Technical, financial, and environmental feasibility of solar water heater for residential, commercial, and industrial application: A theoretical approach

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the techno-economical and environmental viability of the solar water heater (SWH) system applications in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of India through the RETScreen Expert Clean Energy Management Software. The three different geographical locations have been selected, namely Leh, Amethi (Jais), and Ludhiana districts for residential, commercial, and industrial case studies respectively. The three different locations have been chosen for each case study to exhibit the applicability and performance of SWH systems at different geographical locations of the Indian climate. The performance of SWH models is evaluated by a solar fraction (SF). The average values of SF obtained are 74, 64.48, and 13 correspondings to residential, commercial, and industrial models. It is also found that the cumulative value of greenhouse gas emission reduction (GHGR) potential for residential, commercial, and industrial sectors is 155.9 tCO2, 2419.3 tCO2, and 492.3 tCO2 per year for 25 years of project life. The cumulative value of the annual energy saving of each model is also calculated as 111.3 MWh, 1728.6 MWh, and 313.8 MWh. The financial viability of the models is presented by parameters like Simple Payback Period (SPP), Equity Payback Period (EPP), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR). The average value of SPP for models is 4.83 yr, 8.99 yr, and 3.90 yr corresponding to residential, commercial, and industrial models. The average value of the IRR of each model is also as 30.36%, 27.89%, and 38.77%.