Solar Energy 171 (2018) 604–612

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Solar Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Experimental study on the performance of a novel solar water heating T

system with and without PCM
⁎
Wei Wua, , Suzhou Daib, Zundi Liua, Yiping Douc, Junye Huaa, Mengyang Lia, Xinyu Wanga,
Xiaoyu Wanga
a
School of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210042, China
b
School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
c
School of Electrical and Automation Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210042, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this paper, a novel solar water heating system (SWHS), capable of reducing the impact of solar radiation
Solar water heating system intensity fluctuations, has been fabricated by using phase change materials (PCM) for thermal energy storage
Phase change material and inserted oscillating heat pipe (OHP) for performance improvement. Different working modes can be selected
Collecting efficiency according to the solar radiation intensity in different seasons and different climate conditions. A test rig has also
Coefficient of performance (COP)
been made for the performance measurement of the system. The full-year measurement in all kinds of en-
vironmental conditions has been carried out for a couple of consecutive years, in Nanjing city of China. The
system performances, such as collecting efficiency (CE), average collecting efficiency (ACE), coefficient of
performance (COP) and exit water temperature (EWT), have been measured and compared between the systems
with and without PCM. Under similar operation conditions, the system with PCM is illustrated to have much
better performances. In daytime, CE fluctuation with PCM is over 30% less than that without PCM. At summer
night, EWT with PCM can keep over 50 °C, while EWT without PCM has an obvious decrease. At winter night,
COP with PCM is over 3.0 that can make EWT reach to 50 °C in a much shorter time than that without PCM. The
system presented is proved to be effective and useful in the application of solar energy.

1. Introduction Moreno-Rodríguez et al. (2012) made experimental investigations on a

Solar energy is a renewable and inexhaustible source that is avail-
able on earth in abundant, which has the most potential among green
energy sources. Solar water heating systems (SWHS), as one of the most
mature solar energy devices, have been widely used in many countries
and regions all over the world. However, conventional SWHSs are
highly dependent on solar irradiance and therefore suffers from the
sporadic nature of solar energy across a given time interval. Usually,
continuous and efficient operation of conventional SWHS requires ad-
ditional electrical heating to compensate thermal energy, which will
increase energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission.
Heat pump is one of the energy conservation device that can convert
the low-grade thermal energy to a higher level for thermal applications.
Combining solar energy with heat pump is one of the best technologies
to improve the overall performances of SWHS (Ji et al., 2015; Jonas
et al., 2017; Suleman et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2014), such as in-
creasing the water temperature (Nuntaphan et al., 2009) and short-
ening the time for the temperature increasing (Kalogirou, 2004).
direct-expansion solar assisted heat pump for domestic hot water pro-
duction, and found that COP was between 1.7 and 2.9, while the water
temperature in the tank reached 51 °C.
As the heating capacity of heat pump is also affected by solar ra-
diation, the problem of the dependence on solar radiation still exists for
a SWHS with heat pump. Adding energy storage device into SWHS is an
alternative to solve this problem (Papadimitratos et al., 2016). Vast
amount of literature on the topic of energy storage devices in SWHS can
be found. Energy storage devices can be classified according to energy
storage modes as: sensible heat storage, latent heat storage and che-
mical reaction thermal storage. Latent heat storage is widely used be-
cause of its high energy storage density, wide range of phase change
temperature, approximate isothermal energy storage, easy process
control and so on (Shukla et al., 2009; Sharma et al., 2013). In recent
years, the utilization of PCM that use latent heat for heat storage in
SWHS is popular (Nallusamy et al., 2007; Sharif et al., 2015; Youssef
et al., 2017). Fazilati and Alemrajabi (2013) demonstrated that the
energy storage density is increased up to 39% and the exergy efficiency

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wuwei@njnu.edu.cn (W. Wu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.07.005
Received 19 April 2018; Received in revised form 11 June 2018; Accepted 2 July 2018
Available online 09 July 2018
0038-092X/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
W. Wu et al. Solar Energy 171 (2018) 604–612

