PV Domestic Hot Water System
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the technical and economical feasibility of a Photovoltaic Domestic Hot Water System (PV DHWS) consisting in a direct coupling of the energy produced by PV panels and the heating elements (electrical) of a hot water tank. First, a prototype of PV DHWS was built and experiments were carried out at our outdoor test facilities in order to demonstrate the validity of the concept, evaluate the performances and identify ways of improvements. Then, a numerical model of PV DHWS was developed in Modelica / Dymola and validated using collected experimental data. System performances were simulated under various configurations and compared to the performances of solar thermal hot water systems. Finally, based on both experimental and numerical results, a first economic assessment of PV DHWS was done. The results presented in this paper show that from a technical and economical point of view, PV DHWS could potentially be a cost effective alternative to conventional solar thermal systems.
Keywords
Photovoltaic, Solar domestic hot water system