Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, 4th Edition

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. The method, applicable to heating of buildings where the minimum temperature for energy delivery is approximately is outlined in detail. Methods for designing systems delivering energy at other minimum temperatures, as encountered in solar absorption air conditioning or industrial process heat applications, are presented in Chapter 21.

20.1 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 ...