Field Study on the Thermal Performance of Vacuum Tube Solar Collectors in the Climate Conditions of Western Norway

Victoria Popsueva, Andrés Franklin Olivares Lopez, Anna Kosinska, Oleg Nikolaev and Boris V. Balakin
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Victoria Popsueva: Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Inndalsveien 28, 5063 Bergen, Norway
Andrés Franklin Olivares Lopez: Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Inndalsveien 28, 5063 Bergen, Norway
Anna Kosinska: Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Inndalsveien 28, 5063 Bergen, Norway
Oleg Nikolaev: National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Kashirskoe Shosse 31, 115409 Moscow, Russian
Boris V. Balakin: Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Inndalsveien 28, 5063 Bergen, Norway

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: A significant part of energy consumption in Northern countries goes to heating. There is no consensus about the most efficient source of renewable heat there. This paper presents a field study for a 7.8 m 2 vacuum tube solar collector facility that is conservatively located in the cloudy and cold climate conditions of western Norway. We analyse a year-long operation by examining the rig’s statistics. We show that in Nordic latitudes with rainy climate conditions, a domestic solar hot water system can produce 2200 kWh t h /y at a thermal efficiency of up to 72%. The average amount of heat produced by the collectors was up to 14.7 kWh t h /d. This was enough to sustain the domestic hot water demand in an average Norwegian household for 6 months with a short period of auxiliary heating. In conclusion, we calculated that a 3× upscaled area facility would deliver over 25 kWh t h covering six months of total heat consumption. The payback period for the facility is 12 years.

Keywords: solar collector; vacuum tube solar collector; Norway; field study; solar domestic hot water system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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