Experimental Performance Testing and Thermal Modeling of an Integrated Solar Thermal Collector Energy Storage System

Anderson, Kevin R., Rocca, Nicholas, Chrisman, Adam, Yartzoff, Michael

Solar 2017 · Denver, CO · 2017-10-09
Published by International Solar Energy Society (ISES)
DOI: 10.18086/solar.2017.04.02

Abstract

This paper presents the results of testing and modeling of an integrated solar thermal collector (STC) thermal energy storage (TES) system. These type of systems are often referred to as Integral Collector Storage (ICS) passive systems. The paper presents efficiency test data, f-chart analysis, and transient time analysis of a Sunearth, Inc. CP-20 ICS system. The paper explains the experiment test set up and efficiency curve determination and is followed by f-chart simulation and transient thermal modeling of the ICS. The data presented in this paper shows that the average efficiency of the system is  = 63% and the fraction of solar energy is on f= 32% for a scenario of hot water heating in the Southwest region of the USA.

Keywords

Solar thermal collector, Thermal energy storage, Modeling, Testing

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