Abstract
This study presents a detailed methodology for evaluating the energy, environmental, and economic contributions of heat pipe solar water heating (HPSWH) systems in various households. The hot water consumption patterns of Perth residents in Australia in one, two, and four-occupant houses are extracted in hourly basis throughout a year. The annual performance of the system is evaluated based on parameters such as saved energy, solar fraction, avoided CO2 emission, saved money, and payback period. Moreover, an experimental rig is designed, manufactured, and tested. The results show that the contribution of the solar system in meeting the hot water demand is around 99% in summer, while this contribution drops to 36–51% in winter. Almost 387–1146.8 kg of CO2 emissions can be avoided annually in Perth if HPSWH systems are integrated with the conventional heating systems. In addition, it is shown that the HPSWH system has its most economic justification in households with higher number of occupants. Moreover, the payback period is much lower for houses with conventional electric water heating systems compared to houses with LPG systems.
Highlights
The households are considered as one of the main energy-intensive sectors of the economy in which around 30% of the world final energy is consumed [1]
This study presents a detailed methodology for evaluating the energy, environmental, and eco nomic contributions of heat pipe solar water heating (HPSWH) systems in various households
The results show that the contribution of the solar system in meeting the hot water de mand is around 99% in summer, while this contribution drops to 36–51% in winter
Summary
The households are considered as one of the main energy-intensive sectors of the economy in which around 30% of the world final energy is consumed [1]. The consumption growth is predicted to be 1.5–2.1% per year from 2012 to 2040 due to the population growth and prosperity increase [2]. Among various applications of energy in households, domestic hot water (DHW) consumes around 25% of the total energy [3]. Various types of energy systems have been proposed to meet the DHW demand.
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