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ABSTRACT
Solar energy is always been a alluring option to meet the domestic hot water demands worldwide. Though there are
plenty of advantages associated with the use of solar energy as source to fetch domestic hot water supplies, the
intermittent nature of solar energy is a major obstacle on the way. Thus a lot of ways have been developed over the
past decades to store this energy and efficiently utilize it according to demand throughout the day. Use of phase
change material (PCM) is a promising way to store solar thermal energy available. Literature on the use of PCM
inside the storage tank on domestic solar water heating system (DSWHS) is available in abundance. But there is
comparatively few literature is available on the use of PCM inside the solar thermal collectors. This review paper
sheds some light on the researches which are previously been carried out while using PCM inside the solar thermal
collectors and summarizes the performance analysis of these significantly distinguished solar thermal collector
developed by various researchers.
Keywords: Phase change material (PCM), Solar thermal collector, Solar water heating.
1. Introduction
Energy is life blood of the global economy, an
indispensible input to nearly all of the goods and
services of the modern world. Without heat, light and
power it is impossible to build or run the factories and
cities that provide jobs and homes, nor enjoy the
amenities that make life more comfortable and
enjoyable. Thus it is legitimate to say that energy is
oxygen for economy [1]. At present nearly 80% of
worlds energy demand is fulfilled by fossil fuel based
sources. But there are several risks associated with their
use. Energy infrastructures, power plants, transmission
lines, substations, and gas and oil pipelines are all
potentially vulnerable to adverse weather conditions or
human acts. The demand of fossil fuels around the globe
is expected to exceed annual production, possibly within
next two decades. Shortage of fossil fuels can initiate
global economic and political crises and conflicts.
Furthermore, burning of fossil fuels releases emissions
such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, aerosols, etc.
which have adverse affects on the local, regional and
global environment [2]. Thus in future pressure will be
on world scientific community to research and develop
new ways to extract, store and efficiently utilize energy
from renewable resources. According to a study 30-40%
of a familys electricity bill is devoted to hot water
usage. Solar heating systems can save the individual
family from 70 to 90% of the total amount spent on the
2. Literature review
Krkl et al. [28] developed a solar collector which
consists of two adjoining sections one filled with water
and other filled with phase change material as shown in
Fig.1, Paraffin wax was used as PCM with
melting/freezing temperature about 50C. Results of the
experiment revealed that the temperature difference
between water and ambient air never reached less than
22C at night times.
`
Fig.1 Schematic of solar collector developed by Krkl et al.
REFRENCES
3. Conclusion
This paper reviews the utilization of phase change
material inside the solar thermal collector. It is been
observed that several researchers have improved the
performance and utility of solar water heating systems
by incorporating phase change material PCM inside the
solar thermal collector of different designs and
configurations. The use of phase change material PCM
inside the solar thermal collector as latent heat storage
material has showed significant improvement in results
by maintaining the hot water availability during off sun
periods. Further research should be carried out to
optimize this technique of using PCM inside solar
thermal collector and to make it more reliable, cost
effective and commercially available. This review paper
will assist many of the solar enthusiasts in realizing their
conceptual ideas of using PCM inside the solar thermal
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