Outdoor testing of solar water heaters—Effects of load pattern and auxiliary boosting

• Published in: Solar energy Vol. 49; no. 4; pp. 299 - 308
• Main Authors: Morrison, G.L., Gilliaert, D., Tebaldi, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1992; Elsevier; Pergamon Press Inc
• Subjects: 140907 - Solar Thermal Utilization- Water Heating; agua; APPLIANCES; Applied sciences; auxiliary boosting; calentamiento; chauffage; cisternas; citerne; CONTAINERS; DEMAND; eau; echange d' energie; energia solar; energie solaire; Energy; energy conversion; energy exchange; ENERGY TRANSFER; equipment performance; Equipments, installations and applications; equipo; Exact sciences and technology; FIELD TESTS; HEAT TRANSFER; HEATERS; heating; HUMAN FACTORS; intercambio de energia; load pattern; materiel; Natural energy; OPERATION; performance du materiel; PERFORMANCE TESTING; POWER DEMAND; rendimiento de la maquinaria; SOLAR ENERGY; SOLAR EQUIPMENT; solar heating; Solar thermal conversion; SOLAR WATER HEATERS; TANKS; TESTING; Tests; THERMAL CONDUCTION; water; WATER HEATERS; WEATHER; Vertical; Water tank; Correlation; Load distribution; Horizontal; Experimental study; Performance; Solar water heater
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/0038-092X(92)90009-Y

The effect of load draw-off pattern and auxiliary boosting on the performance of vertical and horizontal tank solar water heaters is investigated. The selection of an appropriate load pattern to use in a performance rating test is shown to depend on the type of system. The primary factor goverming the dependence of performance on load pattern in single tank systems is conduction between the auxiliary boosted zone and the solar preheat zone. A method of quantifing the effect of conduction in solar tanks is presented.