Numerical computation of thermal performance of a simulation of a solar domestic hot water system

Abstract

This paper, target is to simulate the solar based domestic hot water system considered as a field trial installation in Oujda, Morocco (latitude 34°4′0″ N, longitude 2°1′0″ E and and UTM position WC96). Computations using TRNSYS software have been performed for a plan solar collector with an area of 20 m2 and a storage tank containing 300 L of water using electric auxiliary heater. Meteorological data provided by the weather station located at the Oujda’s University, Morocco have been used to simulate the performance of such system for the winter conditions (from December 2011 to March 2012). Effects of total solar radiation, ambient temperature and daily hot water consumption profile have been investigated. Results show that the auxiliary energy predicted during March is higher than that of December, while the solar fraction has an inverse behavior. In addition, the use of a heat transfer fluid characterized by a lower specific heat in the solar collector having a large area produces better outlet temperatures and high percentages of solar fraction.