Nomenclature ti inlet water temperature of solar collector (°C)

to outlet water temperature of solar collector (°C)
A surface area of solar collector (m2)
cw specific heat of water (J/(kg·K)) Greek letters
I solar radiation intensity (W/m2)
P total mechanical power of the system (W) ρ water density (kg/m3)
qvh circulating water volume flow rate on the condenser side η collecting efficiency of solar collector (–)
of heat pump (m3/s)
qvw circulating water volume flow rate of solar collector (m3/ Abbreviations
s)
Фw heat gained by circulating water on the condenser side of ACE average collecting efficiency (–)
heat pump (W) CE collecting efficiency (–)
ta ambient temperature (°C) COP coefficient of performance (–)
thi inlet water temperature on the condenser side of heat EWT exit water temperature (°C)
pump (°C) OHP oscillating heat pipe
tho outlet water temperature on the condenser side of heat PCM phase change material
pump (°C)

is enhanced up to 16% by using PCM in SWHS. Papadimitratos et al.
(2016) presented a novel method of integrating PCM with solar col-
lectors. Using this method, the efficiency increased by 26% for normal
operation and 66% for the stagnation mode.
Among the PCMs, paraffin has some good properties for thermal
energy storage and is thus widely used in solar heating system, heat
pump and other fields (Qi et al., 2016; Reyes et al., 2015; Feliński and
Sekret, 2016). Paraffin has suitable melting point, relatively high latent
heat and are characterized by negligible supercooling (Zalba et al.,
2003). Moreover, paraffin is chemically stable, non-corrosive and melts
with no phase separation (Sharma et al., 2009). Sobhansarbandi et al.
(2017) utilized PCM (octadecane paraffin) to increase the heat accu-
mulation for application in solar water heaters. Abokersh et al. (2017)
found that integrating the PCM in solar collector has a favorable per-
formance over the typical forced recirculation solar water heating
system during the simultaneous operation and the real water con-
sumption profile operation.
Solar collector is the core component of SWHS to receive solar en-
ergy and transform it into thermal energy. Kürklü et al. (2002) put
paraffin in a flat plate solar collector. The results showed that the
paraffin enhanced the performance of the flat plate solar collector.
Feliński and Sekret (2016, 2017) studied evacuated tube collector/
storage system containing paraffin. They concluded that the total
amount of useful heat obtained from the system was increased by
45–79%. They also found that the evacuated tube collector with par-
affin can delay the heat losing at night when the intensity of solar ra-
diation was insufficient.
Improving the performance of solar collector is of great significance
for SWHS. Heat pipe has high heat transfer efficiency (Zhang et al.,
2017). The application of heat pipe in solar collector can obviously

Fig. 1. SWHS with inserted oscillating heat pipe.

