaterextractedfrom
thehotwatertank.Thesolenoidvalvewasclosedwhentherequiredvolumeofwaterwas
dispensedbasedonthewaterdemandprofile(seeFig.1).
Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental setup of the SWHS
components and the position of the thermocouple sensors. Parameters measured include
the following: solar fluid temperature at the collector outlet (Tc,o), water temperature at
thebottomofthehotwatertank(Tb,t),watertemperatureatthemiddleofthehotwater
tank(Tm,t),solarfluidtemperatureatinlettothesolarcoil(Tsc,i),solarfluidtemperatureat
theoutletfromthesolarcoil(Tsc,o),solarfluidtemperatureatinlettothecollector(Tc,i),
6

coldwaterinlettemperaturetothehotwatertank(Tcw,i),hotwatersupplytemperature
(Thw,o)andthevolumeflowrateofthesolarfluid.

Fig.2.FlowchartofthedailyoperationofthePLC

Tc,o
Solenoid Pulse flow
meter
valve

Hot water out

to demand

Thw,o

Solar
controller

Hot water
tank

Thermostat

Hot water
demand &
auxiliary heating
control system

Tm,t
Immersion
heater

Tc,i
Solar fluid

Pump

Pulse flow
meter

Tsc,i
Tsc,o

Solar
coil

Tcw,i

Tb,t
Pulse flow
meter

Fig.3.Schematicdiagramoftheexperimentalsetup.

Cold
water in

2.2

Datameasurementandlogging
TheSWHSwasequippedwithaRESOLDeltaSolMsolarcontrollerwhichhadrelay

inputs to control the operation of the solar pump station. It also had temperature sensor
inputs onto which PT1000 platinum resistance temperature sensors were connected to
measure water and solar fluid temperatures (Tc,oThw,o) shown in Fig. 3. The volumetric
flow rate of the solar fluid was measured using RESOL V4006 impulse flow meters which
reactat1litreperpulse.RESOLDL2dataloggerswereusedtostoredataeveryminutefrom
the RESOL DeltaSol M solar controllers via RESOL VBus cables. DL2 data loggers were
equipped with a secure digital (SD) drive and a local area network (LAN) port for direct
connectiontoapersonalcomputer(PC).DatafromtheloggerswasextractedusingaWeb
browser or an SD card and then converted to text format using the RESOL Service Centre
Software.
Global solar radiation on the collectors surface, ambient temperature and wind
speeddataweremeasuredusingaweatherstationconsistingofanSMASunnySensorBox
equipped with an ambient temperature sensor and an anemometer. The solar radiation
sensor had an accuracy of 8% and a resolution of 1 W/m2. The PT1000 platinum
temperaturesensorshadanaccuracyof0.5 oCwhiletheambienttemperaturesensorwas
aJUMOPT100Utypewithaccuracyof0.5 oC.TheanemometerwasaThiessmallwind
transmitter with accuracy of 5%. Weather data was logged at 5 minute intervals using a
SunnyBoxWebBox.
3.

Energyperformanceanalysis

The energy performance indices evaluated in this study include: energy collected,

energy delivered and supply pipe losses, solar fraction, collector efficiency and system
efficiency.
8

3.1.

Energycollected
Theusefulenergycollectedbythesolarenergycollectorisgivenas[16]:

Cp (Tc,o Tc,i)
Qc m
3.2.

(1)

Energydeliveredandsupplypipelosses
Theusefulenergydeliveredbythesolarcoiltothehotwatertankisgivenas

Cp (Tsc,i Tsc,o)
Qd m

(2)

Supply pipe losses were due to the temperature drop as the solar fluid flowed

betweenthecollectoroutletandthesolarcoilinlettothehotwatertank.Theselosseswere
calculatedas:

Cp (Tsc,i Tsc,i)
QL m
3.3.

(3)

Solarfraction
Thesolarfraction(SF)istheratioofsolarheatyieldtothetotalenergyrequirement

forwaterheatingandisgivenas[2]:

SF

3.4.

Qs
Q s Q aux (4)
Collectorefficiency
Thecollectorefficiencywascalculatedas[17,18]:

c
3.5.

Cp (Tc, o Tc, i)
m
Ac G t

(5)

Systemefficiency
Thesystemefficiencywascalculatedas[17,18]:

Cp (Tsc,i Tsc,o)
m
Ac G t

(6)

4.

