Options for using solar energy. Scheme, description

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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RADIO ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
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Options for using solar energy. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

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Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering / Alternative energy sources

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The sun is a free, inexhaustible, environmentally friendly source of energy that does not require extraction and transportation. The issue of reducing energy costs is becoming more and more urgent every year. Necessary for heating and hot water supply. Developed countries have long taken the path of replacing traditional energy resources with solar energy.

The principles of solar heating and water heating have been used since ancient times. Everyone knows that a black surface heats up in the sun faster and stronger than a white one. This property is used in solar collectors, they collect this heat in order to heat water. Depending on the need for the amount of heat and hot water, collectors are installed on the roof of the building and (or) the southern wall, consisting of thin tubes through which water is supplied to the storage tank. The sun heats the tubes, they heat the water, the water accumulates in the tank and then used for heating or hot water. Everything ingenious is simple!

Solar Collectors

Installations that collect, store and transmit solar heat are called solar collectors. Solar collectors make it possible to obtain hot water, and in areas with high solar activity, when building combined boiler houses, the heat from solar collectors can be used in heating systems. This reduces the cost of heating and hot water at home. There are two main types of solar collectors: flat plate solar collector and vacuum solar collector.

Flat solar collector is a thermally insulated glazed panel containing an absorber plate with a highly selective coating. It is this plate that collects solar energy and transfers heat to the liquid-filled circulation pipes. Despite the thermal insulation of the bottom and side walls of the flat collector, in winter its performance is reduced due to heat losses from the sunny side. In year-round solar water heating installations, vacuum solar collectors are usually used, although flat-plate collectors with good thermal insulation can also be used. Flat-plate collectors are widely used due to their low cost.

Vacuum solar collector is a set of vacuum tubes in which solar radiation is converted into thermal energy.

The design of each individual tube of a vacuum solar collector resembles a familiar thermos - one glass tube is inserted into another. Only the outer part of the tube is transparent, while the inner tube has a coating that captures solar energy. The individual tubes, arranged parallel to each other, together form a vacuum manifold.

We understood how heat is collected in the tubes of the vacuum manifold. Then it just needs to be transferred to the object that needs to be heated. This can be either a hot water supply system (DHW), or heating, or, for example, heating water in a pool. Depending on the needs for thermal energy, one or another number of collectors is selected, which are placed on the roof and (or) walls of the building.

Good thermal insulation of vacuum solar collectors and high absorption coefficient (more than 95%) allows them to work at low ambient temperatures.

Solar water heaters

The solar water heater consists of a solar collector and a battery, the sun heats the intermediate coolant (special antifreeze or water) in the collector, which transfers heat through the heat exchanger to the storage water heater - tank.

in which heated water is stored. This container must be well insulated to avoid unnecessary heat loss. Those. it should retain heat almost like a thermos. A storage electric water heater is often used as such a container.

The use of electric water heater as a capacity allows to have hot water in the absence of the sun. In this case, the heater of the water heater automatically switches on, which maintains the set water temperature.

The coolant between the collector and the water heater can move in two ways. The first, the simplest, is natural circulation. The second is circulation using a special pump. The use of a pump makes the system more efficient, as due to forced circulation, it becomes possible to transfer more heat. Systems with natural circulation are usually called passive, and those with forced circulation are called active.

How to choose the volume of the boiler

Naturally, the volume of the boiler depends on the number of people living in the house and their individual needs for hot water.

When choosing the volume, you need to consider whether the house has a bath, a jacuzzi, or only a shower. It is very important to take into account the amount of time that the owners spend on "water procedures". For example, five minutes is enough for someone to take a shower, and for someone - as much as half an hour. Naturally, the water consumption in these cases will be completely different.

How to count

You can make a more accurate calculation, taking into account your individual needs. Here is an example of such a calculation for a family of 3 people. Let's say you take a shower with a flow rate of 8 liters per minute for 10 minutes. Therefore, you will use 80 liters of warm water. The same amount of water is consumed by two other family members. We sum up 80 + 80 + 80 and get 240 liters of hot water. And you also need water for washing dishes, for example 4 l / min for 15 minutes. Total 240 + 60 = 300 liters.

Given that you will use warm water, and not 60-70 degrees, accumulated in the water heater, then approximately a 200-liter boiler will suffice.

If the next large consumption of hot water is planned only for the evening, then the water in the water heater will have time to heat up again during this time, and you will also be able to comfortably take a shower at the end of the day. , and heating will occur with its help.

Complex systems

In addition to the solar water heaters discussed above, there are also entire integrated systems for heat supply and power supply to the building using solar energy. Their components are solar collectors and solar panels. Such systems allow you to provide the house not only with hot water, but also with heating and electricity.

To automate the process and to ensure the most efficient mode of operation of the complex system, a control center based on a microprocessor controller is used.

See other articles Section Alternative energy sources.

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