Date of Award

Fall 2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Program/Concentration

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Director

Sushil K. Chaturvedi

Committee Member

Gregory V. Selby

Committee Member

Tarek Abdel-Salam

Call Number for Print

Special Collections; LD4331.E56 G35 2007

Abstract

The present study examines the potential of solar-assisted heat pump (SAHP) system for domestic water heating application over conventional electrical water heating system. The focus of study is on developing a user-friendly and interactive software using Java platform with Microsoft Access being used for maintaining the database. The software developed is capable of predicting the thermal and economic performance of a SAHP system under varying conditions. The software allows the user to select the geographic location, specify condensing temperature, collector, and compressor parameters, and thermal load requirement. Location specific meteorological data, such as latitude, solar radiation, and ambient temperature, are stored in the database. Default values for each of the input parameters are provided in case the user is unable to provide them. The output from the software yields information about daily, monthly, and yearly fluxes of solar energy, auxiliary energy, compressor work, system coefficient of performance, life cycle cost, levelized cost, payback period, and environmental impact. The software also permits users to compare different geographical locations for system performance and economic factors.

Thermal performance of the system is predicted for specified condensing temperature. The load temperature is assumed to be constant and the same as the condensing temperature. The method employed in simulation of long-term thermal performance of the system uses typical meteorological year (TMY) data to predict the instantaneous hourly values of various parameters affecting the thermal performance of the system. These instantaneous values are then converted into daily and annual system performances. The SAHP system is also analyzed for energy conservation potential. The energy conservation potential of SAHP system, as characterized by the primary energy ratio (PER) is determined as a function of load temperature and collector area.

A long-term economic analysis is performed by predicting the life cycle cost (LCC), the levelized cost of energy, and the payback period. The system is also evaluated for environmental impact in terms of CO2 emission.

Since there are nearly 40 million residential hot water heaters operating presently in the United States, they account for about 180 million tons of CO2 emission every year. The results obtained from the present study show that the SAHP system results in substantial reduction in primary energy consumed as well as reduction in CO2 emission, when compared to commonly used electric water heating system. The software developed in this study can also be used as a tool to optimize collector area and heat pump size so as to achieve optimum thermal and economic performance.

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DOI

10.25777/8meq-jt54

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