Energy analysis of standalone hybrid active solar room heating system

Abstract

In winter, offices use heat pumps, electric heaters, and blowers to stay warm, but these use traditional energy that is not sustainable or eco-friendly. To meet the requirements of thermal comfort, an environmentally friendly and self-sustainable system was developed at Madhav Institute of Technology and Science in Gwalior, India. This system includes a heat exchanger, a flat plate collector, an evacuated tube collector, and a pump. Two versions of the system were tested: one with a heat exchanger and an evacuated tube collector (HEWETC) and another with a heat exchanger and a flat plate collector (HEWFPC). The results showed that the HEWETC system is better at heating the room and has higher efficiency compared to the HEWFPC system. The HEWFPC system is 12% efficient, while the HEWETC system is 21% efficient. The room stayed at a constant temperature of 26.3°C all day. The HEWETC and HEWFPC systems provided 0.46 and 0.55 MJ of heat to the room, respectively. During the heating season, the solar heat collected was 8030.38 kWh, and electricity used was 5229.7 kWh. The HEWETC system proved to be effective and suitable for heating the building.