1. business and industrial
2. energy
3. renewable energy
4. solar energy

Solar Domestic Water Heating
– How to get Started –
Trimline Training Centre
2008 April 10 and 17
Gordon Howell, P.Eng.
Phone: +1 780 484 0476
E-mail: [email protected]
©1995-2008
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
1
Questions…?
Next
z
Course Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
2
Intro: My Goals…
z
To empower you to get ready for the energy and
environmental issues coming upon us
z
To help you understand how solar heating can be used to
heat your household hot water
z
To help you take next steps in using solar water heating
–
–
–
–
z
to reduce your natural gas bills,
to reduce your environmental footprint,
to increase your energy security
to leave a legacy… so you can look your grandkids in the eye!
We have done a lot of research for you and have assembled
it here in one place
I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power!
Thomas Edison
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
I hope we don't have to wait 'til oil and coal run out before we tackle that.
(1847–1931)
3
Intro: Me! ––
z
I am a solar system project developer
I am not an equipment supplier
I have no vested interest in any technology
z
My interest is that you choose wisely
z
z
– with your eyes wide open
– based on the facts and whether it is right for you
or not.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
4
Intro: Your Goals?
z
What are your goals?
z
What do you want to get out of the course?
z
What do you want to achieve by using solar heating?
The Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need,
Solar Energy
…but not every man's greed.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Project Development
Specialists
(Mahatma)
India
5
Intro: What the Course Does…
z
NOT a design course…
z
Gives you familiarity with the technology and its terms,
concepts, components and costs.
z
Gives you space to ask questions and get answers right
away … or I can find answers for you.
z
Dispels mis-understanding and myths about solar energy
z
Helps you understand how to buy a solar water heating
system with confidence
This is an introductory course
FAST – GOOD – CHEAP
Solar Energy
… you are only allowed to choose two of them!
Project Development Specialists
6
Intro:
Solar Water Heating
– What is it?
z
Solar water heating systems produce heat from the energy in sunlight.
z
Solar collectors convert the sun’s energy to heat.
They heat water or glycol, which is then pumped to a storage tank for
use in the building.
z
Most commonly used for heating household domestic water.
z
Can be used for heating swimming pools and building spaces.
– The technologies are very very similar, but…
– the application has radically different heating requirements throughout the
year.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
7
Intro: Course Focus
z
z
How does it work?
What equipment do you need?
z
What can you expect from it?
z
How much does it cost?
What is the price of its heat?
How does this compare with
other prices?
z
Natural gas utility companies:
– This course is not about being
against them.
– They have had a critically important
role in helping society grow, by
providing affordable energy and by
showing us how to use it in a very
safe way.
Solar domestic water heating system
Edmonton
How to put it on your house?
– Location, tilt, orientation
– Finding a contractor
Be the change you want to see in the world.Solar Energy
Mahatma Gandhi, India
Project Development Specialists
8
Context: Energy Efficiency vs. Adding Energy…
z
Solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal heat pump energy options:
– Do NOT reduce your energy consumption!
– Instead they substitute your heating source from natural gas over to the sun…
z
Energy efficiency option:
– Cheapest, most important, highest return on investment and shortest payback
option…
– But it is emotionally boring
z
Solar, wind and geothermal all have much higher costs and longer
paybacks than energy efficiency
– It is exciting and something you can brag about to your friends…
Climate change:
Solar Energy Project
The costs of doing nothing are getting higher every day.
Gordon Campbell
Development
Specialists
BC Premier
9
Context: Why Use Solar Heating?
Utility Costs
z
Reduce heating bills – you pay for solar heating equipment up front
z
Reduce vulnerability to up and down heating prices
Environmental Footprint
z
Reduce how much air pollution you cause from burning natural gas
z
Increase the reserve of natural gas you leave for the next generation
Political will arises from personal momentum
10
Solar
Energy
Development
We
need
to be theProject
leaders to
our governmentsSpecialists
and corporations.
Context: Why Use Solar Heating?
Social Opportunity
z
Provide the leadership that we need
z
Encourage the government to facilitate it
instead of developing policies that block it
Business Opportunity
z
Serve the growing public interest
z
Serve the multi-billion $ world markets
The superior man seeks what is right;
Solar Energy
the inferior one, what is profitable.
Confucius
Project Development Specialists
11
Context: Benefits of Solar Heating…
z
Proven technology – thousands of systems across Canada
z
Can provide energy security and independence
z
Inflation-proof
z
Political-proof
z
No noise
z
No emissions
z
Low or zero maintenance costs
z
Low or zero operating cost
z
Extends the lifetime of our dwindling natural gas resources
The dependence on fossil fuels is a major barrier
Solar Energy
…to improving human well-being around the globe.
The New Economics
Project Development Specialists
Foundation
12
Context: Challenges with Solar Heating…
z
Purchase costs are high
z
Not a well developed supply or installation chain
z
Not a lot of broad-based experience in Canada
z
Has to compete with highly subsidized natural gas
z
Little interest by the government in developing
technology assistance programs
z
Code barriers
When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
John Muir
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
you find it attached to the rest of the world.
Conservationist
13
Other Countries…
z
Tens of thousands of new solar water heaters are
installed worldwide each year.
z
In Austria, one in seven homes uses solar water heating.
z
In Germany, one in 16 homes uses solar water heating.
z
Spain legally requires solar hot water systems in all new
buildings.
z
Some 80% of solar water heating systems are
manufactured and installed in China.
We are consuming the resources ofSolar
our planet
at such
a rate
Prince Charles 14
Energy
Project
Development Specialists
that we are, in effect, living off credit and living on borrowed time.
of Windsor
Questions…?
z
Course Contents
1.
Next
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
Every great movement must experience three stages:
Solar Energy
…ridicule, discussion, adoption.
John Stuart Mill
Project Development Specialists
15
Background: What is Energy? – The basics
z
Energy is the ability to do work:
– Equals a force exerted over a distance
– Measured in "Joules" or "J“.
z
Heat is a form of energy.
z
Electricity is NOT energy, it is free electrons
– but the energy that is in them can be extracted and put to work
– thus electricity is usually represented as energy.
z
Light is NOT energy, it is photons
– but the energy that is in them can also be extracted and put to work.
The superior man seeks what is right;
Solar
Energy Project
the inferior one, what
is profitable.
Confucius
Development Specialists
16
Background: What is Power? – The basics
z
Power is the rate at which energy flows!!!
Measured in Joules per second, which we call a "watt", or "W".
z
Heat flows from one place to another through:
z
– Conduction – such as through a metal object
– Convection – which causes hot air to rise
– Radiation – which transports light energy from the sun to the earth
z
Heat flow is caused by a temperature difference
– whenever you have a temperature difference
then you will have a flow of heat
Our responsibility is to retain what we treasure because
Solar
we are merely guests on these spaces of
earth Energy
which we Project
inhabit.
Frederick Steiner
17
Development Specialists
"Living Landscape"
Question: What is Alberta's most
abundant energy resource?
All energy is
not created equally.
Some energy is black,
Solar Energy Project
some is green.
