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Title: Solar-assisted heat pump-swimming pool synergistics for domestic heating

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5697196

In this study for a 150m/sup 2/ home, clear performance and economic advantages are shown for a solar-assisted heat pump, providing domestic hot water and space heating and cooling, when the pump uses a year-round solar-heated swimming pool as a large thermal energy reservoir. The pool can cycle seasonably between 18 and 31/sup 0/C (64 and 88/sup 0/F), allowing year-round swimming, and provide an excellent water source for the heat pump and low cost, low temperature plastic solar panels operating at their near-optimum efficiency. The system has been optimized by examining the performance and cost characteristics of different glazed and unglazed solar panel collector (areas from 28 to 150m/sup 2/ and orientation from horizontal to 60/sup 0/ tilt) for sites in San Francisco Bay Area and in San Joaquin Valley. Actual experimental data has been used whenever possible, together with numerical simulations for performance. The optimum system was found to use 75m/sup 2/ of $44/m/sup 2/ unglazed collector at 48/sup 0/ tilt, a 300 GJ/year (30,000 Btu/h) capacity heat pump, and a standard size swimming pool with a solar blanket cover. Solar energy supplied about 85% of the energy requirements at $6.62/GJ ($6.62/10/sup 6/Btu) in July 1979 dollars. With 20 year financing (10% interest), the payout period (re-breakeven) was projected at 7 years and net savings in year 2000 at $42,701 (using the California State Tax Credit) compared against a conventional all-natural gas system. Discounting these savings back to July 1979, the present value of $6,350 would be equivalent to a 9.5% return on investment.

Research Organization:
California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5697196
Report Number(s):
UCRL-83458; CONF-800101-1
Resource Relation:
Conference: Systems simulation and economics analysis conference, San Diego, CA, USA, 23 Jan 1980
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English