Techno-Economic Feasibility of Domestic Solar Water Heating System in Nigeria

Nigeria’s electricity mix is made up of 85% fossil fuel and this share is projected to increase in the future due to the projected increase in socioeconomic activities. This will lead to an increased emission level despite the abundant solar energy resources which is a suitable alternative for sustainable energy development in Nigeria. This paper addresses the issue by evaluating the technical and financial viability of deploying domestic Solar Water Heaters (SWH) in the Nigeria households using the RETScreen modelling framework. Performance, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation and financial analyses were performed for six selected cities in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Results indicate that a single evacuated tube SWH can produce a maximum solar fraction of 69% for Nigeria’s households. The results further suggest that SWH can play a major role towards energy security and GHG emission mitigation in the country. The results of the financial analysis showed that SWH is economically viable in most parts of Nigeria with exception of the south-south geopolitical zone where the R1 category of households in Port Harcourt city still requires financial support for the viability of SWH. This study recommends the increased adoption of policies enhancing the penetration of SWH systems in order to transcend Nigeria towards a low carbon pathway.