It's your choice
Development
Specialists
…but everyone's consequences.
18
Alberta: The Solar Province
– Our Most Abundant
Energy Resource
z
14 hours of sunshine = all our fossil
energy resources in 2001!
z
Alberta's sunshine is over 300 times
more than our fossil fuel resources.
What is the use of a house
Solar Energy
...if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?
Project Development
Specialists
Henry David Thoreau, America
19
What is Solar Energy?
z
Solar energy
– the energy contained in
the photons that comprise sunlight
z
Sunlight is
– visible light
– electromagnetic radiation (as is all light)
– non-ionizing radiation (as is all light)
– short-wave light (different from radio waves or
microwaves)
z
All energy has come from the sun!
– some of it has just been stored for a time!
It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could
Elizabeth Kolbert
20
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing.
New Yorker
Photo Credit:
Gordon Howell
Photo Credit:
SPS Energy
Solar Energy
– where can it be used –
Okotoks swimming pool
solar heating
Okotoks 52-home
solar heated subdivision
Cochrane High School
solar power
z
Anything that uses electricity
z
Space heating
z
Water heating – for domestic water, pools
z
Industrial and commercial process heating
z
Cooking
z
Daytime illumination
Red Deer's
newest net zero
electricity home
Photo Credit:
Solar Energy ProjectGordon
Development
Specialists
Howell
21
How do we use Solar Energy?
z
Need to collect it (both for electricity
and heating)
z
Need to store it – but only if we have
enough to spare for times when we
need it
z
Need to deliver it to the appliances
and the house
z
Need to protect ourselves from it!
(…overheating)
You cannot teach a man anything,
Solar Energy
You can only help him discover it within himself.
Project Development Specialists
Galileo
Source
Collector
Recovery Storage
Delivery
Usage
22
Sally Anne Rice home,
Edmonton, 2007
Tim Belec home,
Pigeon Lake, 2007
Solar Heating for
Residential Domestic Water
Aurum Lodge, 2004
School north of
Cochrane, 2007
Tim Belec home,
PigeonProject
Lake, Development
2007
Solar Energy
Specialists
23
Recreation Centre swimming pool,
Okotoks, 2003
Drake Landing Solar Community,
Okotoks, 2006
Solar Heating for
Commercial
Process Water
Restaurant,
16 Ave N,
Calgary, 2002
Best
Western Hotel,
24
Photo Credit:
Solar Energy Project
Development
Specialists
Swiss Solar Tech
Kelowna, 2003
Solar heating and
solar electricity
are NOT the same…
z
Solar heating
– A dark surface sitting in the sunshine
z
Solar electricity
– A semiconductor device like a computer
chip
– Photons bump electrons out of an atom.
heated surface carrying heat to the
building.
– Wires
carry the electrons
away.
25
Solar Energy Project
Development
Specialists
– Water or air runs past the solar
What
dohere?
we use?
How many solar panels
do words
you see
Solar electric generating system
32
Solar domestic
water heating
system
Direct gain
passive solar
space heating
windows
2
1
Solarwall
air pre-heating
26
Solar Energy
Projectventilation
Development
Specialistssystem
What words do we use?
z
Solar panels
z
Solar heating:
– thermal collectors
z
Solar electricity:
– photovoltaic modules
Cities grow great when old men plant trees
Solar
in whose shade they know they will never sit.
Energy Project Development Specialists
27
Solar Domestic Water Heating System - Concept
Lots of configuration options
z Lots of component types
z
Collectors
Sunlight
and its
energy
Hot
water
usage
Piping,
pumps,
valves,
control,
flow
meter
© 2006-2008 Trimline Design Centre
Storage tank,
heat exchangers
The only thing lacking is some form of leadership
Solar Energy Project Development
… to focus the public will to make it happen.
Cold
water
source
Specialists
28
Solar Water Heating
– Major Components
Solar collectors
(~$1000 each)
Solar controller (one type)
Piping connections
Heat exchanger
Pre-heat water tank
Where there is a will, there is a way…
Solar
It's not about economics. It is about a will.
Energy Project Development Specialists
29
Solar Water Heating
– Controller Turns On Pump
In this example, a solar pump is
located on top of the heat
exchanger;
The controller sends a signal to
the pump to turn on…
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
30
Solar Water Heating
– Liquid is Circulated
Glycol (anti-freeze) is then
circulated between the heat
exchanger and the solar
collectors…
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
31
Solar Water Heating
– Liquid is Heated
Within the collectors, the glycol
absorbs the solar heat…
The collected solar heat circulates
back to the heat exchanger…
1
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
32
Solar Water Heating
– Heat is Transferred
Cold water is circulated between the
solar tank and the heat exchanger…
The heat exchanger transfers the
solar heat into the water…
1
The heated water returns back into
the solar tank.
2
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
33
Solar Water Heating
– Hot Water is Stored
The heat collection process
operates over the whole day…
The solar tank water heats up
throughout the day…
Until the whole solar tank is filled
with hot water!
1
2
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
34
Solar Water Heating
– Delivery to You
When hot water is drawn off for
usage…
Solar heated water flows into the
gas or electric booster tank…
1
And cold water from the city is
drawn into the solar tank…
3
2
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
35
Questions…?
z
Course Contents
1.
2.
3.
Next
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
36
Path of the sun
across the sky
The solar window:
Where most of the
sun's energy
comes from…
3pm
West
South
Sun's path
December 21
All electrons are
not created equally.
North
10am
East
Sun's path
June 21
Some electrons are black,
Solar Energy Project
some are green.
Your choice…
Development
Specialists
but everyone's consequences.
37
The Energy in Solar Radiation
z
= 3.6 sun-hours/day in Edmonton
z
… ok, but under what conditions
– Tilt?
horizontal,
6/12 tilt,
53 tilt,
vertical?
– Orientation? north,
south,
east,
west?
– Conditions?
maximum,
average
– When?
summer,
winter,
yearly?
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
38
Solar Myth:
Solar needs to be perfectly orientated
in order to work at all!
All heat is
not created equally.
z
precise optimum
tilt and orientation
to collect maximum solar energy
z
wide range of angles
to orient and tilt solar equipment and
still not be too far off maximum
Some heat is black,
Solar Energy
some is green.
Your choice…
Project Development
Specialists
but everyone's consequences.
