Passive House Alliance Lessons Learned on Solar Hot Water Heating

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Passive House Alliance Lessons Learned on Solar Hot Water Heating Image Courtesy of Harvestar Better Buildings By Design 2013 Building the Renewable Energy Ready Home Solar Thermal Lessons Learned and Results Doug Merrill, Sunward Systems Doug Merrill • 20 + years of manufacturing experience – General Electric – Husky Injection Molding – Consulting, Teaching • 5 Years of Solar Hot Water experience – Consulting (supply chain) – Monitoring development – Principal in Sunward Systems Solar Hot Water System Advantages • Reduces need for electricity or fossil fuel • Saves money • Easy to integrate Comparison of Energy Standards DHW Heating is Typically Second Highest Building Load Why Solar Hot Water ? • Saves money…a good investment – ROI is good for most any fuel • Propane 9% • Oil 7% • Electricity 7% • Gas 3% – Few alternatives in New England • Heat pump & geothermal economics not great • Wood is good, but labor intensive in the summer Solar Hot Water Siting • Building Compromises: Collector orientation – Collectors facing true South are ideal • Fall-off in production is gradual…up to 45 from South OK • Makes ‘tracking’ unnecessary – Collector ‘tilt’ is also a gradual falloff…nominal is angle=latitude • Steeper is better (up to 5-10 degrees) • Helps boost production in winter • Assists in snow shedding – Shading • Partial shading OK- do analysis! • Small feature shading (sticks, power lines) not a factor • Want at least 5-6 hours of direct sunlight a day • For new home sites…consider the landscaping choices and how they will look in 10 years Roof Design Considerations • Orientation & pitch determine if roof is viable • 50-80 square feet of space • Check ‘border’ around collectors for fire access • No penetrations or features within space • Design for 6 lbs/ft2 more than code • Access to attic makes installation easier • Slate & ceramic roofs are a challenge! Integrating a SHW System • Ground mount options – Usually lower, so watch for shading – Tubing & wiring run in trenches – Easier to service & clear snow – Typically more flexible, slightly more expensive Integrating a SHW System • Integration with backup DHW system – SHW acts as a ‘pre-heater’ – Not cost-effective to produce 100% solar in New England • Fuel agnostic…works with gas, oil, electricity • Functions most effectively with storage type heater • Indirect fired systems are much less efficient than their ratings (due to summer cycling) Mechanical Integration • Integrated tank/heater/heat exchangers available, but force many compromises – Lower efficiency (less storage, mixing) – Higher lifetime costs – Less space required • Review total rise of system versus pump spec’s • Mixing valve is necessary – Preferably on the output of the backup system – This is consistent with current building codes in most places Minimize DHW Load! • Insulate hot water piping throughout the home • Minimize hot water piping run length • Install low flow shower heads and aerators Water & Space Heating Readiness • Much larger collector footprint required – (roughly 10% of heated area) • Radiant heating with high thermal mass ideal • Maximize passive heating to minimize solar collection system needs • Must address summer heat over-production – Mechanically – Physically – Heat Dump Benefits of building Solar-Ready • Cost to contractor/homeowner minimal ~$150 • Some design compromises may be required • System effectiveness far higher • Installation cost savings about $600 • Builder can finish home before customer makes final installation decision Lessons Learned: Performance Data • 500+ Systems sold • A dozen monitored • Two case studies…. – Low use passive home – High use passive home Lessons Learned – Case Study • Home occupied 2011 • Typically 2 residents • Low hot water usage – 38 gallons per day Passive House Solar Hot Water Data FoundOctober Heat Solar Hot Water Production 2012 - Low Load Home ExchangerOutput Well 800,000 PluggedUnder100% 90% 700,000 Expectation 80% 600,000 70% 500,000 60% 400,000 50% 40% 300,000 30% 200,000 20% 100,000 10% - 0% Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec DHW BTU SHW BTU % from Solar Passive House Solar Hot Water • Low Load Home Conclusions – 70% of the 2012 DHW energy needs have come from solar 2012 HotElectrical Water Electricity Cost Bills $70.00 $35.00 $60.00$30.00 $50.00$25.00 $40.00$20.00 $30.00$15.00 $20.00$10.00 $5.00 $10.00 $0.00 $0.00 Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec With SHW Without SHW •• ComparedWhat about toa home an identical with a higher home DHW with Load? no SHW Passive Home SHW Study #2 • 250’ South of home #1 • SHW system installed in July 2012 • Monitoring installed in August 2012 – Data is fresh! • 3-5 Residents • Very high DHW use – 100 Gallons/Day Passive Home SHW Study #2 Daily DHW Energy Usage Sept 2012 90000 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 9/6 9/7 9/8 9/9 9/10 9/11 9/12 9/13 9/14 9/15 9/16 9/17 9/18 9/19 9/20 9/21 9/22 9/23 9/24 9/25 9/26 9/27 9/28 9/29 9/30 DHW BTU SHW BTU • 81% of DHW energy from solar – (Compares with 86% on low use home) • 2X Energy produced (45KBTU per day!) Passive Home SHW Study #2 Electric Cost $100.00 $90.00 SHW System Installed $80.00 $70.00 $60.00 $50.00 $40.00 $30.00 $20.00 $10.00 $- Mar-12 Apr-12 May-12 Jun-12 Jul-12 Aug-12 Sep-12 Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12 • Savings of $40 - $70 per month Questions ? .
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