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W. Wu et al.
improve the system performances, such as heat collecting efficiency,
ability to avoid freezing and scaling, low cost and reliability (Kabeel
et al., 2017; Hayek et al., 2011; Dan et al., 2013). As a new kind of heat
pipe, oscillating heat pipe (OHP) is high in efficiency, simple in struc-
ture and low in cost (Xu et al., 2017). Rittidech and Wannapakne
(2007), Rittidech et al. (2009) investigated the performances of two
solar collectors, one with a closed-end OHP and the other with a closed-
loop OHP. The results showed that except their good characteristics
such as simple construction, corrosion free and freezing free in winter,
the efficiencies of both collectors can reach about 60–70%, which is
comparable to that of the solar collectors with the usual heat pipes.
In our study, a novel SWHS, capable of reducing the impact of solar
irradiance fluctuations, has been fabricated by using PCM for thermal
energy storage and inserted oscillating heat pipe (OHP) for improving
thermal efficiency. The system can manually switch operation modes
according to solar radiation intensity, such as summer operation mode
for direct water heating and hot water supplying, winter operation
mode to use heat pump for compensating and reducing energy con-
sumption. A test rig has also been made for the performance mea-
surement of the system. For the performance comparison by only one
test rig, the full-year measurements have been carried out for a couple
of consecutive years, which is one year for the test rig without PCMs
and another year with PCMs. The test data for comparison is carefully
selected and classified according to the similar conditions, such as solar
radiation intensity, solar radiation fluctuation and ambient tempera-
ture. Different factors, such as seasonal changes, different time in a day
and different climate conditions, are taken into consideration for the
measurement and comparison. As all the measurements were carried
out under normal weather conditions without strong wind, we ignored
the factor of wind speed. The comparison and experimental results
show that the overall thermal performances of the novel SWHS are
effectively improved compared with conventional SWHS.
2. Solar water heating system (SWHS)
2.1. SWHS
The schematic diagram of our SWHS is shown in Fig. 1. Main
components of the system are energy storage solar collector with in-
serted oscillating heat pipe, evaporator, compressor, water-cooling
condenser, external equalizer thermostatic expansion valve, water
pump, shut-off valve, water tank, and so on. The specifications and sizes
of the equipment are listed in Table 1. As may be seen from Fig. 1, the
recycling path of heat pump is composed of serial connection of com-
pressor, water-cooling condenser, external equalizer thermostatic ex-
pansion valve and evaporator. This recirculating pump is operating
according to the water temperature. The pump should be manually
turned on when the temperature is below a set-up value, turned off after
the temperature is over a set-up value. The water-circulating path is
Table 1
The specifications and sizes of the equipment.
Items Specifications and models
Energy storage solar collector with inserted Self-developed
oscillating heat pipe
Solar evacuated tube ϕ58 × 1.6
Water pump PB-H089EAH
Compressor CAJ4511Y
Water-cooling condenser Self-developed
Plate heat exchanger ZL14-14D
Equalizer thermostatic valve FVE-1/2-C
Water tank Self-developed
Solar Energy 171 (2018) 604–612
Fig. 2. Energy storage solar collector with inserted oscillating heat pipe.
composed of evaporator, water-cooling condenser, water tank, water
pump, shut-off valve and pipelines of heat exchangers connected in
parallel with each other. The schematic diagram of energy storage solar
collector with inserted oscillating heat pipe is depicted in Fig. 2. It
comprises of solar evacuated tube, oscillating heat pipe exchanger and
PCM. The evaporator section of heat exchanger is arranged in solar
evacuated tube in the form of U-tube. PCMs are filled between the
evaporator section of heat exchanger and solar evacuated tube. The
heat exchanger, composed of oscillating heat pipe and the shell, shown
in Figs. 3 and 4, is made of copper with R134a inside as the heat
transfer medium, the filling rate of which is 50%. The circulating water
flows between the heat exchanger shell and condenser section of os-
cillating heat pipe.
By switching the shut-off valves, the system can operate in different
modes according to the seasonal change of solar radiation intensity.
2.2. Operation mode
The measuring point layout of the system with different operation
modes is shown in Fig. 5. Our SWHS is designed for home use, sup-
plying hot water mainly at night or the next morning. The water is