39
Optimum Annual Solar Tilt Angle
Edmonton
Horizontal
Vertical
0%
0
13
33
43
53
63
73
83
90
4.8
sun-hours/day
-5%
% of
energy
from
optimum
annual
tilt angle
23
= kWh/m2/day
-10%
-15%
4.0
-20%
-25%
3.6
-30%
The maximum annual solar energy production occurs at around a 53° tilt.
z If your goal is to maximise this, your tilt angle can be from 18° to 80° and
still be within 10% of the maximum.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
z
40
Optimum Winter Solar Tilt Angle
Edmonton
Horizontal
Vertical
0%
-10%
% of
energy
from
optimum
winter tilt
angle
0
13
23
33
43
53
3.4
-20%
63
73
83
90
3.8
3.75
Sun-hours/day
-30%
-40%
-50%
-60%
Snow?
z Reflection from snow fields?
z
-70%
1.0
-80%
The maximum winter solar energy production occurs at around a 83° tilt.
z If your goal is to maximise this, your tilt angle can be from 50° to 90° and
still be within 10% of the maximum.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
z
41
Optimum Annual Solar Orientation Angle
South
SW
SE
0%
230
220
210
200
190
180
170
160
150
140
-2%
% of
energy
from
optimum
annual
orientation
angle
130
Edmonton
-4%
-6%
-8%
-10%
-12%
SW
SSW
South
SSE
SE
If the goal is to maximise the annual energy production, which occurs at
a due-south orientation angle, you can locate the orientation 45° either
side of south and still be within 10% of the maximum.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
42
Optimum Winter Solar Orientation Angle
South
SW
SE
0%
230
220
210
200
190
180
170
160
150
140
Edmonton
-5%
% of
energy
from
optimum
winter
orientation
angle
130
-10%
-15%
-20%
-25%
-30%
SW
SSW
South
SSE
SE
If the goal is to maximise the winter energy production, which occurs at
a due-south orientation angle, you can locate the orientation 30° either
side of south and still be within 10% of the maximum.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
43
Solar Radiation
Horizontal
8.0
0°, horizontal
6.0
Peak daily
sun-hours
4.0
2.0
0.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Annual
Months
If the world is saved, it will be saved by people with changed minds,
Solar Energy Project Development
… people with a new vision.
Daniel Quinn
Specialists
author
44
Solar Radiation
Horizontal and 27°
27
8.0
0°, horizontal
6.0
Peak daily
sun-hours
27°, 6/12 roof pitch
4.0
2.0
0.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 Annual
14
Months
What is the use of a house
Solar Energy
... if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?
Project Development
Specialists
Henry David Thoreau, America
45
Solar Radiation
Horizontal, 27°,
27 53°
8.0
0°, horizontal
6.0
Peak daily
sun-hours
27°, 6/12 roof pitch
4.0
53°, latitude
2.0
0.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 Annual
14
Months
You cannot teach a man anything,
Solar Energy
You can only help him discover it within himself.
Project Development Specialists
Galileo
46
Solar Radiation
Horizontal, 27°, 53°, Vertical
8.0
0°, horizontal
6.0
27°, 6/12 roof pitch
Peak daily
sun-hours
4.0
53°, latitude
90°, vertical
2.0
0.0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 Annual
14
Months
In many ways our future is passing us by,
Gary Lamphier
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
… and our energy riches may one day look like fool's gold.
Edmonton Journal
47
Questions…?
z
Course Contents
1.
2.
3.
Next
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
Bringing you a prosperous future
American
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
where energy is clean, abundant, reliable, and affordable.
Dept of Energy
48
Components
z
Collectors
– unglazed, glazed, evacuated tube
z
z
Tanks
Heat exchangers
– in tank and side-arm
z
Pumps
– centrifugal and positive displacement
z
Controls
– differential, digital, solar intensity
z
Piping, fittings
– only copper, bronze, brass, stainless steel
z
Heating fluid
– glycol, water
I am what I am – not because of what I should be or have to be…
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
…but because what I am made to be.
49
Solar Water Heating Collectors
Unglazed flat-plate
collector
– primarily used in
outdoor pool heating
Glazed flat-plate
collector
Evacuated tube collector
– commercial,
industrial, residential
– high-temperature
process heating
– most common
Enerworks
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
50
z
z
Have no insulation and no
glass cover
Typically used for low
temperature and/or seasonal
heating loads
Unglazed
Flat-Plate
Collector
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
51
Unglazed
Flat-Plate
Collector
z
Good applications:
– Swimming pools
– Aquaculture
– Car and truck washes
If you're not in favour of zero waste …
Solarhow
Energy
Project Development Specialists
much waste are you in favour of?
52
Controls
and
valves
Unglazed collectors
Solar Pool
Heating
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
53
Unglazed Flat Plate Collectors
z
Advantages
– Very low or zero maintenance costs
– Very low operating costs
– Can be used directly with chlorinated pool water
– Least expensive
– Easiest to install
z
Drawbacks
– Can only be used in summer-like outdoor temperatures
– Least efficient
– Yearly draining is required
– Not protected from the environment
– Completely plastic and degrades over time
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world.
Solar Energy Project Development
Specialists
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
+Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
54
Glazed Flat Plate Collectors
z
Contains frame, glazing, absorber, piping, brackets,
insulation, gaskets, screws
z
Made of glass or polymers, aluminum, steel, copper,
fiberglass or isocyanurate, EPDM
z
Typically for residential and commercial applications
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
55
Photo Credit: Trimline Design Centre
Solar Water Heating Collectors
– Concept
Frame
Protects the collector
Fluid circuit
Harnesses heat from
absorber
Insulation
Reduces heat losses
You must skate to where the puck is going
Solar
not to where it is now.
Absorber
Converts sunlight
into heat
Glazing
Lets light in, reduces heat
loss, like a greenhouse
Energy Project Development
Specialists
Wayne Gretzky
56
Glazed Flat Plate Collector
Details
z
– reduces reflection,
ensures glass safety
Uses selective surface coating on the absorber plate
– Painted black:
90% absorbing, 30% re-emitting!
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
– Selective surface: 94% absorbing, 5% re-emitting!
57
Standard internal headers
– headers are parallel to collector case
Can be used for drainback or no-drain systems.
Need to be tilted if used in drainback systems.
Flat Plate Collectors – Mechanical Design
Internal headers specially designed for drainback – headers are already tilted.
Can be used for drainback or no-drain systems.
No need to tilt the collectors.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
58
Flat Plate - Glazed
z
Application
– Used for domestic water or space heating, pools
z
Advantages
–
–
–
–
–
z
Very low or zero maintenance costs
Very low operating costs
Permanent installation – withstands the environment
Can be used throughout the year
Can be used for solar cooling at night
Drawbacks
– Less efficient than an evacuated tube in extreme cold
weather
– More wind drag than evacuated tube (doesn’t matter)
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
Our greatest desire is our greatest delusion unless
Solar Energy Project
our greatest desire is to find out what life is all about…
Development Specialists
59
Evacuated tube
collectors
z
Single glass tube with an
internal plate absorber.
or
z
Double glass tube with
an integral coated inner
glass curved absorber.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
60
Evacuated tube
collector
–
heat
pipe
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
61
Apricus
ETC
cut-away
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
62
Apricus ETC
Operation
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
63
Evacuated Tube
z
Applications
– Used for domestic water or space heating, pools
z
Benefits
– Very good at collecting heat in cold and cloudy
–
–
–
–
z
conditions
Very low or zero maintenance costs
Very low operating costs
Permanent installation – withstands the environment
Can be used throughout the year
Drawbacks
– Higher cost for extra efficiency
– Limited design function – tubes must be mounted
–
–
–
–
near to vertically
Expensive – $2500 for 30 tubes
Concern about durability
Snow cover for longer time periods
Cannot be used for summer cooling (except if you
use an absorption chiller)
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
64
Failed ETC tubes
z
z
ETC tubes need to maintain
their vacuum in order to operate
efficiently
Concern about durability
Vacuum is
good
Vacuum has
failed
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
65
Pump controller
Residential-Sized
Solar Heat Storage Tank
Storage tank
with heat
exchanger
inside
Solar
circulation
pump
Often also has a drainback
reservoir and a flow meter
We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking
Solar Energy Project
we used when we created them.
