Renewable Energy 27 (2002) 441452

www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Simulation of a solar domestic water heating

system using a time marching model
M. Bojic a, S. Kalogirou

b,*

, K. Petronijevic

Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, Peoples Republic of China
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Higher Technical Institute, P.O. Box 20423, Nicosia 2152,
Cyprus
c
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Kragujevac, Kragujevac University, Sestre Janjic 6, 34000
Kragujevac Yugoslavia
Received 5 October 2000; accepted 4 April 2001

Abstract
This paper presents the modelling and simulation of a solar water heating system using a
time marching model. The results of simulations performed on an annual basis for a solar
system, constructed and operated in Yugoslavia, which provides domestic hot water for a fourperson family are presented. The solar water heater consists of a flat-plate solar collector, a
water-storage tank, an electric heater, and a water-mixing device. The mathematical model is
used to evaluate the annual variation of the solar fraction with respect to the volume of the
storage tank, demand hot water temperature required, difference of this temperature and preset
storage tank water temperature, and consumption profile of the domestic hot water demand.
The results of this investigation may be used to design a solar collector system, and to operate
already designed systems, effectively. The results for a number of designs with different storage tank volumes indicate that the systems with greater volume yield higher solar fraction
values. The results additionally indicate that the solar fraction of the system increases with
lower hot water demand temperature and higher differences between the mean storage water
and the demand temperatures. However, when a larger storage tank volume is used, the solar
fraction is less sensitive to a variation of these operation parameters. 2002 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Solar collector; Storage tank; Electric heater; Modelling; Simulation

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +357-2-306-266; fax: +357-2-494-953.

E-mail address: skalogir@spidernet.com.cy (S. Kalogirou).
0960-1481/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 1 4 8 1 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 9 8 - 2

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442

Nomenclature
A
Amax
Amax Y
b
CB
cp
D
Di
E
F
f
F
hf,i
kb
mc
mp
Pe
Pg
Pgn
q
R
t
ta
tb
tb0
tci
tcu
tm
tul
V
U
Ut
Ub
Ue
W
Z

Solar collector absorber surface area, m2

Amplitude of daily temperature, K
Annual amplitude of average temperature, K
Bond width, m
Bond conductance, W/m-K
Specific heat, J/kg-K
External tube diameter, m
Internal tube diameter, m
Yearly electrical energy consumed when the solar system is used, J
Collector efficiency factor
Yearly solar fraction
Fin efficiency
Convection coefficient of heat transfer from the pipe fluid to the
internal pipe surface, W/m2-K
Bond thermal conductivity, W/m-K
Circulated water mass-flow rate, kg/s
Stored water consumption, kg/s
Heat flux in the heat exchanger, W
Electrical power for DHW heating when solar system is used, W
Electrical power for DHW heating when no solar system is used, W
Solar energy flux per unit surface area of the solar collector
absorber, W/m2
Yearly electrical energy consumed when no solar system is used, J
Required temperature of the DHW, K
Ambient temperature, K
Mean stored water temperature at the end of the time interval, K
Mean temperature of the stored water at the beginning of the time
interval, K
Circulated water temperature at the solar collector entrance, K
Circulated water temperature at the solar collector exit, K
Average annual temperature, K
Mains water temperature, K
Storage tank Volume, l
Solar collector total heat loss coefficient, W/m2-K
Top loss coefficient from the collector plate to the ambient, W/m2-K
Bottom loss coefficient (k/L = the ratio of the insulation thermal
conductivity to the back insulation thickness), W/m2-K
Edge loss coefficient ((UA)edge/Ac, where (UA)edge are the losses
through the edge and Ac is the collector area), W/m2-K
Distance between two tubes, m
Heat transmittance of the heat exchanger, W/K

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443

Greek
g
t
tsr
w
t
tmax
tmax Y
tY

Bond average thickness, m

Time step, s
Average logarithmic difference of temperatures of the circulated and
stored water, K
Water density, kg/m3
Time, s
Time with the maximum daily temperature
Day number with the maximum annual temperature
Number of current day

