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Abstract

Psychology and Psychotherapy: Research Study

Theoretical Variations of the Thermal Performance of Solar DHW Systems in Libya

  • Open or CloseMalek Al Abani*

    Institute of Heat Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland

    *Corresponding author:Malek Al Abani, Institute of Heat Engineering, Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland

Submission: June 11, 2021;Published: August 06, 2021

Abstract

Due to the political conflicts and civil war that has happened in the last 10 years, Libya nowadays facing power cuts for large hours throughout the day, General Electrical Company of Libya GECOL is failing to satisfy the electricity demand. The country’s infrastructure has been damaged and the blockade of the oil refineries weaken the economy. In the meantime, the installation of fossil fuel burning centralized power plants is big challenge. For that, it is no longer possible to postpone the use of alternative energy sources rather than fossil fuel.

Since nearly 90% of the demand in Libya for DHW is covered by electric heating systems, this paper attempts to investigate the use of a solar water heating system in order to alleviate the load on the General Electricity Company. To accomplish this, a detailed TRNSYS simulation of various solar hot water systems was configured, the simulations were performed for a 250L load in a Libyan single-family house. In addition, different combinations of thermal collector /PV/ Thermal storage, were applied on a different system configuration of a typical dwelling in the Western Libyan city of Tripoli. Technical and economical investigation were carried out to contrast between various system combinations. In all three cases a collector array size varied from 3 m2 to 6.96 m2 based on available collectors and PV modules. Annual solar fractions for Thermosyphon, solar thermal, and PV/T systems were 97%, 96%, and 93% respectively.

On top of its social and environmental-friendly advantages, the PVT system is found to be more economical when adopted as a solution as compared to thermal solar collector option, when the electrical energy was used to offset the energy from the auxiliary heater in the storage tank, the annual PV/T solar fraction increased from 93% to 99% during the winter and in the summer season, the solar fraction of the PV/T system was above 100%, indicating more energy than was needed to meet the hot water load was provided from solar sources. The excess electrical energy could be used to meet part of the electricity demand in the house.

The operating cost of each system reflects its performance; confirming that the PV/T operating cost is the lowest of the simulated systems. The difference in operating cost was predicted for the Thermosyphon and Solar thermal systems due the different size in collector area. Specifically, for the 3 m2 Thermosyphon, 4.64 m2 solar thermal and 6.96 m2 PV/T systems, the annual operating costs were $19.7, $21.8, and $1.6. The payback time for thermosyphon system was 2.6 years and is lower compared to those calculated for solar thermal and PV/T systems 8.3 and 9.5 respectively; this is because of its high efficiency and design which eliminate the oversizing of the system and extra electrical components.

Keywords:Electricity shortage; DHW system; Libya; Solar generation; TRNSYS simulation; Primary energy saving PES

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