Development Specialists
Albert Einstein
66
Storage Tanks
z
Stores hot water so that it can be used at a later date.
z
Used to transfer heat from solar piping to domestic water.
z
Can contain heat exchangers.
z
Can be:
– pressurized or non-pressurized
– made from metal, fiberglass or polymer materials
– mounted above or below ground level
z
Various sizes from 50 litres to 5000 litres or larger.
TextDevelopment
Credit: Trimline Design
Centre
Solar Energy Project
Specialists
67
Heat Exchangers
z
Transfers heat from one fluid “flow”
or loop to another
– Solar loop to storage loop
– Solar fluid to drinking water
z
“side-arm”
Protects drinkable water from glycol
and stale water
Coil inside the tank
Solar Energy Project
Development Specialists
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
68
Circulation Pumps
– Centrifugal
AC Pump
AC Pump
z
Pumping fluid in the solar loop and space heating loop.
z
Allows fluid to flow both directions through the pump when stopped
– critical for drainback systems.
z
Fluid flow rate can be controlled without causing damage to the
pump. Typically 1 to 2 litres/minute per collector.
z
No chance of over-pressuring fluid loops or storage tank limits.
z
Requires in-line check valve to prevent thermo-siphoning.
z
Built-in motor protection for long life. Typically 10-15 years.
DC Pump
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
69
Circulation
Pumps
– Positive
Displacement
z
Typically used for AC, DC and/or direct PV driven systems.
– PV system - variable speed to match flow rate with solar intensity.
– AC or DC - fluid flow rate cannot be independently controlled to match
collector requirements.
z
Needs pressure relief valve in fluid loop to prevent possible overpressure condition.
z
Prevents thermo-siphoning conditions due to internal pump design.
z
Cannot be used for drainback systems.
Text
Credit: TrimlineSpecialists
Design Centre
Solar Energy Project
Development
70
Control using Collector-Tank
Temperature Difference
…the circulating
pump is only
triggered
when the collector
temperature is higher
than the cold water
temperature.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
71
System Controllers
– analogue (delta T)
z
Typically controls one pump only, based on temperature difference.
– Operates the solar loop pump only.
– No multiple pump control.
z
Limited to low temperature sensing only.
z
No data logging functions.
z
AC power source.
z
AC pump control.
Solar Energy Project
Development Specialists
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
72
50
45
40
System Controllers
– digital
35
30
25
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52
Header Temp.
z
Typically based on a microcomputer
– is programmable, very flexibility.
z
Additional features can include:
– multiple pump control such as for double-pump systems;
– real time data logging – to see system performance; and
– web access and interface for remote data logging.
z
Selectable temperature sensors to allow for
temperature monitoring up to 500°C.
Tank Temp.
40
z
Power source can be AC or DC.
35
30
Solar
Project
Development
Specialists
Text Energy
Credit: Trimline
Design
Centre
25
73
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52
Control using Solar Energy Levels
…a PV module
produces
electricity for a DC
circulating pump
when the sun
shines.
Solar PV
module
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
74
Flow Meter
z
Allows:
– system flow rate to be properly set and
monitored;
– visual monitoring of system fluid level; and
– visual monitoring of system fluid condition.
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
75
Solar Energy Project Development Malcolm
Specialists
S. Forbes
Questions…?
z
Course Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
Next
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Treat the Earth well.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
It was not given to you by your parents.
Solar Energy Project
It was loaned to you by your children.
Development Specialists
Kenyan Proverb
76
Glycol-Based Configuration
– Advantages
In a glycol-based configuration, typically
glycol is pumped through the system and
stays in the collectors and the lines, even
during freezing and stagnating conditions.
z
Immune to freezing.
z
Can run piping without
concern for level or plumb.
z
Easy for the do-it-yourself
person to install.
Solar PV
module
Text Credit: Trimline
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Design Centre
77
Glycol-Based Configuration
– Special Design Considerations
z
May need an external heat dump for excess heat.
– When the controller stops the pump due to the storage tank
temperature set point, the system still continues to heat the glycol
in the collector.
– When the glycol boils it turns acidic and sludgy, and eats away at
all the copper piping and solar collector manifolds. It needs to be
replaced.
– The continued heating raises the solar loop pressure and could
cause leaks in the system.
z
New Enerworks solar thermal collectors (www.enerworks.com)
have solved this issue.
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
Working together to reduce our impact on the land, air & water is not only the responsible thing for us to
do as corporate citizens – it’s also the right
thingEnergy
for the future
of ourDevelopment
businesses.
78
Solar
Project
Specialists
Suncor CEO Rick George
"Drainback" Water-Based Configuration
In a drainback system, water
is only pumped up to the
collectors when enough solar
energy is available to heat it.
3
2
Otherwise, the collectors
remain empty – such as at
night and during freezing and
stagnating conditions.
1
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
79
Drainback Configuration
– How is it different?
z
Solar loop circulates water
– from storage tank to solar collectors to be heated,
– then to the drainback tank,
– may need to use distilled water because there are no minerals in it.
Some city water can make algae in the system in a year.
z
Tank loop circulates water
– from drainback tank,
– to the storage tank, which stores the heat for future use.
z
When storage tank is full of hot water, the pump stops and the
water drains back to the drainback tank due to gravity.
z
Drainback tank:
– essential for a drainback system to work,
– maintains an air buffer to allow the water in the collectors and piping
to be displaced by air and drain back properly.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
80
Drainback Configuration
– What does the drainback process do?
z
Solar collectors and piping are
empty when not operating.
z
Provides failsafe protection
against system damage due:
– overheating in the summer,
– freezing in the winter, or
– electrical power outages.
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
Our self-interest is also the self-interest of the community & environment within which we operate.
81
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
We have no choice but environmental and social responsibility.
Anonymous
Drainback Configuration
– Advantages
z
Easiest 4-season system for a do-it-yourself person to
install and maintain.
z
Has the least maintenance of the 4-season systems.
z
No concerns when going away on holidays or other
periods of reduced hot water requirements.
z
Solar collectors will last longer than in other systems.
Energy efficiency is today’s biggest global economic challenge.
82
Solar Energy
Project Development Specialists
Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada
Drainback Configuration
– Advantages
z
It can be stopped when the storage tank is full of hot water:
– without degrading the water or causing major component failures
due to collector stagnation.
– without being concerned about boiling the storage tank or causing
high system temperatures and pressures in the summer when the
collectors are in stagnation mode (these would otherwise cause
major system component failures).
z
More collectors can be added to produce more heat in the winter:
– without need to dissipate excess heat in the summer when it is not
required.