1. Introduction
During the last years of the twentieth century, extensive efforts to alleviate global
warming of the earth caused by emission of carbon dioxide in atmosphere have been
undertaken. These emissions are generated by intensive burning of fossil fuels in
order to satisfy the growing energy needs of humanity [1]. Carbon dioxide emissions
may be mitigated when part of energy needs are satisfied by using non-polluting
energy sources such as solar energy, instead of fossil fuels. Also, the most important
advantage of solar energy compared to the usage of fossil fuels for domestic hot
water (DHW) production is that it does not pollute the environment with nitrogen
oxides and sulphur dioxide [2,3].
Solar systems for DHW production should be optimally designed and operated.
For this reason the energy effectiveness of these systems are often investigated either
by using experiments or through modelling and simulations [46]. This paper gives
the results of the computer simulations carried out in order to investigate the effectiveness of a particular type of the solar system consisting of a solar collector, a
water-storage tank, and an electric heater. The mathematical model based on time
marching takes into account daily and yearly variations of ambient temperature and
solar radiation. This mathematical model is used to develop the simulation software
called temp. The program is written in FORTRAN 99 programming language. The
simulations performed by using this software give the solar fractions for several
system designs with different hot water storage volumes and solar fractions for the
particular system design that operates with different preset temperatures of storage
tank water, demand water temperature, and daily consumption pattern.

2. Solar water heating system description

A schematic of the solar system modelled is shown in Fig. 1. It consists of a flatplate solar collector, a water-storage tank, a heat exchanger, an electric heater, and

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M. Bojic et al. / Renewable Energy 27 (2002) 441452

a water-mixing device. The solar collector collects solar energy in its steel absorber
and heats the circulating water that flows through it. The circulating water from the
collector enters the heat exchanger installed inside the storage tank where it gives
its heat to the storage tank water and then returns to the solar collector where it is
heated again by solar energy. The storage tank contains water that accumulates heat
obtained from the heat exchanger. The cold mains water enters the storage tank at
the bottom, and the supply hot water exits from the top. Furthermore, depending on
its temperature the supplied hot water may be either additionally heated or cooled
before directed to the house for use. Cooling is performed with the mixing device
by adding cold water from the mains as shown in Fig. 1. An electric resistance heater
is used for auxiliary heating when the temperature of the water in the storage tank
(tb) is lower than the demand temperature required.
3. Mathematical model
Variations of the thermal parameters of the system are calculated during every
time interval t, specified by the user, depending on the weather parameters used,
for one year. From these results, the annual thermal performance of the system may
be evaluated.
3.1. Calculation during a particular t
During a particular t, the thermal parameters such as temperatures, flow rates
and heat fluxes within the system are calculated by using two iteration procedures.
Values of the temperature tci of the circulated water at the solar collector entrance
(the heat exchanger exit) and mp of the consumption of the stored water are assumed
at the beginning of the calculation. Then, the temperature of the circulated water at
the solar collector exit (the heat exchanger entrance) is calculated from the equation:

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the DHW system: 1 solar collector; 2 solar heater; 3 tank; 4
electric heater; 5 mixing device; 6 water pump.

M. Bojic et al. / Renewable Energy 27 (2002) 441452

q
UFA
q
tcuta (tcita) exp
U U
mccp

445

(1)

Values for U and F are calculated by using the mathematical model of Ref. [7]:

1
U

1
1
1
W
+ +
U[D+(WD)F] CB pDihf,i

(2)

where CB is the bond conductance given by:

CB

kbb
.
g

(3)

The collector overall heat loss coefficient can be obtained from:

UUtUbUe

(4)

The heat flux in the heat exchanger from the circulated water to the stored water
is calculated when tb0ts as:
PeZtsr

(5)

where tb0 is the mean storage tank water temperature at the beginning of the time
interval; ts the preset storage tank water temperature; Z the heat transmittance of the
heat exchanger; and tsr the average logarithmic difference of temperatures of the
circulated and stored water in the heat exchanger, given by:
(tcutb0)(tcitb0)
tsr
tcutb0
log
tcitb0

(6)

when tb ts, Pe=0.

