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U.S. Department of Energy
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Solar energy system performance evaluation

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5816035· OSTI ID:5816035

The Facilities Development Gas Company site is a three-story, multifamily condominium consisting of 31 units in San Diego, California. Solar energy is used for preheating domestic hot water (DHW) for the complex. The solar energy system has an array of flat-plate collectors with a gross area of 520 square feet. The area faces south at an angle of 42 degrees to the horizontal. Potable water is the transfer medium that delivers solar energy from the collector array to storage. Solar energy is stored underground in an insulated 1000-gallon glass-lined tank. Preheated water from the storage tank is supplied, on demand, to 31 conventional 52-gallon DHW tanks. When solar energy is insufficient to satisfy the hot water load, two electrical heating elements, energized separately within the individual DHW tanks, provide auxiliary energy for water heating. (MOW)

Research Organization:
International Business Machines Corp., Gaithersburg, MD (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
EG-77-C-01-4049
OSTI ID:
5816035
Report Number(s):
SOLAR/1017-79/14
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English