recirculated in a closed loop. In summer, as solar radiation during the
day is strong enough to highly raise the inner temperature of solar
collector, the heat pump stops working. The shut-off valve A and C are
opened, B and D are closed, as shown in Fig. 5(a). PCM will transfer the
instantaneous heat or the heat stored during the day to the evaporator
section of heat exchanger. Through the medium of oscillating heat pipe,
this part of heat is efficiently transferred to the condenser section of
Parameters
Total length: 1540 mm, Total length of evaporation section and adiabatic section: 1210 mm,
External diameter: 4 mm, Internal diameter: 3 mm
Length: 1.6 m, External diameter: 58 mm, Internal diameter: 47 mm
Maximum range: 8 m, Maximum flow: 25L/min (1.5 t/h), Rated range: 5.5 m, Rated flow: 13L/
min
Rated power: 0.75 kW, Working medium: R134a, Cylinder displacement: 32.7 cm3, 220–240 V,
50 Hz
Heat exchange: 3.5 kW, Inner tube: ϕ19 mm × 1.2 mm, Outer tube: ϕ28 mm × 1.5 mm, Effective
pipe length: 5.6 m
Heat exchange: 0.74 kW, Design pressure: 3.0 MPa, Design temperature: −196 to 225 °C,
Maximum flow: 8 m3/h.
Refrigerating capacity: 0.49US.RT, Entrance size: 1/4″, Export size: 1/2″SAE
0.5 m × 0.6 m × 0.7 m, Stainless steel, Thermal insulation material: 50 mm
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heat exchanger, heating the circulating water directly. During night
period, the thermal energy stored in PCM is good enough to keep the
required temperature.
In winter or rainy days, the inner temperature of solar collector is
low due to the weak solar radiation. The instantaneous heat or the heat
stored during the day is insufficient to heat the circulating water to the
required temperature. Winter operation mode is then switched on. In
this mode, the heat pump will start to work, with the valve B and D
opened, A and C closed, as shown in Fig. 5(b). The transferring path of
the heat stored during the day is from the heat exchanger to the eva-
porator of heat pump, through the condenser side of heat pump, to the
water tank. This part of thermal energy compensated by heat pump can
efficiently heat the circulating water to the required temperature.
However, it is necessary to manually start the system ahead of time. We
are planning to realize the automatic control to switch operation modes
in our future study.
3. Test rig and evaluation index
3.1. Test rig
A test rig for the performance measurement of the system, shown in
Fig. 6, has been fabricated and established in Nanjing Normal Uni-
versity, Nanjing, China (Latitude of 32.0719°N and longitude of
118.8195°E). The PCM used in experiments is 48# paraffin wax, the
specifications of which are listed in Table 2. The amount of paraffin
used in the system is about 44 kg, which can fully fill 18 solar evacuated
tubes. Solar radiation intensity is measured by solar radiometer (Global
Water WE300) and solar radiation data logger (GL500-7-2). The power
of compressor and pump are measured by electrical parameter
1. Oscillating heat pipe 2. The shell of heat exchanger 3. Sealing cover of
evacuated tube 4. Fixed aluminum sheet
Fig. 4. Heat exchanger with oscillating heat pipe. 1. Oscillating heat pipe 2. The shell of heat exchanger 3. Sealing cover of evacuated tube 4. Fixed aluminum sheet.
607
Solar Energy 171 (2018) 604–612
Fig. 3. Heat exchanger with oscillating heat
pipe.
integrated measuring instrument. Pressure transmitters are used for the
measurement of the inlet and outlet pressure of condenser and eva-
porator. K-thermocouple is used for the temperature measurement of
tank water. A thermocouple is placed outside to measure the ambient
temperature. Turbine flow meter is for the measurement of refrigerant
flow in heat pump system. Glass rotor flow meter is to measure the
circulating water flow. The data acquisition device, Agilent34972A, is
to collect data for one time every 10 s. The main instruments and
equipment of the test rig are listed in Table 3.
3.2. Evaluation index
3.2.1. Collecting efficiency (CE)
Collecting efficiency η is defined as follows (Azad, 2008):
The energy out put from the solar collector
η=
The solar energy projected onto the surface of the solar collector
where the energy output from the solar collector is used for heating
circulating water on the condensing side of heat exchanger. Therefore,
the collecting efficiency η can be expressed as:
c w ρqvw (to−ti )
η=
AI (1)
Eq. (1) is for the evaluation of the SWHS’s ability to collect solar
energy and ability to heat water. We use (1) to compare these system
abilities, with and without PCM, under the similar conditions.
3.2.2. Coefficient of performance (COP)
COP of the system is the ratio of heat gained by circulating water to
the mechanical power supplied to the system, expressed as
W. Wu et al. Solar Energy 171 (2018) 604–612