No cathedral was ever built based on its economic return.
Solar Energy Project
Stewardship always involves taking the long view.
Rob Dumont
Development
Specialists
Saskatchewan Research Council
83
Drainback Configuration
– Special Design Considerations
z
Installation needs to be carefully
done.
z
Drainback needs to be certain:
– all piping must be sloped,
– collectors must be level, and
– all water must drainback into a
warmed space.
z
Companies are motivated by the self interest
Solar
of the people who make the decisions.
Requires a larger pump than a
glycol system due to the head
pressure of the water in the piping.
Joel Nodelman,
Energy Project Sustainable
Development
Specialists
Development, EPCOR
84
Solar Water Heating System
– Installation Considerations
z
Plan for routing the solar collector piping from the
roof to the storage tank.
z
Be careful about any roof and wall penetrations.
z
Increase in roof loading – shouldn’t be a problem,
but needs to be checked.
z
Good southern exposure.
10% shading only causes 10% loss.
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
In the arena of human life the honours and rewards
Solar Energy Project
… fall to those who show their good qualities in action.
DevelopmentAristotle
Specialists
85
People who are doing it…
Tim Belec, Pigeon Lake
Collectors
– mounted horizontally on roof rack
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
ThermoDynamics Solar Boiler
86
Nicely flashed into roof
People who say it cannot be done
Solar Energy Project
… should not interrupt those who are doing it.
Development
Specialists
George Bernard Shaw
87
Offset from roof
on a rack
If not here…
then where?
If not you…
If not now…
Solarthen
Energy
Project Development
Specialists
who?
then when?
88
Mounted on
a metal roof
I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out
Solar Energy
… before we tackle solar power.
Thomas Edison
Project Development Specialists
(1847-1931)
89
Mounted against a wall
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
90
Hung over the
edge of a roof
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
91
School DHW system
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
92
Array mounting – flat roof
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
93
Array mounting – rear view
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
94
Mounted on a rack
above the roof line
The right to access every building in the city by private car, in an age when
Solar Energy Project Development
everyone possesses such a vehicle, is actually the right to destroy the city.
Lewis
Specialists
Mumford, 1981
95
Mounting Location
z
Does not have to be mounted on a house roof.
z
Can be mounted on garage roofs, walls, ground.
Photo Credit: Trimline Design Centre
The true voyage of discovery begins not with new places,
Solar Energy Project
but with new eyes.
Development Specialists
Marcel Proust
96
Okotoks, indoor town swimming pool
Commercial Solar
Water Heating
Best suited for places that use a lot of hot
water throughout the year:
Municipal swimming pools
- indoor
- outdoor
z Cafeterias
z Car washes
z Zamboni machines
z Sports arenas
z Fire stations
z Hotels
z
66 collectors
London Ontario Raceway, horse wash
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
97
Solar Heating at the Best Western Hotel –
Kelowna, BC
100 flate plate collectors
Change only favours minds
Solar Energy
that are diligently looking and preparing for discovery.
Project Development Specialists
Louis Pasteur
98
Commercial-Sized Solar Heat Storage Tanks
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
99
Solar Domestic
Water Heating
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
100
Vancouver
Passive Solar Domestic Water Heating
z
z
Jamaica
Batch water heaters
Thermosyphon systems
Greece
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
101
Batch Solar Water Heaters
z
z
Integrated collector / storage stank
Made of a black tank in an insulated, glazed box.
z
Cold water first passes through the batch heater.
– It heats the water part of the way to the desired temperature
– The water then continues to the conventional water heater for
any additional heating.
z
Batch water heaters are simple and reliable.
z
They should not be installed in severely cold climates because the
outdoor pipes could freeze in the cold weather.
Text Credit: Trimline Design Centre
If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being,
102
Solar Energy Project Development Abraham
Specialists
then I warn you that you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life.
Maslow
Sunwell
– 3-season Solar Water Heater –
z
z
z
z
Sunwell system, Taylor Munro Energy Systems, Vancouver
$2000
40% solar fraction (vs $6000 and 70%)
Stainless steel 158 litre tank
May we begin to do good,
for up to now we have done very little!
+St. Francis
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
of Assisi
103
Thermosyphon system
z
The water flow relies on natural convection and does not require
any pump
z
Very simple system – no pumps, heat exchangers, controls
z
Not typically used in freezing climates
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
104
Questions…?
z
Course Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Next
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
For of those to whom much is given,
much is required.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Luke 12:48
105
Operating Costs…
z
Operating costs:
– Solar PV powered pump:
– Glycol system:
– Drainback system:
z
$0 per year
$10 per year in electricity
$15-$20 per year in electricity
Maintenance costs:
– Glycol system:
– Drainback system:
$20 per year for glycol?
$0 per year
Going to a junkyard is a sobering experience…
Solar Energy Project DevelopmentRoger
Specialists
There you can see the ultimate destination of almost everything we desire.
von Oech
106
Costs Breakdown – Solar Domestic Water Heating
z
2 collector system
Portion
–
–
–
–
–
$2100
$1500
$1000
$1000
$ 400
for 2 solar collectors
33%
installation, plumbing, and electrical work
23%
pumps, piping, controls
17%
solar tank and heat exchanger
17%
fittings, collector rack, flow meter
6%
=========
~$6,000 installed price (up to $8,000) + GST
–
$ 500
Government of Canada subsidy (7% of 2-collector system)
– Typically: $6000 for 1 collector system installed
$7000 for 2 collector system installed,
$8000 for 3 collector system installed.
It is said that 'insanity is when the inner vision of reality
Solar Energy Project Development
no longer corresponds with the external world as it really is…'
Specialists
107
Energy Uses in the Home – Natural Gas
z
Average house uses 135 GJ per year (= $1179)
z
Heated air for the space in the house – called space heating
(typically takes 105 GJ of natural gas = $917)
z
Heated water for showers, dishwashers, clothes washers –
called domestic water heating (DWH) (typically 30 GJ = $262)
z
Optional – stove, oven, clothes dryer, BBQ, fireplace
Municipalities hold the key to a sustainable world in their hands. They are the perfect scale for the
Solar Energy Project Development
Specialists
creation of socially and ecologically sustainable role models.
Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert
108
Background: Our Natural Gas Consumption
Natural Gas Bill
Fuel Consumption
300
$3,000
High 300 GJ
Household
Consumption
per year
(Edmonton)
250
High
$2967 per year
$2,500
$2,000
200
1 GJ
= 28 litres of
gasoline
150
Avg
$1527 per year
$1,500
Avg 135 GJ
100
$1,000
Low 35 GJ
DWH
0
1
Low
$654 per year
Average
DHW, $262
Avg 30 GJ for DWH
50
Charges for
delivered
energy
$500
DWH
$348
$0
Solar Energy Project Development
Specialists
Annual connection
fee
1
109
Evacuated Tube Compared to Flat Plate
z
Lots of promotion of both technologies
Lots of disagreements between the promoters
z
Efficiency:
z
–
–
–
–
–
z
FPC
FPC
FPC
ETC
ETC
Enerworks residential:
ThermoDynamics G32:
Zen 42L:
Thermo Tech Mazdon 30:
Apricus AP-22:
max
72%
69%
68%
53%
42%
avg January (Ti=13°C, G=300)
32%
30%
38%
44%
32%
Approx. costs (for the similar collector area)
(check suppliers for confirmed $ numbers)
– ETC Thermo Tech Mazdon 30: $2500 for 30 tubes
– ETC Apricus AP-22:
$2500 for 22 tubes
– FPC Zen 42L:
$2100 for 6’x8.5’ collector
– FPC ThermoDynamics S32:
$1000 for 4’x8’ collector
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
110
Collector Efficiency
C o llec to r E fficien cy (% )
-- b ased o n N o rth A m eric an R atin g
M eth o d
90
Collector efficiency reduces with colder and/or cloudier weather
80
70
60
Avg January day
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
Sunnier and/or hotter
Thermo Tech
TMA 600-30
Thermo Dynamics
G32-P
Apricus
AP-22
0.10
0.12
(Ti-Ta)/G
Zen
Thermic 42L
Enerworks
COL-4x8-TL-SG1SD10US
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.20
Cloudier and/or colder
Enerworks
COL-4X8-NL-SG1SH10US
Thermomax
Solarmax AST30
Ti – temperature of inlet fluid to solar collector [°C]
Ta – temperature of air surrounding solar collector [°C]
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
G – solar energy on collector surface [W/m2]
111
Ultimate Collector Performance
– 2 collector residential system
$/month
$60
$55
$50
$45
$40
$35
$30
$25
$20
$15
$10
$5
$0
January
February
March
April
Thermo Dynamics
G-32
May
June
Thermomax
Mazdon 30 - TMA 600S
July
August
Wat er Loads
Sept ember
Oct ober
November
December
Average
Solar radiat ion
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
112
Collector Performance
– evacuated tube compared to flat plate
$/month
$30
$25
$20
$15
$10
$5
37% efficient
46% efficient
$0
January
February
March
April
May
June
Thermo Dynamics
Solar
G-32
July
August
September
October
November December
Thermomax
Water Loads
Energy
Development Specialists
Mazdon Project
30 - TMA 600S
Average
113
Performance of Solar DHW Systems
– Rules of Thumb
Solar savings for average household (%)
Annual energy production (GJ)
Collector brand
Qty:
1
2
3
2-collector
system cost
1. Enerworks residential
– flat plate collector
45%
7.4 GJ
68%
11.2 GJ
79%
13 GJ
~$6000
2. Thermodynamics G32
– flat plate collector
47%
7.8 GJ
71%
11.8 GJ
81%
13.4 GJ
~$6500
3. Zen 28S
– flat plate collector
57%
9.5 GJ
84%
13.9 GJ
92%
15.2 GJ
~$8000
4. Thermo Tech Mazdon 30:
– evacuated tube collector
61%
10.1 GJ
90%
14.9 GJ
98%
16.1 GJ
~$8800
Costs not to be taken as definitive
Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself being silenced with surprising
George
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing.
Orwell
114
Solar DWH Recovery Time
Solar Conditions
Solar Radiation
Intensity
[W/m2]
Likely
System
Efficiency
Recovery Rate
[litres per hour]
Super bright
1000
50%
50
-15°C, sunny day
500
20%
10
+15°C, heavy overcast
100
50%
5
0
50%
0
Night
z
z
For a typical system with 2 collectors at 3m2 per collector.
With cold water temperature
= 5°C,Project
hot water
temperature
= 55°C.
Solar Energy
Development
Specialists
115
Solar DW Water Heating Costs – Flat Plate
z
Prices of delivered natural gas heat:
8 $/GJ to 32 $/GJ,
$/G rising at 7% per year (over the last 15 years)
– 10% to 25% subsidy ($1.20 to $2.30 /GJ, on residential bills)
– depends on efficiency of the heater, fluctuating North American market
prices, government policies and subsidies, and cost of carbon emissions
–
z
Prices of delivered solar heat:
heat
20 $/GJ to 23 $/GJ with 0% interest rate
34 $/GJ with 6% interest rate
– $500 rebate (8%) from Government of Canada
– fixed price for 25 years
–
z
Depending on solar and natural gas rebates, and snow cover:
ROI:
ROI
– Payback:
–
5% to 6% per year
13 to 19 years depending on installation, and subsidies
Socialism collapsed because it did not allow the market to tell the economic truth.
Øystein Dahle
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
Capitalism may collapse because it does not allow the market to tell the ecological truth. Exxon Norway
116
Emission Reductions
z
For a 2-collector system on a standard household:
– 66% reduction in water heating emissions
– 1000 kg of CO2 reduction per year (with partial snow cover)
– 1200 kg of CO2 reduction per year (with no snow cover)
Service to others…
Solar
Energy
Project
is the rent you pay for your room
here
on earth.
117
Development Specialists
Muhammad Ali
Background: Natural Gas Prices (Edmonton)
$/GJ
2006: $10.27 /GJ
$11
$10
$9
Average increase is 7.2% per year
over the last 19 years
$8
2007:
$8.73 /GJ
$7
$6
$5
$4
$3
$2
$1
07
20
06
20
05
20
04
20
03
20
02
20
01
20
00
20
99
19
98
19
97
19
96
19
95
19
94
19
93
19
92
19
91
19
90
19
89
19
19
88
$0
It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could
Elizabeth Kolbert
118
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing.
New Yorker
Background: Natural Gas Connection Fees
$/year
$450
2008: $401 per year
$400
2007: $348 per year
Average increase is 5.8% per year
over the last 19 years
$350
2006: $320 per year
$300
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
08
20
07
20
06
20
05
20
04
20
03
20
02
20
01
20
00
20
99
19
98
19
97
19
96
19
95
19
94
19
93
19
92
19
91
19
90
19
89
19
19
88
$0
In many ways our future is passing us by,
Gary Lamphier
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
… and our energy riches may one day look like fool's gold.
Edmonton Journal
119
z
z
Natural Gas Bill
(Edmonton)
z
z
Connection fee + commodity fee
Selling gas, delivering gas, municipal access fees,
GST
Commodity fee = quantity of gas purchased and
delivered + municipal access fee + GST
For a typical house, the potential savings are $1179
(77% of gas bill) unless you go completely off-grid.
Apparent price of natural
gas ($11.31 /GJ)
Average home
natural gas bill
Natural Gas bill ($)
Average home bill:
$1527 per year
Commodity fee $1179
Total connection fee
($348 per year, 23%
of natural gas bill)
{
Actual price of natural gas
including purchase, delivery,
taxes and GST
($8.73 /GJ) (before subsidies)
Average natural gas consumption
$0
0
135 GJ/year
Amount of natural gas used (kWh)
Electricity price of 11.17 ¢/kWh
expressed
in Project
$/GJ to compare
with natural
gas: $31.03/GJ
120
Solar
Energy
Development
Specialists
Price of Natural Gas Heat
$/GJ
– from Perception to Reality…
$28.55
$30
$25
$20.56
$20
$15
$11.31
$8.73
$10
$5
$6.18
$6.75
Read
directly
from gas bill
Prorated
over monthly
consumption
$0
Price of
Price of
purchased fuel purchased fuel
- averaged
- prorated
Including
$/GJ
delivery
fees
Price of
delivered fuel
Including
pro-rated
$/month
connection
fees
Including
appliance
efficiency
Including
buying
windpowered
emission
offsets
And what
about the
cost of
other
environmental
damages?
