Three Solar Collector Arrays Mounted on Test Bed For Use in:

ADVANCED DOMESTIC HOT WATER SYSTEMS

This project will identify high performance domestic hot water systems and find ways to make incremental performance improvements or to reduce the cost of systems to make them more economically attractive.

We are starting with three standard domestic hot water systems, including an integral collector/storage system, a natural convection heat exchanger system, and a low-flow system. These systems are to be instrumented in detail to establish experimental energy balances on individual components.

We will employ parameter estimation techniques to determine modeling parameters in situ under real operating weather conditions. This will allow the performance of the system to be extended to other climates and situations. Some of the modifications to the system that we expect to improve performance include achieving an ultra-low flow rate, employing an advanced stratification technique, and using PV-powered pumps and advanced heat exchangers.

The results will be sufficiently general to be of direct benefit to industry.

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