Review of Solar Thermal Systems and Their Potential in Lithuania
Abstract
Solar thermal systems with a total solar panel area varying from 2 to 204 m2 have been installed in Lithuania for over 20 years. The market of such systems is slowly growing and the trend continues towards larger domestic hot water systems in multifamily buildings, hospitals, hotels and other large complexes. Nevertheless, there’s still lack of performance reviews and analysis of these systems. The aim of this paper was to analyze medium size solar thermal systems from the perspective of energy production and economic benefit as well as to outline the differences of their actual performance compared to the numerical simulation results. A number of different solar thermal systems in Lithuania were selected for the study, and both financial analysis and performance analysis by means of simulation software were performed. Solar thermal domestic hot water (DHW) systems in question produce up to 528 kWh per year per one square meter of solar collector absorber area. However, the performance of these systems depends on the type of energy users, design solutions, equipment used and maintenance of these systems. Calculation of internal rate of return showed that a grant is required in most cases for solar thermal project to be fully profitable.
Keywords
Solar thermal systems, Domestic hot water, Energy prices