Integrated collector storage solar water heater: Temperature stratification

An analysis of the temperature stratification inside an Integrated Collector Storage Solar Water Heater (ICS-SWH) was carried out. The system takes the form of a rectangular-shaped box incorporating the solar collector and storage tank into a single unit and was optimised for simulation in Scottish weather conditions. A 3-month experimental study on the ICS-SWH was undertaken in order to provide empirical data for comparison with the computed results. Using a previously developed macro model; a number of improvements were made. The initial macro model was able to generate corresponding water bulk temperature in the collector with a given hourly incident solar radiation, ambient temperature and inlet water temperature and therefore able to predict ICS-SWH performance. The new model was able to compute the bulk water temperature variation in different SWH collectors for a given aspect ratio and the water temperature along the height of the collector (temperature stratification). Computed longitudinal temperature stratification results obtained were found to be in close agreement with the experimental data.