A Study on Thermal Storage Performance and Characteristics of Daily Operation of a Hybrid Solar Air-Water Heater

In this study, a thermal storage performance and characteristics of daily operation were investigated when the air and the liquid were heated simultaneously by a hybrid solar air-water heater that can make hot water as well as heated air. The hybrid solar air-water heater is kind of a flat plate solar collector that can make hot water and heated air by installing air channel beneath absorber plate of traditional flat plate solar collector for hot water. As a result of daily operation, maximum water temperature reached in a thermal storage was shown 44 ֯C on 73kg/h of air mass flow rate and about 40 ֯C on 176kg/h of air mass flow rate. Thus, the necessity of heating water in thermal storage by operating only liquid side was confirmed when the temperature of liquid in thermal storage is lower than we need. In case of efficiency investigated on daily operation, the thermal efficiency of the liquid side was decreased with increment of the inlet liquid temperature and decrement of the solar radiation, but efficiency of the air side was increased with increment of inlet liquid temperature difference as the traditional solar air heater. Total thermal efficiency of the collector was shown from 65.85% to 78.23% and it was decreased with increment of the inlet liquid temperature and decrement of solar radiation same as the traditional system.