Apparent price Apparent price
Cost for airof delivered fuel
of heat
emissions free
heat
Presumed cost of natural gas:
$834
Solar Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
Presumed
cost of
fixed charges:
$693
121
Going off the Gas Grid…
z
Here is how to calculate when your heating bill will be less by using electricity than
natural gas:
z
Threshold [GJ] = Annual gas connection fees [$/year]
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
(electricity heat price – natural gas heat price) [$/GJ]
z
Electricity heat price [$/GJ] = electricity price [¢/kWh] /100 /3.6 *1000
z
Natural gas heat price [$/GJ] = natural gas fuel price [$/GJ]
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
average efficiency of your home’s appliances
(typically 60% for standard furnace
and water heater)
For a typical house: 23 GJ = $348 / (11.17 /100 /3.6 *100 – 8.73 / 60%)
= $712 annual natural gas bill
= 17% of average house use now
122
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
z
Questions…?
z
Course Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Next
8.
9.
10.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
The future does not belong to those who are content with today, fearful in the face
Robert Kennedy
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
of new ideas and bold projects. It will belong to those with a personal commitment.
1966
123
Your own solar system
– getting ready
z
Decide why you want solar in your house
– $ savings, emission savings, peer leadership…
z
The solar industry is contacted by many many tyre kickers…
– This is not helpful to anyone
– If you come prepared then you will show that you are
serious and so get noticed and respected
In the past 30 years, 1/3 of Earth resources have been consumed. In the next 50
Worldwide Fund
Solar
Energy
Project
Development
Specialists
years, the population will double, & natural resources will fall by 50 - 75%/person.
for Nature, 1998
124
Becoming Solar Ready
1. How much do you need?
z
Size of your solar water heating system depends on:
How much water do you use in a year?
– average residential hot water usage is 225 L/day (= 40% of total water use)
(you can guess how much your water heat usage is with your 3 summer
bills)
If you use less water to begin with, then the size of your solar heating
system is smaller! …and way less expensive
z
z
Get your natural gas and water bills together for at least 1 year
(2 years is even better).
Add up all the natural gas and water that you use.
– This gives equipment suppliers a good idea of how much energy
you use and so what % that their system can supply you.
Rules are for the obedience of fools
Solar
…and the guidance of wise men.
Douglas Bader
Energy Project
Development Specialists
WWII pilot, Britain
125
Becoming Solar Ready
2. How much do you want?
z
Size of your solar water heating system depends on:
How much of your water heating you want to get from the sun?
How many $ per year?
or
What % of your energy? 10%, 50%, 100%, ???
or
How many GJ are you wanting?
z
This number is a target.
You don't have to have all your heating provided by solar.
This is decided by knowing how much heating you are using and what is
your budget – and it is a guess until you know the other figures.
Economic prosperity goes hand in hand with good health and a clean environment.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
…These inalienable rights are also the mission of successful companies.
126
Becoming Solar Ready
3. What is your budget?
z
Size of your solar water heating system depends on:
How much do you want to spend?
– a solar water heating system is generally modular
and so can be sized to fit your budget
– Typically people only use 1, 2, or 3 collectors
2 solar heating
collectors
4
16
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
127
Becoming Solar Ready
4. Where do you live?
z
Size of your solar water heating
system depends on:
How much energy is in the sunlight
where you are located?
– 20% difference annually on a 6/12 roof
between Fort McMurray and
Lethbridge
– 20% difference in the winter on a
vertical surface between Fort
McMurray and Lethbridge
RETScreen spreadsheet analysis
software available free from
Natural Resources Canada
www.retscreen.net
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
128
Becoming Solar Ready
5. What are your solar sightlines?
z
Size of your solar water heating system depends on:
How clear are your solar sightlines from obstructions?
–
–
z
from trees (now and in the future)
from other houses or high buildings?
Shading reduces the amount of solar heat you can produce
–
where are your coniferous and deciduous trees?
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
129
Becoming Solar Ready
6. What are your roof and wall orientations?
z
Size of your solar water heating system is affected by:
What are your roof or wall orientations?
–
–
–
–
–
z
does your roof slope north and south?
are your walls facing south
is your back yard or your front yard facing south?
are they free from obstructions? (vents, dormers)
how much area is there?
What do you do if they are not the right orientation?
Too many
obstructions
fill up the
roof
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
130
Becoming Solar Ready
– Preparing a new home
z
Space from mechanical room to attic
– "Chase" for 2 insulated solar hot water pipes
– Make sure this is sealed to prevent air and
moisture from entering the attic
z
Space in mechanical room
– Wall area:
– 2 m2 for valves, fittings and a small tank
– Floor area:
– To accommodate another water tank
about the size of your present one
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
131
Your own solar system
– approaching designers and suppliers
z
Supplier
– …designs and specifies the system based on your needs and desires
– Does the supplier know how to design well?
– How do you evaluate their prices?
z
Installer
– …installs the system according to the design of the supplier
– Does the installer know how to install well?
– How do you evaluate their prices?
– Plumbers can install a solar heating system
– You can install it yourself???
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
132
Your own solar system
– approaching designers and suppliers
z
Look at the Eco-Solar Products and Services list for suppliers
z
Contact 3 suppliers
– Look at web sites to see what they supply.
– Ask for 3 references to make sure they know what they are
speaking about.
z
Make sure they are members of the solar industry association:
– Canadian Solar Industries Association (www.cansia.ca)
– This helps ensure that they have good relationships with their
peers, and so are wanting to be in business for a long time.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
133
Your own solar system
– approaching designers and suppliers
z
Give the supplier some photos of your house, showing:
– the view of the front yard from the south,
™ showing the general house and trees,
– the roof and walls,
™ showing obstructions, slopes, and shapes
– the view to the south from the house,
™ showing trees and other buildings
– the furnace room
™ to show them an idea of how much space there is
on the floor
andEnergy
walls Project
available
for equipment
Solar
Development
Specialists
134
Your own solar system
– approaching designers and suppliers
z
Good suppliers know how to design and size your system,
not just supply you with some parts!
– Ask lots of questions to make sure they know what they are
talking about.
– Do they have a system package for you (rather than bits and
pieces)?
– Do they have professional brochures of their equipment?
(this shows they are serious about their products)
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
135
Your own solar system
– approaching designers and suppliers
z
Good suppliers:
– Do they have a list of all the parts that are needed
z
so you get an idea of how organised they are,
z
so you see what may be missing and that you still need to organise
on your own?
