Design and fabrication of low cost solar water heaters

Hussain, M. and Urmee, T.P. (1996) Design and fabrication of low cost solar water heaters. Renewable Energy, 9 (1-4). pp. 609-612.

Abstract

We designed two types of very low cost solar water heaters which do not need a water supply connection. The first one consisted of two plastic bowls, one inside the other with 5 cm thickness of insulation in between. A transparent plastic cover was tied around the smaller vessel. It was found that water placed inside the smaller vessel had its temperature raised by 18°C from the ambient temperature within four hours when the average insolation was about 600 kWh/m2. The second one consisted of two earthen vessels in place of plastic bowls. The water temperature rise was 20°C under the same radiation. If either of the heaters was covered with cotton-wool insulation in the afternoon, the temperature remains 13°C above the ambient early next morning. The cost of the material was around US$ 4.50 for the plastic bowl heater while this is around US$ 3.50 for the earthen vessel water heater.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Copyright:	© 1996 Published by Elsevier Ltd
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/11002

Item Control Page