Summary chapter 20.

Design of Active Systems: f-Chart

The liquid and air system configurations described in Section 13.2 are common configurations, and
there is considerable information and experience on which to base designs. For residential-scale
applications, where the cost of the project does not warrant the expense of a simulation,
performance predictions can be done with ‘‘short-cut’’ methods. Design procedures are available
for many of these systems that are easy to use and provide adequate estimates of long-term thermal
performance. In this chapter we briefly note some of these methods.

REVIEW OF DESIGN METHODS

Design methods for solar thermal processes can be put in three general categories, according to the
assumptions on which they are based and the ways in which the calculations are done. They produce
estimates of annual useful outputs of solar processes, but they do not provide information on
process dynamics.

The first category applies to systems in which the collector operating temperature is known or can
be estimated and for which critical radiation levels can be established. The first of these, the
utilizability methods, are based on analysis of hourly weather data to obtain the fraction of the total
month’s radiation that is above a critical level.

The second category of design methods includes those that are correlations of the results of a large
number of detailed simulations. The f -chart method of Klein et al. (1976, 1977) and Beckman et al.
(1977) is an example. The results of many numerical experiments (simulations) are correlated in
terms of easily calculated dimensionless variables. The results of the f -chart method have served as
the basis for further correlations.

The third category of design methods is based on short-cut simulations. In these methods,
simulations are done using representative days of meteorological data and the results are related
to longer term performance. The SOLCOST method (Connelly et al., 1976) simulates a clear day and
a cloudy day and then weights the results according to average cloudiness to obtain a monthly
estimate of system performance.

The f -charts have been developed for three standard system configurations, liquid and air systems
for space (and hot-water) heating and systems for service hot water only. A schematic diagram of
the standard heating system using liquid heat transfer fluids is shown in Figure 20.2.1. This system
normally uses an antifreeze solution in the collector loop and water as the storage medium.
Collectors may be drained when energy is not being collected, in which case water is used directly
in the collectors and a collector heat exchanger is not needed. A water-to-air load heat exchanger
is used to transfer heat from the storage tank to a domestic hot-water (DHW) subsystem. Although
Figure 20.2.1 shows a two-tank DHW system, a one-tank system could be used as described in
Section 12.4. An auxiliary heater.
Detailed simulations of these systems have been used to develop correlations between
dimensionless variables and f, the monthly fraction of loads carried by solar energy. The two
dimensionless groups are
where FRUL and FR(τ α)n are obtained from collector test results by the methods noted in Chapter
6. The ratio F R/FR corrects for various temperature drops between the collector and the storage
tank and is calculated by methods summarized in Chapter 10. The ratio (τ α)/(τ α)n is estimated by
the methods noted in Section 5.10. The average air temperature T a is obtained from
meteorological records for the month and location desired, and HT is found from the monthly
average daily radiation on the surface of the collector as outlined in Chapter 2. The calculation of
monthly loads L is discussed in Chapter 9. (There is no requirement in the f -chart development
that any particular method be used to estimate the loads.) The collector area is Ac. Thus all of the
terms in these two equations are readily determined from available information. Also, from
Equation 5.10.3 S can be substituted for (τα) HT and then (τ α)n cancels out.

THE f-CHART FOR LIQUID SYSTEMS

For systems of the configuration shown in Figure 20.2.1, the fraction f of the monthly total load
supplied by the solar space and water heating system is given as a function of X and Y in Figure
20.3.1. The relationship of X, Y, and f in equation form is f = 1.029Y − 0.065X − 0.245Y^2 +
0.0018X^2 + 0.0215Y^3
Storage Capacity

Annual system performance is relatively insensitive to storage capacity as long as capacity is more
than approximately 50 liters of water per square meter of collector. When the costs of storage are
considered, there are broad optima in the range of 50 to 200 liters of water per square meter of
collector. The f -chart was developed for a standard storage capacity of 75 liters of stored water
per square meter of collector area. The performance of systems with storage capacities in the
range of 37.5 to 300 liters/m2 can be determined by multiplying the dimensionless group X by a
storage size correction factor Xc/X from Figure 20.3.3 or Equation 20.3.2:
Load Heat Exchanger Size