Table 2
The specifications of 48# paraffin.
Phase change specific heat (kJ/ Density (kg/m3) Latent heat
temperature (°C) (kg·K)) (kJ/kg)

Solid Liquid Solid state Liquid state

state state

48–50 3.2 2.8 912 769 234

3.2.3. Exit water temperature (EWT)

EWT is usually required in the relevant standards of China, such as
the technical standard for solar water heating system (GB50788-2012),
where the exit temperature of domestic hot water is required no less
than 45 °C. In our study, the energy consumption and the time spent to
heat the water to over 50 °C are measured to evaluate the system per-
formance.
a. Summer operation mode
3.3. Experimental error analysis

The relative errors can be obtained by error transfer method (Zhang

et al., 2006; Zhu et al., 2015). The CE and COP are determined by (1)
and (2), where ρ, cw and A can be regarded as exact value. Therefore,
the relative error of CE and COP can be calculated by (3) and (4) as
follows:
2 2 2
Δη
⩽ ⎛ 2Δt ⎞ + ⎛ ΔI ⎞ + ⎜⎛ Δqvw ⎟⎞
⎜ ⎟

η ⎝ to−ti ⎠ ⎝ I ⎠ ⎝ qvw ⎠ (3)

2 2 2
ΔCOP
⩽ ⎛ 2Δt ⎞ + ⎜⎛ Δqvh ⎟⎞ + ⎛ ΔP ⎞
⎜ ⎟

COP ⎝ tho−thi ⎠ ⎝ qvh ⎠ ⎝ P ⎠ (4)

According to the accuracy data of the instruments listed in Table 1
and by the calculation using (3) and (4), the relative errors of our ex-
periment are 8.9% for CE and 4.2% for COP.

4. Results and discussion

b. Winter operation mode

4.1. Collecting efficiency (CE) during daytime in summer
Fig. 5. Measuring point layout of the system with different operation mode.
A series of experimental investigations on CE of the system during
daytime in summer, with and without PCM, have been carried out. The
variations of CE with different solar radiation intensity are shown in
Figs. 7 and 8.
From Figs. 7 and 8, CE comparison between the collectors, with and
without PCM, can be obtained as shown in Table 4.
It can be seen that under similar conditions (ambient temperature,
solar radiation intensity and deviation of solar radiation),

(1). PCM can effectively reduce CE fluctuations both in strong and

(2). PCM can effectively increase CE in weak solar radiation. In strong
Fig. 6. Test rig of energy storage solar water heating system with inserted os-
cillating heat pipe.
weak solar radiation. The volatility of CE with PCM is 73% less
than that without PCM in strong solar radiation, and 46% less in
weak solar radiation. This is because that PCM can store the
thermal energy during the phase transformation process when
solar radiation is strong and release it when solar radiation is weak.
Therefore, the system with PCM can overcome the immediate in-
fluence of the solar radiation fluctuation.
solar radiation, CE without PCM is a little bit higher than that with
PCM, which means PCM is more effective to improve CE in weak
solar radiation.

Φw c w ρqvh (tho−thi )
COP = = The average collecting efficiencies (ACE) comparison between the
P P (2)
system with and without PCM is shown in Table 5, where ta stands for
ambient temperature, I for solar radiation intensity and all data is the
average value measured during daytime.

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Table 3
The main instruments and equipment of the test rig.
Items Technical Specification

Thermocouple OMG-TT-K-30-SLE, Measuring rang: −200 to 1300 °C, Allowable deviation: ± 0.1 °C
Glass rotor flow meter LZB-6WB, Measuring rang: 0.1–1 L/min, Measuring accuracy: 2.5%
Turbine flow meter TKLWY-10C, Measuring rang: 0.04–800 m3/h, Measuring accuracy: 1.0%Fs
Pressure transmitter MPM480, Measuring range of low pressure end: 1–1.5Mpa, Measuring range of high pressure end: 1–3 MPa, Measuring
accuracy: ± 0.25%
Electrical parameter integrated measuring AN7931X, Voltage rating range: 20.0–600.0 V, Current rating range: 0.03 A–5.00 A–40.00 A, Measuring accuracy: 0.5%
instrument
Solar radiometer Global Water WE300, Measuring rang: 0–1500 W/(m2), Spectral range: 0.3–3 μm, Measuring accuracy: ± 1%

a. The system without PCM a. The system without PCM.

b. The system with PCM.

b. The system with PCM
Fig. 8. Variations of CE in summer when the solar radiation is weak.
Fig. 7. Variations of CE in summer when the solar radiation is strong.