Resultsanddiscussions

4.1.

Dailyperformance

Three days representative of typical weather conditions prevalent in Ireland were

usedtoanalysethedailyperformanceoftheFPCSWHS.Theyconsistofheavilyovercastsky
(04/02/2010),clearsky(24/05/2009)andintermittentcloudcoveredsky(13/10/2009).Fig.
4 shows plots of solar radiation during the three days. The maximum daily solar radiation
was 176.3 W/m2 on the heavily overcast day,961.8 W/m2 on the clear sky dayand 633.4
W/m2 on the day with intermittent cloud cover. Fig. 5 shows plots of ambient air
temperature and wind speed. The maximum ambient air temperatures and wind speeds
were:10.5 oCand8.7m/sontheheavilyovercastday;21.8 oCand9.1m/sontheclearsky
day;18.6oCand3.4m/sonthedaywithintermittentcloudcover.
24/05/2009
Clearskyday

04/02/2010
Overcastday

1000

13/10/2009
intermittentcloud
coveredday

900

700
600
500
400
300
200
100
20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

0
00:00

Solarradiation(W/m2)

800

Timeofday

Fig.4.Globalsolarradiationonthecollectorsurfaceforthreecharacteristicdays

10

4.1.1 Systemtemperatures

Fig. 6 shows plots of daily variation in solar fluid temperature at the collectors

outlet(Tc,o),watertemperatureatthebottomofthehotwatertank(Tb,t), coldwaterinlet
temperature to the hot water tank (Tcw,i). It is seen that a rise in Tc,o due to solar gain
throughthecollectorcausesadelayedincreaseinTb,t.Thetimelagiscausedbythetimeit
takesforheatexchangebetweenthesolarfluidandwaterinthetankaswellasconduction
throughthetankfluidtothesensorTb,t.Coldwatersupplywasfromatanklocatedinthe
boiler room of the building on which the experimental rig was installed. Short term
variations in Tcw,i were as a result of changes in water temperature in the boiler room
wherethehotwatertankwasinstalled.

04/02/2010
Overcastday

24

20

10

16
6
12
4
8

Windspeed(m/s)

Ambienttemperature(oC)

Ambienttemperature
Windspeed
24/05/2009
13/10/2009
Clearskyday
intermittentcloud
coveredday

0
20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

Timeofday
Fig.5.Ambientairtemperatureandwindspeedforthreecharacteristicdays.
Fig.7showsplotsofdailyvariationofsolarfluidtemperatureatthecollectoroutlet
(Tc,o), watertemperatureatthebottomofthehotwatertank(Tb,t) and watertemperature
atthemiddleofthehotwatertank(Tm,t).ItisseenthatariseinTc,ocausesanincreasein
11

both Tb,t and Tm,t with both of them lagging behind Tc,o for the same reason explained
above.Duringtheheavilyovercastandintermittentcloudcoveredskydays,theimmersion
heater is called on twice (in the morning and evening) while it is called up only in the
morning during the clear sky day since the solar coil raises the water temperature in the
tank to the desired level during the daytime period. Tb,t and Tm,t remained very close
throughouttheheatingperiodwiththesolarcoilduringtheclearskyday.
Tc,o

70

Tb,t

Tcw,i

60

40
30
20
10

Timeofday
Fig.6.DailyvariationofTc,o,Tb,tandTcw,i.

12

20:00

16:00

12:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

13/10/2009
intermittentcloud
coveredday

24/05/2009
Clearskyday

04/02/2010
Overcastday

08:00

Temperature(oC)

50

Tc,o

70

Tb,t

Tm,t

60

40
30
20
10

20:00

16:00

12:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

13/10/2009
intermittentcloud
coveredday

24/05/2009
Clearskyday

04/02/2010
Overcastday

08:00

Temperature(oC)

