Waste Heat Recovery from PV Panels Group Status Report 3 Waste Heat Recovery from PV Panels

Brief Introduction Use of heat exchangers on back of panels called Sundrums Waste heat pulled off of back of panels Main focus of project is the waste heat utilization in the form of domestic water usage Side effect of pulling waste heat off panels should increase a measureable panel efficiency increase

Progress/Current Status Electrical System assembly, including junction box mounting and electrical connections (grounding) are complete. Plumbing/Waterside Hot water tank has been filled, closed loop is pressurized and functioning. Testing has begun, and will continue for the remaining weekends. Data trends which the team was looking for were observed. (IMAGE)-Closed water loop to capture removed waste heat

The Experiment Variables that will be monitored: TEMPERATURES POWER Tank temperature-Using thermometer, heat that is transferred to water in the tank can be calculated, knowing the mass of water in the tank (45 gallons worth). Send/return water temperatures-Using temperature gauges on the pump station, (as well as volumetric flow gauge), mass flow rate and heat transfer rate can be found. PV Panel surface temperature-Using an infrared thermometer gun to measure specific points on each panel surface to get a model of the surface temperature distribution POWER TIGO will provide continuous kWh for the system.

The Experiment, cont. Current rig location, with surrounding building limitations, should allow good incidence between ~10AM to ~4PM. Half hourly measurements will be taken. (TOP)-Send/Return Temp Gauge on pump station (BOTTOM)-Volumetric flow meter on pump station

Experiment Outcomes Looking for the following: Amount of heat transferred to the hot water in tank-Determine if the SunDrum system could have been used for baseboard heating for the net zero energy home The difference in performance for each panel-the panels with heat recovery units should perform better (more kWh) due to the added heat removal. % Difference from SunDrum’s claims of performance increase-compare and analyze the HRU’s performance as compared to the manufacturer’s spec sheets. (ABOVE)-Design energy advantage of the SunDrum system

Gantt Chart