The mean storage tank water temperature at the end of the time interval is calculated by:
(mpcptulmpcptb0+Pe)t
tbtb0
rwVcp

(7)

where tul is the mains water temperature that enters the storage tank; and V the
volume of the storage tank. Finally, tci is calculated by:
Pe
tcitcu
mccp

(8)

The calculated value of tci is compared to the assumed value of tci. When the

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446

difference in these values is greater than a user defined tolerance, the calculation is
repeated. Then, the calculated value of tci is taken for a new value of tci in Eq. (1),
and the first iteration procedure continues.
When the procedure of the first iteration is finished, two cases may exist depending
on the value of tb. First case is when tbt, and the second case is when tbt. When
tbt, the stored water must be additionally heated before directed to the user. In this
case, the electric heater will operate, and the mixing device will not operate. The
electric heater power can be obtained from:
Pgmpcp(ttb)

(9)

When tbt, the stored water needs to be cooled before being directed to the user.
In this case the electric heater will not operate (Pg=0), and the mixing device will
be activated. In the mixing device, the stored water is cooled by mixing it with mains
water temperature tul. The mass-flow rate of this water is given by:
m(tbt)
mm
tbtul

(10)

and mass-flow rate of the stored water entering the mixing device is:
mp

m(tbt)
tbtul

(11)

Calculated mp will be compared with the assumed value. When there is a significant difference, the calculated value of mp is considered and the second iteration
procedure will be performed together with the first iteration procedure by using Eqs.
(1)(9) that will finally give exact values of mp and tci for this time interval.
Moreover, the electrical power of the electric heater that the system needs to heat
the stored water to the required demand temperature (t) when no solar collector is
employed, is calculated by:
pgnmpcp(ttul)

(12)

3.2. Calculation during the whole year

Calculation during the whole year gives two yearly electrical energies E and R
consumed for DHW production. The energy E is consumed by the electric heater
when the solar collector is present and operating, and energy R is consumed when
no solar collector is employed. The energy E is obtained by adding the Pgt values
for all t during the whole year, i.e.:
E

Pgt.

(13)

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447

Similarly, the energy R is obtained by adding the Pgnt values for all t during
the whole year:
R

Pgnt.

(14)

The performance of the installation is evaluated by calculating the annual solar fraction (f) by:
RE
f100
R

(15)

4. Simulation parameters
The simulations are performed for the solar installation employing a solar collector
having an area of 3 m2, and with a daily consumption of 250 l (a four-person family).
The program can give results on a daily or an annual basis. For the simulations
performed on an annual basis, the storage tank volume (V) is investigated in the
range from 60 to 400 l, required demand water temperature (t) in the range from 50
to 80C, and difference dt of mean stored water temperature (tb) and (t) in the range
from 0 to 30C. The mains temperature considered is 12C, which corresponds to
the mean annual water supply temperature.
With respect to the thermal load, although the hot water demand is subject to a
high degree of variation from day to day and from consumer to consumer, it is
impractical to use anything but a repetitive load profile. This is not quite correct
during the summer period, where the consumption pattern is somewhat higher. However, during this period, the temperature requirement for hot water is not as high as
during winter. Consequently, the total thermal energy requirement is reasonably constant throughout the year. The profile of a daily DHW consumption is taken to be
the same for every day in the year. Two types of profiles are considered in the
present analysis; constant and variable. The variable profile of the daily consumption,
shown in Fig. 2, is the Rand profile of Ref. [8].
The solar radiation values for Kragujevac, Yugoslavia have been used for the
simulations. For the case of ambient temperature (Ta) the following model has
been applied.

TallAmax cos

2p
(ttmax)
24

Ta1 tmAmax Y cos

Ta273.15Ta1

(16)

2p
(t t
) Tall
365 Y max Y

(17)
(18)

where Amax Y is the annual amplitude of average temperature, taken as 10C; tmax Y

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448

Fig. 2.

Rand profile of normalized daily consumption of the DHW.

the day number with the maximum annual temperature, taken as 200; Amax the amplitude of daily temperature, taken as 10C; tmax the time with maximum daily temperature (14:00 hours); tm the average annual temperature, taken as 9C.
The time step of the simulation is 36 s. It should be noted that the program can
be modified to read hourly values of weather data taken from a typical meteorological
year (TMY) file.

5. Results
The program temp is used to perform a number of simulations as indicated above.
The simulation results are shown in Figs. 35. The performance of a system with a

Fig. 3. Performance of a system with 3 m2 solar collector, 100 l storage tank, 80C required DHW
temperature and a variable consumption profile for one typical summer day.

