Abstract
This chapter discusses the complete solar energy conversion systems. Solar system performance also depends on the matching of solar radiation availability with space and water heating requirements. Because the correlation in time of these factors varies from the location to location, a broad range of solar system performance results can be expected in the various European climates. The chapter also discusses the selection of components for solar heat collection, storage and distribution to be combined in a system on the basis of the components' performance characteristics. Solar space heating performance is determined by the less favorable correlation between radiation availability and space heating requirements that occur only seasonally. The capability of substituting solar energy for conventional fuel is therefore less attractive for space heating than for water heating. Currently, available experience with the operating systems suggests that in many cases, the observed practical performance does not yet reach the theoretically predicted values. The reasons for this are insufficient insulation of storage tanks and hot water piping and unsatisfactory control schemes. It is shown that with appropriate modifications, the performance of the solar systems could be improved.
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