As the heat exchanger used to heat the building air is reduced in size, the storage tank
temperature must increase to supply the same amount of heat, resulting in higher collector
temperatures and reduced collector output. A measure of the size of the heat exchanger needed
for a specific building is provided by the dimensionless parameter εLCmin/(UA)h, where εL is the
effectiveness of the water-air load heat exchanger, Cmin is the minimum fluid capacitance rate
(mass flow rate times the specific heat of the fluid) in the load heat exchanger and is generally that
of the air, and (UA)h is the overall energy loss coefficient–area product for the building used in the
degree-day space-heating load model.

THE f-CHART FOR AIR SYSTEMS

The monthly fraction of total heating load supplied by the solar air heating system shown in Figure
20.2.2 has been correlated with the same dimensionless parameters X and Y as were defined in
Equations 20.2.1 and 20.2.2. The correlation is given in Figure 20.4.1 and Equation 20.4.1. It is
used in the same manner as the f -chart for liquid-based systems:
Airflow Rate

An increase in airflow rate tends to improve system performance by increasing FR and tends to
decrease performance by reducing the thermal stratification in the pebble bed. The f -chart for air
systems is based on a standard collector airflow rate of 10 liters/s of air per square meter of
collector area. The performance of systems having other collector airflow rates can be estimated
by using the appropriate values of FR and Y and then modifying the value of X by a collector
airflow rate correction factor Xc/X (as indicated in Figure 20.4.2 or Equation 20.4.2) to account for
the degree of stratification in the pebble bed:

Pebble Bed Storage Capacity

The performance of air systems is less sensitive to storage capacity than that of liquid systems. Air
systems can operate in the collector-load mode, in which the storage unit is bypassed. Also,
pebble beds are highly stratified, and additional capacity is effectively added to the cold end of the
bed, which is seldom heated and cooled to the same extent as the hot end. The f -chart for air
systems is for a standard storage capacity of 0.25 m3 of pebbles per square meter of collector
area, which corresponds to 350 kJ/m2 ◦ C for typical void fractions and rock properties. The
performance of systems with other storage capacities can be determined by modifying X by a
storage size correction factor Xc/X, as indicated in Figure 20.4.3 or Equation 20.4.3:
SERVICE WATER HEATING SYSTEMS

Figure 20.3.1, the f -chart for liquid heating systems, can be used to estimate the performance of
solar water heating systems having the configuration shown in Figure 20.2.3 by defining an
additional correction factor on X. The mains water temperature Tm and the minimum acceptable
hot-water temperature Tw both affect the performance of solar water heating systems. Both Tm
and Tw affect the average system operating temperature level and thus also the collector energy
losses. The dimensionless group X, which is related to collector energy losses, can be corrected to
include these effects. If monthly values of X are multiplied by a water heating correction factor
Xc/X in Equation 20.5.1, the f -chart for liquid-based solar space and water heating systems
(Equation 20.3.1 or Figure 20.3.1) can be used to estimate monthly values of f for water heating
systems (all temperatures are in degrees Celsius):
PARALLEL SOLAR ENERGY-HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS

For the parallel solar energy–heat pump system shown in Figure 20.7.1, Anderson (1979) and
Anderson et al. (1980) have developed a design method based on a combination of the ‘‘bin’’
method and the f -chart method. In the parallel mode of operation the solar 20.7 Parallel Solar
Energy-Heat Pump Systems 687 system is the primary energy source, and its operation is
unaffected by the presence of a heat pump, that is, the heat pump system acts as the solar system
auxiliary energy source. Consequently, the f -chart method can be used to determine the solar
contribution to the heating load. The remaining portion of the load is met by a combination of the
energy delivered by the heat pump and auxiliary energy. Although the performance of the heat
pump is affected by the presence of the solar system, the Anderson et al. study observed that this
interaction is small and can be neglected. This means that the only effect of the solar system on
the heat pump is a reduction of the load that the heat pump will meet. The results of bin method
calculations for a heat-pump-only system can then be modified to predict heat pump performance
in the presence of a solar system.