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449

Fig. 4. The solar fraction as a function of the volume of the storage tank, required DHW temperature,
and DHW consumption profile (here, dt=0C).

solar collector area of 3 m2, storage tank of 100 l, required DHW temperature of
80C, and a variable consumption profile for one typical summer day (day number
210) is shown in Fig. 3. As can be seen, the storage tank temperature rises from
about 26 to about 71C whereas the maximum value of solar flux during the day is
about 700 W/m2.
Fig. 4 shows the effects of storage volume (V), required DHW temperature (t)
and daily consumption profile on annual solar fraction (f) when dt=0C. When V
increases, f may increase or remain constant depending on the values of V and t.
For the relatively low demand temperatures investigated (50 and 60C), when V
increases, f increases. For the high demand temperatures considered (70 and 80C),
when V increases, f increases for storage volumes up to 200 l, and remains nearly
constant for bigger capacities. Generally, it can be concluded that for lower demand
temperatures (t), solar fraction increases more with storage volume. For example for
t=80C, if storage volume increases from 100 to 400 l, f increases from 47 to 51%,
i.e. a gain of 4%, whereas for t=50C, f increases from 63 to 84%, i.e. a gain of
21%. Additionally, it can be concluded that when demand temperature decreases, f
increases for all values of storage volumes considered, also f increases more when
storage volume is larger. For example, when demand temperature decreases from 80
to 50C, for V equal to 100 l, f increases from 47 to 61%, i.e. a gain of 14%, and
f increases from 51 to 84%, i.e. a gain of 33%, for V equal to 400 l. Finally, it can
be seen from Fig. 4 that for constant consumption profile, f is slightly greater than for
variable consumption profile and the difference is bigger at lower storage volumes.

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M. Bojic et al. / Renewable Energy 27 (2002) 441452

Fig. 5 shows the effects of storage volume (V) and difference between mean stored
water and required demand temperatures (dt) on solar fraction (f) when t=50C and
the consumption profile is constant. Generally, when V increases f increases. When
dt increases, then f may either increase or remain constant depending on the values
for dt and V. If dt increases from 0 to 10C, f increases for all values of storage
volumes considered. When dt increases from 10 to 20C, f increases for capacities
up to 300 l, and remains constant for bigger capacities. When dt increases from 20
to 30C, f increases for capacities up to about 150 l, and remains constant for bigger
capacities. When V is higher, f is less sensitive to dt. For example, for V=60 l, when
dt increases from 10 to 30C, f increases from 57 to 66%, whereas for V=300 l when
dt increases from 10 to 30C, f remains constant.
From the results shown in Fig. 5, it can be concluded that generally, when the
temperature of the water in the storage tank is greater than that of the demand temperature, the solar fraction of the system is high and vice versa. This is due to the
fact that, if a high temperature is contained in the storage tank, the solar collectors
have collected more energy during the day and thus less auxiliary energy is required
to cover the load.
Typical results obtained from the simulations for a solar system employing a 150 l
storage tank are shown in Table 1.
As can be seen, the higher the required temperature the lower the solar contribution. This is so because at higher demand temperature the electric auxiliary heater
is used more.
Although the results presented in this paper have not been experimentally verified,

Fig. 5. Solar fraction as a function of the volume of the storage tank, and difference of temperatures
of the stored water and DHW (here, t=50C, and the profile of the daily consumption of the DHW
remains constant).

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451

Table 1
Performance of a solar system employing a 150 l storage tank
Input data

Output

Required DHW
temperature (C)

Type of consumption profile

considered

Temperature difference
of stored water and
Solar fraction
DHW (tb)

50
60
70
80
50
60
70
80
50
50
50

Constant
Constant
Constant
Constant
Variable
Variable
Variable
Variable
Constant
Constant
Constant

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
20
30

69.0
65.7
57.0
49.1
68.0
64.7
56.8
48.6
77.0
85.1
85.6

these are considered by the authors as valid for collectors constructed and operated
in Yugoslavia.

6. Conclusions
The objective of this work was to simulate a solar system using a time marching
model produced for this purpose. The results of this investigation may be used to
design a solar collector system, and to operate already designed systems, properly.
The results for a number of designs with different storage tank volumes indicate that
the systems with greater storage volume yield higher solar fraction. To select a system with optimum storage volume, an economic analysis should be additionally performed that takes into account in addition to the initial investment required the money
saved due to reduced fuel or electricity usage. The results additionally indicate that,
when the solar system operates, the solar fraction increases with lower required
demand temperature, higher differences of the mean store water and demand temperatures and lower daily variability in the consumption of DHW. However, when
the storage volume is larger, the solar fraction is less sensitive to a variation of these
operation parameters.
The present model can be viewed as a new simulation model, which can be used
for parametric analysis of domestic water heating systems. The model is easy to set
up and run by anyone who has a good knowledge of Fortran language.

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