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Performance Analysis of a Solar Water Heater for Space Heating in Residential and Commercial Buildings

Abstract:

This research aims to analyze the performance of a solar water heater for space heating in residential and commercial buildings in the city of Quito in Ecuador. The collector system is environmentally friendly since during its operation no greenhouse gases are generated, being these the main causes of global warming produced by the burning of fossil fuels. One of the advantages of this innovation is that it is easy to install and transport. It can be installed outside apartment buildings and homes as if they were windows in the building itself, and its location allows the collector to be kept clean, improving the heating performance of the heat transfer fluid and offering a versatile sustainable building concept that reduces energy consumption. Carrying out tests under different meteorological conditions, the efficiency calculation of the solar air collector was developed, obtaining an average value of 59.09% with an acceptable collector performance, achieving an average useful heat of 3807.65 W and an output temperature of around 34.6 to 94 °C. These important data were obtained through methodologies of: thermal analysis in the collector, energy balances in each section and definition of mathematical models. This efficiency achieved offers good perspectives in the application of this type of technologies that contribute to the use of alternative or renewable energies, since the solar resource can be used to cover the energy demand at low costs.