Abstract
Making solar thermal systems less expensive, often results in a lower system efficiency. However, the cost-benefit ratio is relevant from the perspective of the consumer. The complex impact of component-related and system-related design parameters on the economics of a complete system makes the evaluation and economical optimization difficult. Therefore, a complete simulation environment has been developed, which can automatically optimize solar-thermal systems, including collector and system parameters. The main collector module consists of a one-dimensional thermal model that was validated with a commercial solar collector. The efficiency curve and the production cost were calculated as a function of several design and construction parameters. The collector module was linked to the commercial software Polysun®, so that parametric studies can be performed with minimal effort. Optimization problems can be solved by using the Matlab® optimization toolbox. The simulation environment was used for sensitivity studies and optimization problems in order to analyze the impact of collector design-parameters with respect to system cost, system yield and economic values. We will demonstrate how a collector can be optimized and how the ideal system parameters like collector number and storage volume can be easily calculated. Finally, we will show how the optimizer is used for a given system in order to find ideal values for the absorber-sheet thickness and the number of pipes. Due to the holistic approach, the application of this tool set can be used for collector development as well as for system planning.
Highlights
Cost reduction of solar-thermal systems remains a big challenge in the process of making solar heat more economically attractive
The system planners need tools that assist in determining the relevant plant parameters for a cost-optimized system
The main module of the simulation environment is comprised of a collector tool based on MATLAB® that is coupled with a numeric optimizer as well as with a system simulation tool [5, 6]
Summary
Cost reduction of solar-thermal systems remains a big challenge in the process of making solar heat more economically attractive. A complete simulation environment for the automated optimization of the yield efficiency and economic value of solar-thermal systems for domestic hot water and heating was developed. The application of this simulation tool is relevant for component developers, manufacturers and system planners. During development, it is desirable for the development engineer to collect realistic data on thermal loads, in order to design a robust and temperature resistant collector by using suitable and inexpensive materials. A simulation environment will be introduced that consists of various sub modules for collector design as well as for system simulation These modules are coupled by specific interfaces, allowing for a fully automated variation. Johannes Koke et al.: Automated Optimization of Solar-Thermal Systems Using Software in a Loop and optimization of component and system parameters
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