A stochastic thermo-economic analysis of solar domestic hot-water systems in compliance with building energy code requirements: The case of Spain

Spanish residential buildings typically cover the required domestic hot-water renewable fraction regulated by building codes using solar thermal systems, typically through solutions based on flat-plate collectors and water storage tanks. For medium or large buildings (with high domestic hot-water de...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Belmonte Toledo, Juan Francisco, Ramírez Fernández, Francisco Javier, Almendros Ibáñez, José Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Repositorio:RUIdeRA. Repositorio Institucional de la UCLM
OAI Identifier:oai:ruidera.uclm.es:10578/32244
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10578/32244
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Solar DHW-systems
TRNSYS
Operation and maintenance costs
Solar fraction
Energy building codes
Descripción
Sumario:Spanish residential buildings typically cover the required domestic hot-water renewable fraction regulated by building codes using solar thermal systems, typically through solutions based on flat-plate collectors and water storage tanks. For medium or large buildings (with high domestic hot-water demands), the energy savings produced by the solar system operation easily exceed the owning, operating, and maintenance costs, with its installation being highly advantageous under current energy prices. However, this situation is much less clear when small residential buildings are taken into consideration, as energy savings produced by solar domestic hot-water systems may not be sufficiently large to compensate for those costs, often operating below economically feasible levels. The energy savings associated with the operation of the solar systems were estimated using the simulation tool TRNSYS, using its output results as input data to conduct two different economic feasibility assessments (based on deterministic, and stochastic approaches). The deterministic analysis revealed that solar DHW-systems installed in small buildings with fewer than 5 apartments are not economically feasible. The stochastic economic analysis identified a wide probability range (between 70 and 90% of all the simulated cases) for economically feasible solar domestic hot-water systems, when they serve buildings with more than 48 apartments.