Investigation of Solar Water Heating System for Industrial Applications in Northern Ethiopia
Abstract
Low temperature water heating for industrial process is one of the ideal applications for solar energy. The paper looks at an investigation of the feasibility of solar water heating systems for industrial applications in Northern Ethiopia. The study was conducted at four factories, namely, a tannery, a particleboard factory, a textile factory and an edible oil factory. The factories use hot water for different processes for the production of their products. The daily hot water consumption is high but most of the processes in the factories require low temperature hot water (<800C). The current source of energy for water heating at the factories is mainly furnace oil.