Enhancement of natural circulation type domestic solar hot water system performance by using a wind turbine

Abstract

Performance improvement of existing 200 litres capacity natural convection type domestic solar hot water system is attempted. A two-stage centrifugal pump driven by a vertical axis windmill having Savonius type rotor is added to the fluid loop. The windmill driven pump circulates the water through the collector. The system with necessary instrumentation is tested over a day. Tests on Natural Circulation System (NCS) mode and Wind Assisted System (WAS) mode are carried out during January, April, July and October, 2009. Test results of a clear day are reported. Daily average efficiency of 25–28 % during NCS mode and 33–37 % during WAS mode are obtained. With higher wind velocities, higher collector flow rates and hence higher efficiencies are obtained. In general, WAS mode provides improvements in efficiency when compared to NCS mode.