50

Timeofday
Fig.7.DailyvariationofTc,o,Tb,tandTm,t.
Fig.8showsplotsofdailyvariationofwatertemperatureatthebottomofthehot
water tank (Tb,t), water temperature at the middle of the hot water tank (Tm,t) and hot
watersupplytemperature(Thw,o).Duetodifficultiesininsertingthethermocouplesatthe
topofthehotwatertank,thewatertemperaturesatthetopofthetankwereconsideredto
be the same as the maximum values of Thw,o measured during hot water drawoffs. It is
seenthatduringheavilyovercastdays,Thw,odropstoabout30 oCaswateriscontinuously
withdrawnfromthetankusingthetappingcycle.However,duringtheclearskyday,Thw,o
didnotdropbelow50oCduetotherelativelygreaterquantityofheatdeliveredbythesolar
coilthroughoutthedaytime.Thisshowsthatforacontinuousstreamofclearskydays,the
SWHSwouldprovideallthehotwaterrequiredintheeveningwithareducedquantityof
auxiliaryenergyrequiredinthemorning.

13

Tb,t
70

Tm,t

Thw,o
Hotwaterdrawoffs

Heatingwith
immersionheater

60

40
30
20
Heatingwith
solarcoil

Timeofday

20:00

16:00

12:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

13/10/2009
intermittentcloud
coveredday

24/05/2009
Clearskyday

04/02/2010
Overcastday

08:00

10

12:00

Temperature(oC)

50

Fig.8.DailyvariationofTb,t,Tm,tandThw,o.
The immersion heater at the middle of the tank was programmed to switch on
between58amand69pmdaily.Ananaloguethermostatinstalledatthetopofthetank
wasusedtomaintainthewatertemperaturearound60oC.Thisensuredthathotwaterwas
availableinthetankwhenneededtosatisfythelargesthotwaterdemandsat7:05am,8:05
am, 8:30 pm and 9:00 pm as shown in Fig. 1. The timing was such that there was always
enoughcoldwateratthebottomofthehotwatertanktobeheatedbythesolarcoilduring
even on a clear sky day (24/05/2009) when no auxiliary energy was required from the
immersion heater in the evening. On the other hand, during a heavily overcast day
(04/02/2010) or intermittent cloud covered day (13/10/2009) the immersion heater was
usedtoheatwaterinthetankbothinthemorningandevening.
4.1.2. Solarfluidmassflowrate

Fig.9showsvariationofthesolarfluidmassflowrateduringthethreedays.Onthe

heavilyovercastdaythepumpcameononlytwiceforveryshortintervalsrunningat0.047,
14

0.062 and 0.092 kg/s. During the clear sky and intermittent cloud covered days the pump
operated at six different flow rates 0.047, 0.062, 0.092, 0.111, 0.130 and 0.149 kg/s
depending on the intensity of solar radiation. On the clear sky day the flow rates during
solar noon were 0.130 and 0.149 kg/s. Table 1 shows the percentage of time the SWHS
pumpoperatedatdifferentflowrates.

13/10/2009
intermittentcloud
coveredday

24/05/2009
Clearskyday

04/02/2010
Overcastday

0.16

0.12
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

0.00
00:00

Massflowrate(kg/s)

0.14

Timeofday

Fig.9.Solarfluidmassflowrate.
Table1:PercentageoftimetheSWHSpumpoperatedatdifferentflowrates

Flowrate
(kgs1)
0.047
0.062
0.092
0.111
0.130
0.149

Heavily
overcastday
(04/02/2010)
88.4
7.0
4.7
0.0
0.0
0.0

Percentage(%)

Intermittent
Clearsky
cloudcovered
day
day
(24/05/2009)
(13/10/2009)
14.4
66.1
13.1
19.2
14.5
8.5
23.2
5.2
34.3
0.7
0.5
0.4
15

4.1.3. Energycollected

Fig. 10 shows the energy collected by the FPC system. The total daily energy

collected was 209.7 MJ on 04/02/2010, 7,294.3 MJ on 24/05/2009 and 1,649.6 MJ on

13/10/2009.Fig.11showsascatteredplotofthedailyenergycollectedagainstsolarenergy
input. It is seen that the daily energy collected by the FPCs has a linear relationship with
daily solar energy input with correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9439. The high correlation
coefficientshowsthatthedailyenergycollectedbytheFPCscanbepredictedforanygiven
dayknowntotaldailysolarenergyusingequation7givenas:
Ec 0.4847Ei 0.3845 (7)

40

13/10/2009
intermittentcloud
coveredday

24/05/2009
Clearskyday

04/02/2010
Overcastday

30
25
20
15
10
5

Timeofday

Fig.10.Energycollected.

