Solar Water Heater

Following are the main components of the solar heater.  Solar collector panel  Storage tank  Heat Exchanger  Expansion tank  Control System While the collector panel consists of absorber plates, tubes, glazing, thermal insulations and casing. 1.4 Applications Solar water heater can be used in domestic, commercial, and industrial applications. They are enlisted below: Figure 2 Main aspects of Solar Heater 12  Domestically hot water is used in bathing, washing of utensils and clothes and cleaning floors. Water requirement for a house depends on the number of family members. For a 4 members family, each consuming approximately 25 liters, on average above 100 liters are required.  In commercial applications, a large quantity of water is required. For this purpose, large scale heating systems are used.  In industries water is used to preheat the boiler water. Hot water is also used in food processing industries. 13 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Background From the beginning of the life on earth, sun has been the most powerful force of nature. It is one of the reasons of the existence of life on earth and contributing a lot as a basic energy source. Due to its large benefits and size, it is regarded as the god in some of the religions. In the past no major benefit was taken by humanity. But as the needs of the human are increasing and other reliable sources are decreasing. Now humans are shifting towards renewable energy sources and sun is one of the biggest sources of renewable energy. In the same way solar energy is used to heat water in the industries, steam is produced by using modern techniques. In California, first solar water heater was utilized to heat the pool water in 1970 (Bennet T, 2007). To get benefit of solar energy first started by Romans and Greeks. They built their house in such a way that solar light directly falls in and warmed their houses. But modern applications of solar energy started in 1883 as the Charles Frits developed first solar cell. In 1970s Europe and Israel invested in solar technology and reduced the cost of photovoltaic cell to compete the oil sector which was dominated by the Arab countries (Ken Butti, John Perlin, 1980). In 1983 about 60% of the households in Israel were using solar heaters to warm the water. By now around 90% of the houses in Israel are using solar water heaters. European countries are investing in solar energy and after China, Germany is producing solar energy.