Analytical and Experimental Investigation of a Triangular-Channeled Solar Water Heater

Utilization of solar energy is increasing in different states of the world, and the sun is regarded as the largest source of continuous and coherent energy. In the present study, a novel configuration of a v-corrugated solar collector with triangular channels for domestic water heating has been analytically investigated. A mathematical model based on effectiveness-NTU method is established to thermally examine the collector. Additionally, the heat losses from the body of the collector, useful energy from the collector and solar efficiency have been calculated analytically over different operating parameters. The effects of mass flow rate and solar heat flux on water outlet temperature are evaluated analytically and compared with the experimental results. Moreover, the study includes the experimental and theoretical investigation of the heat exchange effectiveness and thermal efficiency of the proposed absorber. The study shows that high temperature and high performance can be obtained from this collector as more heat energy can be collected by using triangular channels because all the three sides of these channels are exposed to solar radiations at the same time. Therefore, these channels will enhance the collector exposed surface area and thereby increase the solar efficiency and overall performance of the system.

Kepuasan Pengguna Wika Solar Water Heater Menggunakan Metode Importance Performance Analysis Dan Customer Satisfaction Index Pada CV Vania Jaya Plumbing

Wika Solar Water Heater merupakan pemanas air yang memanfaatkan tenaga matahari sebagai sumber energi yang aman dan ramah lingkungan. Produk wika solar water heater ditujukan untuk keperluan perumahan/residensial dan komersial seperti Hotel, Apartemen, Rumah Sakit, Industri dan sebagainya. Banyaknya perusahaan lain yang menawarkan produk dalam bisnis water heater saat ini menimbulkan permasalahan yang harus dihadapi oleh pihak perusahaan. Hal utama dalam permasalahan yang dihadapi seperti kualitas layanan yang diberikan oleh pihak perusahaan kepada pelanggan. Berdasarkan data tersebut peneliti merasa perlu dilakukannya penelitian untuk mengevaluasi tingkat kepuasan pelanggan, metode yang dapat digunakan diantaranya Importance performance analysis (IPA) dan Customer Statisfaction Index (CSI). Importance performance analysis memiliki beberapa kelebihan dibandingkan dengan metode lain. Hasil dari penelitian ini Peneliti memperoleh nilai IPA untuk sumbu x sebesar 3,36 dan nilai untuk sumbu y sebesar 3,38. Sedangkan untuk nilai CSI sebesar 0,672 atau 67,2% yang berarti pada kisaran antara 0,61-0,80. Berdasarkan hasil CSI tersebut, maka kualitas pelayanan pada CV Vania Jaya Plumbing tersebut merasa puas terhadap kualitas pelayanan yang diberikan oleh karyawan selama ini.

Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of a Modified Single-Slope Solar Still with an External Solar Water Heater

One of the key impediments to the wide utilization of solar water desalination systems is limited production. Hence, this study aims at increasing the thermal performance of a single-slope solar still by increasing the surface area of evaporation and absorption exposed to sunlight. A hollow rotating cylinder was installed inside the still structure; this modified system was then joined with an outside solar water heater for productivity improvement. The obtained results show that a 0.5 rpm rotational speed ensured that the cylinder’s surface was kept wet. A mathematical model has been formulated using the finite difference method and the Fortran 90 programming language to assess the thermal performance productivity of two solar stills (conventional solar still (CSS) and modified solar still (MSS)) modelled under different conditions. The experimental and theoretical results are well agreed, with an error of 6.14%. The obtained results show that the maximum productivity recorded in July 2019 was about 11.1 L/m2 from the MSS and 2.8 L/m2 from the CSS, with an improvement rate ranging between 286% and 300% during June, July, August, and September 2019. The production cost per liter of distilled water from the modified and conventional solar stills was 0.0302 USD/L and 0.0312 USD/L, respectively, which indicates a noticeable reduction in the cost of distillate water production.

Residential Solar Water Heater Adoption Behaviour: A Review of Economic and Technical Predictors and Their Correlation with the Adoption Decision

The successful deployment of the solar water heater (SWH) in the residential sector relies on the household’s bounded rational decision-makers to accept this system. The decision is shaped by a wide spectrum of predictors that form heterogeneous behaviour. Over the past years, research has employed a wide range of these predictors to understand their role in the decision and predict the behaviour and diffusion rate of SWHs. This review primarily identifies economic and technical predictors of 100 quantitative and qualitative studies on the residential SWH adoption decision. For the identified predictors, their characteristics and popularity are explored in a structured and coherent framework. The review further investigates the correlation between the identified predictors and the adoption decision from 97 of the 100 initially reviewed studies. The outcome of the research revealed 123 (56 economic and 67 technical) predictors that were classified into seven categories. ‘Financial incentives’ and ‘perceived attitude towards government policies’ are among the most popular economic predictors, whereas ‘house type’ and ‘knowledge of SWH’ were the most frequent technical factors in the research. Analysing the correlation between 99 predictors and the decision also unfolded that certain attitudinal attributes have a stronger influence on the residential SWH take-up than some common factors (e.g., electricity cost, technical variables).