16

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

00:00

20:00

16:00

12:00

08:00

04:00

0
00:00

Energycollected(MJ)

35

16

Energycollected(MJ/m2/d)

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

10

15

20

25

30

Solarenergyinput(MJ/m2/d)

Fig.11.Dailyenergycollectedagainstsolarenergyinput.

4.2.

MonthlyPerformance

4.2.1. Systemtemperatures
Fig. 12 shows maximum recorded monthly water temperatures at Tc,o, Tb,t, Tm,t,
Tcw,iandThw,o.ThemaximummonthlywatertemperaturesatTm,tandThw,owerefairly
constant throughout the year around 60.0 oC and 68.0 oC. Maximum monthly fluid
temperaturesatTc,ovariedbetween42.9 oCinDecemberand70.4 oCinJune,Tb,tvaried
between 25.3 oC in December and 59.9 oC in June while Tcw,i varied between 17.6 oC in
Marchand28.0oCinJune.

17

Tc,o

Tb,t

Tm,t

Tcw,i

Thw,o

80
70

Temperature(oC)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Month

Fig.12.MaximummonthlywatertemperaturesatTc,o,Tb,t,Tm,t,Tcw,iandThw,o.

4.2.2. Energycollected,deliveredandlosses

Fig. 13 shows monthly and annual average daily global solar insolation on the

collectorssurface,energycollectedanddeliveredtothehotwatertankaswellassupply
pipe losses. The monthly average daily global solar insolation on the collectors surface
varied between 17.3 MJ/d in December and 66.2 MJ/d in June, energy collected varied
between7.2MJ/dinDecemberand33.1MJ/dinApril,energydeliveredvariedbetween5.8
MJ/dinDecemberand27.0MJ/dinAprilwhilesupplypipelossesvariedbetween1.4MJ/d
inDecemberand5.0MJ/dinApril.Annualaveragedailysolarinsolationonthecollectors
surfacewas43.0MJ/d,energycollectedwas19.6MJ/d,energydeliveredwas16.2MJ/dand
supplypipelosswas3.2MJ/d.

18

Solarinsolation

Energycollected

Energydelivered

Supplypipelosses

70
60

Energy(MJ/d)

50
40
30
20
10

Average

Dec

Nov

Oct

Sep

Aug

Jul

Jun

May

Apr

Mar

Feb

Jan

Month
Fig.13.Monthlyandannualaveragedailyglobalsolarinsolationonthecollectorssurface,
energycollected,deliveredandsupplypipelosses.
Foranannualglobalsolarinsolationonthecollectorssurfaceof15,680.4MJ,atotal
of 7,150.4 MJ was collected while 5,924.0 MJ was delivered to the hot water tank. Heat
lossesalongthesupplysideofthesolarcircuitoccurredespeciallyathighcollectoroutlet
temperatures. The total annual supply pipe heat loss for the SWHS was 1,171.7 MJ
correspondingto16.4%ofenergycollectedbytheFPCand19.8%ofenergydeliveredtothe
hotwatertank.Thesupplypipelengthshouldthereforebekeptasshortaspossibleandall
jointsinsulatedtoreduceheatlosses.However,thiswasnotthecaseforourtestrigsince
thehotwatertankwaslocatedinsidetheboilerroomofthebuildingonwhichtheFPCwas
installed.
4.2.3. Energyextracted,auxiliaryenergyandsolarfraction
Fig.14showsmonthlyaveragedailyandannualaverageenergydeliveredtothehot
watertank,auxiliaryenergysuppliedbytheelectricimmersiontothehotwatertankand
19

solarfraction.Themonthlyaveragedailyandannualaverageenergyextractedfromthehot
water tank is the sum of the energy delivered and the auxiliary energy supplied. The
monthlyaveragedailyenergyextractedvariedbetween43.2MJ/dinMarchand53.6MJ/d
in May and July. The auxiliary energy varied from 23.8 MJ/d in March to 42.5 MJ/d in
December. The solar fraction varied between 11.9% in December and 52.4% in April. The
annualaveragedailyenergyextractedwas50.3MJ/d,auxiliaryenergywas34.1MJ/dand
solarfractionwas32.2%.
Solarfraction(%)

60

Month

Average

0
Dec

0
Nov

10

Oct

10

Sep

20

Aug

20

Jul

30

Jun

30

May

40

Apr

40

Mar

50

Feb

50

Jan

Energy(MJ/d)

Auxiliaryenergysupplied

Solarfraction(%)

Energyextractedfromtank

60

Fig.14.Energydeliveredauxiliaryenergyandsolarfraction.

