In year 2000 a 336 m2 solar domestic hot water system was built in Sundparken, Elsinore, Denmark. The solar heating system is a low flow system with a 10000 l hot-water tank. Due to the orientation of the buildings half of the solar collectors are facing east, half of the solar collectors are facing west. The collector tilt is 15° from horizontal for all collectors. Both the east-facing and the west-facing collectors have their own solar collector loop, circulation pump, external heat exchanger and control system. The external heat exchangers are used to transfer the heat from the solar collector fluid to the domestic water. The domestic water is pumped from the bottom of the hot-water tank to the heat exchanger and back to the hot-water tank through stratification inlet pipes. The return flow from the DHW circulation pipe also enters the tank through stratification inlet pipes. The tank design ensures an excellent thermal stratification in the tank. The solar heating system was installed in May 2000. The thermal performance of the solar heating system has been measured in the first two years of operation. Compared to other large Danish solar domestic hot water systems the system is performing well in spite of the fact that the solar collectors are far from being orientated optimally. The utilization of the solar radiation on the collectors is higher, 46% in the second year of operation, than for any other system earlier investigated in Denmark, 16%–34%. The reason for the good thermal performance and for the excellent utilization of the solar radiation is the high hot-water consumption and the good system design making use of external heat exchangers and stratification inlet pipes.
Skip Nav Destination
e-mail: sf@byg.dtu.dk
e-mail: nkv@byg.dtu.dk
e-mail: ljs@byg.dtu.dk
Article navigation
February 2005
Technical Papers
Thermal Performance of a Large Low Flow Solar Heating System With a Highly Thermally Stratified Tank
Simon Furbo,
e-mail: sf@byg.dtu.dk
Simon Furbo
Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 118, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Search for other works by this author on:
Niels Kristian Vejen,
e-mail: nkv@byg.dtu.dk
Niels Kristian Vejen
Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 118, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Search for other works by this author on:
Louise Jivan Shah
e-mail: ljs@byg.dtu.dk
Louise Jivan Shah
Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 118, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Search for other works by this author on:
Simon Furbo
Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 118, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
e-mail: sf@byg.dtu.dk
Niels Kristian Vejen
Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 118, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
e-mail: nkv@byg.dtu.dk
Louise Jivan Shah
Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 118, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
e-mail: ljs@byg.dtu.dk
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING. Manuscript received by the ASME Solar Division Sep. 2003; final revision Mar. 2004. Associate Editor: A. Walker.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2005, 127(1): 15-20 (6 pages)
Published Online: February 7, 2005
Article history
Received:
September 1, 2003
Revised:
March 1, 2004
Online:
February 7, 2005
Citation
Furbo, S., Vejen, N. K., and Shah, L. J. (February 7, 2005). "Thermal Performance of a Large Low Flow Solar Heating System With a Highly Thermally Stratified Tank ." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2005; 127(1): 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1767190
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Mass Flow Control Strategy for Maximum Energy Extraction in Thermal Energy Storage Tanks
J. Sol. Energy Eng (December 2025)
Exergy Optimization of a Hybrid Multi-Evaporative Desalination Plant Powered by Solar and Geothermal Energy
J. Sol. Energy Eng (June 2025)
Correlation for Maximum Heat Transfer Between Fluidized Bed and Its Wall and Application to Solar Power Plants
J. Sol. Energy Eng (June 2025)
Related Articles
Simulation study on a Domestic Solar/Heat Pump Heating System Incorporating Latent and Stratified Thermal Storage
J. Sol. Energy Eng (November,2009)
Performance of a Large Parabolic Trough Solar Water Heating System at Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution
J. Sol. Energy Eng (November,2000)
Identifying and Reducing Scaling Problems in Solar Hot Water Systems
J. Sol. Energy Eng (February,2003)
Editorial
J. Sol. Energy Eng (August,2001)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Method Research of Calculation Solar Collector Areas in Solar Heating and Hot Water System
Inaugural US-EU-China Thermophysics Conference-Renewable Energy 2009 (UECTC 2009 Proceedings)
Integration of Solar Energy Systems
Handbook of Integrated and Sustainable Buildings Equipment and Systems, Volume I: Energy Systems
Functionality and Operability Criteria
Companion Guide to the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, Volume 2, Second Edition: Criteria and Commentary on Select Aspects of the Boiler & Pressure Vessel and Piping Codes