– Do they have a relationship with qualified installers with whom
they have worked before?
z
z
You don't want to go out and try and find one on your own!
Suppliers don't necessarily make good installers!
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
136
Your own solar system
– how to buy
z
Be aware when getting price quotes for systems:
– Is it a firm quote or an estimate that they can change?
– Are they interested in talking with you about your energy needs
or just selling you a system?
– Make sure they indicate how many GJ their system will supply!!!
Calculate their system price in $ per annual GJ supplied.
– Look at product delivery times, warranties, ask about service
call-back promises, how close are they to you…
– Ask them what makes them better compared to others.
Don't let them put down their competitors, just ask them to
make themselves look good.
z
Solar Energy
Development
Go with confidence… contact
me if Project
you have
any Q. Specialists
137
Questions…?
z
Course Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Next
10.
Introduction to course
Context to solar heating
Energy, solar energy – the resources, the technology,
how it works
Mounting angles
Solar equipment, components
Operating configurations, installation locations
Costs, economics, rules of thumb sizing
Local examples of solar DW heating systems
Getting your own solar DW heating system, how to find
contractors, how to buy
How about solar space heating?
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
138
Incoming Solar Energy
compared to
House Heating Needs
Solar
Energy
MJ/m2/d
Gas Consumption
MJ/d
9.0
800
8.0
700
7.0
Natural gas consumption [MJ/day]
600
6.0
500
5.0
Solar radiation - 27° [MJ/m2/day]
at 35% efficiency
400
4.0
300
3.0
200
2.0
1.0
100
0.0
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Solar radiation
- vertical surface [MJ/m2/day] at
35% efficiency
Annual
We consume 7 times more natural gas in January than July. Daily min/max ratio is much more.
We get 1.7 times more solar energy on a vertical surface in March than in June! Daily ratio is much more!
139
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Solar Energy Value
compared to
House Heating Costs
Solar Energy
Displacement Value
$/m2/month
Gas Cost
$/month
$3.0
$300
$2.5
$250
$2.0
$200
$1.5
$150
$1.0
$100
$0.5
$50
$0.0
$0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Gas purchase cost [$
per month]
Solar energy's value in
displacing natural gas
at 90° tilt [$ per month
for 1 m2]
Dec
# of solar collectors needed (using monthly averages, each collector: 3m2):
47
31
29
26
18
2
1
3
10
15
35
47
These numbers are approximate and Solar
are NOT
to be used
for the Development
purposes of design
and sizing of a solar
140
Energy
Project
Specialists
heating system. They are intended to be used to illustrate the importance of energy efficiency.
Solar Space Heating
on Standard Home
z
z
Amount of energy in sunshine in Edmonton is 5.9 GJ/m2.year.
Typical home in Edmonton uses
– 135 GJ of natural gas,
– = approx. 105 GJ for space heating + 30 GJ for water heating.
– This house would need 58 solar collectors to heat it 100% in the
winter, at an installed cost of some $120,000. At 3 m2 each, the
collectors would take up a roof area of 170 m2, bigger than the house!
z
In contrast, an example R-2000 home might use 48 GJ for space
heating + 20 GJ for water heating.
– This house would need 18 solar collectors to heat it 100% in the
winter, at an installed cost of $40,000. (54 m2 of house roof area)
These numbers are approximate and Solar
are NOT
to be used
for the Development
purposes of design
and sizing of a solar
141
Energy
Project
Specialists
heating system. They are intended to be used to illustrate the importance of energy efficiency.
Solar & Energy Efficiency
– How do they relate?
No energy efficiency…?
Large use of heat…
When employing energy efficiency…
Then you don't need nearly as much
heat energy…
large solar
energy
system
large amount
of heat storage
less expensive
solar energy
system
less expensive
heat storage
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
142
Heating Energy Efficiency
z
The most important thing to start with!
z
The cheapest energy you will ever find!!
#1. Start with an energy audit!
It is a roadmap to the energy use in your home. From this map,
then you can make the decisions that are important to you.
ATCO:
VerdaTech:
www.atcoenergysense.com
www.energyexperts.ca
$225
$300
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
143
The Cost of Energy Efficiency
- Furnaces Cost of natural gas in Edmonton (including delivery and taxes) in
2006. This is 35% of the cost of electricity.
10.27 $/GJ
Cost of energy efficiency
z high efficiency gas furnace (92% efficient)
z Replacing a standard efficiency (62% efficient)
4.03 $/GJ
$324/year
savings
6% return on
purchase
15 year cost
payback
Reduction in an average household natural gas bill
20%
Natural gas energy efficiency is a secure investment.
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
144
Rob Dumont's Home, Saskatoon
"The best insulated house in the world"
Solar space heating collectors
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
145
Factor 9 Home - Regina
www.factor9.ca
Solar space heating collectors146
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Riverdale NetZero Energy Home
duplex
1844 ft2 per side
3 bedrooms
south-facing
R-56 walls
R-100 ceiling
R-24 basement floor
6.6 kW at -32°C
Solar PV system for
electricity
– 33 m2, 5.6 kW, 53°tilt
Active solar heating
system for water and
space heating
-21 m2, vertical, 17000
litre main storage
Passive solar for
space heating
– all windows
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
147
Solar thermal collectors
Qty:
7
Brand: Conergy from Belgium
Gross area: 3.1 m2 each, 21 m2 total
2s
3s
Drain water heat
recovery unit
Solar
Pump
Household
water heating
6w
(This shows concept.
Actual design is slightly modified.)
5w
Water
Mains
4s
17,000 litre
water-filled
solar heat
storage
1s tank
7w
Heat
exchanger
8w
Household
hot water
loads
9w
12 kW electric
top-up water heater
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
148
Solar thermal
collectors
2s
Cool
return air
from house
3s
12a
13a
Solar
Pump
8h
14a
Fan-coil
Fancoil
pump
4s
5h
10f
7h
9f
11f
17,000 litre
water-filled
solar heat
storage
1s tank
Heated
supply air
to house
Home heating
(This shows concept.
Actual design is slightly modified.)
6h
12 kW electric
top-up water heater
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
149
Solar assist
heat pump
(This shows concept.
Actual design is
slightly modified.)
Very small, ¾ T capacity
(like a large fridge)
z
Makes the solar collectors
more efficient in winter
- cools storage tank faster
z
Allows more heat to be
drawn from the solar tank
- about 600 kWh
z
2
Provides cooling in the
summer, if needed
1
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
150
Riverdale
NetZero heating
system
schematic 151
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
Riverdale NetZero
solar heating
system plumbing
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
152
Questions???
z
What haven't I covered for you?
Solar Energy Project Development Specialists
153
Emerald Award 2002
…we hold the future in our hands
But will our children want to live in what we are
giving to them?
Gordon Howell, P.Eng.
Howell-Mayhew Engineering
Edmonton
Phone: +1 780 484 0476
E-mail: [email protected]
©1995-2008
Photo credits: Gordon Howell and several others
Love does not dominate
…it cultivates.
Solar
Johann
Goethe
Energy Project Development Specialists
154