4.2.4. Collectorandsystemefficiency

Fig. 15 shows monthly average daily collectorand systemefficiencies. The average

daily collector efficiency varied from 38.2% in July to 53.9% in February while the system
efficiency varied from 31.3% in December to 44.7% in February. The annual average daily
collectorefficiencywas45.6%whilethesystemefficiencywas37.8%.
20

Collector

60

System

Efficiency(%)

50

40

30

20

10

Average

Dec

Nov

Oct

Sep

Aug

Jul

Jun

May

Apr

Mar

Jan

Feb

Month
Fig.15.Monthlyaveragedailycollectorandsystemefficiencies.

Using the uncertainties of the measuring instruments presented in section 2.2 and
the methods outlined in Mathioulakis et al. [19] and Bell [20], the combined standard
uncertaintyformeasuredefficiencyandenergycollectedwerecalculatedas5.7%and2.0%
respectively. The expanded uncertainty for a 95% level of confidence assuming that the
combineduncertaintyisnormallydistributedis11.4%formeasuredefficiencyand4.0%for
energycollected.

5.

Conclusions
TheyearroundenergyperformanceanalysisofacommonlyinstalledSWHSwithFPC

inatemperateclimatewascarriedoutusingafieldtrialinstallationinDublin,Ireland.The
SWHS was designed and operated to mimic real life operation taking into consideration
interaction between the FPC, storage tank and users. An immersion heater was used to

21

supplyauxiliaryenergywhenthesolarcoilwasunabletoraisethetankwatertemperature
totherequiredtemperature.
Resultsshowedthatforanannualglobalsolarinsolationonthecollectorsurfaceof
15,680.4MJ,atotalof7,150.4MJwascollectedwhile5,924.0MJwasdeliveredtothehot
water tank. For 12,446.5 MJ of auxiliary energy supplied to meet the total hot water
demandof18,359.5MJ,theannualsolarfractionwas32.2%.Annualaveragedailyenergy
collected,energydeliveredbythesolarcoil,supplypipelosseswere19.6MJ/d,16.2MJ/d
and 3.2 MJ/d respectively. Annual average solar fraction, collector efficiency and system
efficiencywere32.2%,45.6%and37.8%respectively.Themaximumrecordedcollectorfluid
outlet temperature was 70.4 oC while the maximum recorded water temperature at the
bottomofthehotwatertankwas59.9oC.
ThetotalannualsupplypipeheatlossfortheSWHSwas1,171.7MJcorresponding
to 16.4% of energy collected by the FPC and 19.8% of energy delivered to the hot water
tank.Thesolarcircuitsupplypipesshouldthereforebekeptasshortaspossibleinorderto
reduceenergyloss.ResultsfromthisstudyandthosefromthestudycarriedoutbyBuilding
Research Establishment (2009) revealed that SWHSs with FPCs would generate between
1,750and1,790MJ/m2/yrofheatinnorthernmaritimeclimates.

Acknowledgements
TheworkdescribedinthispaperwasfundedbytheHigherEducationAuthorityofIreland
Technological Sector Strand III and the Arnold F. Graves grants. Support from Dr. M. Mc
Keeverinsettinguptheautomatedcontrolsystemishighlyappreciated.

22

Nomenclature
Ac
C p
Ei
Ec
Gt

m
Qaux
Qc
Q d
Ql
Qs
SF
c
s

collectorarea(m2)
specificheatcapacityofsolarfluid(J/kg/K)
dailysolarenergyinput(MJ/m2/d)
dailyenergycollected(MJ/m2/d)
totalglobalsolarradiationonthecollectorssurface(W/m2)
solarfluidmassflowrate(kg/s)
auxiliaryheatingrequirement(MJ)
usefulheatcollected(J)
usefulheatdelivered(J)
supplypipeheatloss(J)
solaryield(MJ)
solarfraction(%)
collectorefficiency(%)
systemefficiency(%)

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