Technology Solutions for New and Existing Homes Case Study: Addressing Multifamily Piping Losses with Solar Hot Water

Program Document · Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2016

OSTI ID:1342179

D. Springer, M. Seitzler, and C. Backman

Sun Light & Power, a San Francisco Bay Area solar design-build contractor, teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America partner the Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI) to study this heat-loss issue. The team added three-way valves to the solar water heating systems for two 40-unit multifamily buildings. In these systems, when the stored solar hot water is warmer than the recirculated hot water returning from the buildings, the valves divert the returning water to the solar storage tank instead of the water heater. This strategy allows solar-generated heat to be applied to recirculation heat loss in addition to heating water that is consumed by fixtures and appliances.

• Research Organization: ARBI
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B) (Building America)
• OSTI ID: 1342179
• Report Number(s): DOE/GO-102016-4717; 7599
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

residential
residential buildings
ARBI
Building America
TRNSYS
multifamily
domestic hot water
solar water heater
recirculation