Table 4
It can be seen from Table 5, under similar conditions (solar radia- CE comparison between the collector with and without PCM in summer.
tion and ambient temperature), ACE without PCM is about 5% higher
Items Strong solar radiation Weak solar radiation
on average than that with PCM for I > 300 W/m2 and at least 5% less
than that with PCM for I < 300 W/m2. This comparison result shows Without PCM With PCM Without PCM With PCM
that PCM is more effective to improve ACE in weak solar radiation.
The impact of PCM on heat output at various solar radiation in- Average solar radiation 464 463 270 265
tensities has also been illustrated as shown in Fig. 9 where: intensity (W/m2)
Average ambient 30.0 29.2 28.3 29.5
temperature (°C)
(1). The heat output without PCM approximately increases linearly Standard deviation of 32.72 34.03 39.24 39.17
with the increase of solar radiation intensity and it is 10.9% bigger solar radiation
than that with PCM for I > 300 W/m2. intensity
Average CE 0.58 0.51 0.53 0.63
(2). The heat output with PCM is 13.5% bigger than that without PCM
Standard deviation of 0.11 0.03 0.13 0.07
for I < 300 W/m2. It is obvious that PCM is more effective to CE
improve heat output in weak solar radiation, which is in consistent
with the comparison result from Table 5.

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Table 5 (2). in winter, the heat pump evaporator continuously absorbs heat
ACE comparison in summer. from the circulating water, which reduces the circulating water
Without PCM With PCM temperature and increases the heat transfer temperature differ-
ence. Therefore, the heat output from the solar collector increases.
2
I (W/m ) ta (°C) ACE I (W/m2) ta (°C) ACE
As shown in Table 7 and Fig. 11, the ACE with PCM is about 0.15 on
551 33 0.67 548 33 0.63
462 33 0.66 468 32 0.61 average higher than that without PCM, the average heat output with
423 33 0.63 426 31 0.56 PCM is 24.6% more than that without PCM. This is because the PCM
364 30 0.59 350 30 0.55 filled in the collector can reduce the heat loss of the system, which is
302 29 0.56 308 28 0.56 large in winter due to low ambient temperature. However, with the
286 29 0.53 283 28 0.58
increase of solar radiation intensity, the heat stored by PCM increases,
279 28 0.54 277 27 0.59
258 26 0.53 252 26 0.64 and less heat will be transferred to the heat exchanger, thus the heat
output from the system with PCM is getting closer with that from the
system without PCM.

4.3. Exit water temperature (EWT) at summer night

EWT with or without PCM, has been measured at summer night as

shown in Fig. 12.
It can be seen from Fig. 12 that, during the same time interval from
19:40 pm to 00:00 am and with the same initial EWT (53.8 °C), EWT
with PCM reduces to 50.8 °C with ambient temperature 24.1 °C, while
EWT without PCM reduces to 47.6 °C with ambient temperature
28.8 °C. It is obvious that PCM can keep EWT to its required value (over
50.0 °C) during the night period, while EWT without PCM has an ob-
vious decrease and cannot meet the temperature requirement at night.

Fig. 9. Heat output-solar radiation intensity curves of the system in summer.

4.2. CE during daytime in winter

CE during daytime in winter, with and without PCM, has been

measured as shown in Fig. 10. The CE comparison between the col-
lectors, with and without PCM, can be obtained as shown in Table 6.
Compared with the collector without PCM, the standard deviation
of CE with PCM is 30% smaller when the standard deviation of solar
radiation intensity is similar. When the ambient temperature is lower,
the system heat loss increases and the average CE should decrease.
However the average CE with PCM is 11.5% higher even with a 3.6 °C
lower ambient temperature. This is because the PCM can release the
heat stored before and transfer it to the heat pump.
a. The system without PCM.
ACE comparison between the system with and without PCM in
winter is shown in Table 7. The heat output – solar radiation intensity
curves, with and without PCM, have been calculated as shown in
Fig. 11.
It can be seen from Table 7, under similar conditions (solar radia-
tion and ambient temperature), with the decrease of solar radiation
intensity and ambient temperature, ACE without PCM decreases and
ACE with PCM increases. This is because the PCM filled in the collector
can release the latent heat stored before. The lower the solar radiation
intensity or ambient temperature, the more heat is released by PCM.
From Table 5 and 7, it can be concluded that ACE in winter is higher
than that in summer under similar solar radiation, with or without
PCM. This is because,

(1). the circulating water temperature in summer is higher after ab-

sorbing the heat output from the solar collector, while the heat
transfer temperature difference between the circulating water and
the condensing side of oscillating heat pipe is smaller. Thus the b. The system filled with PCM.
heat output from the solar collector decreases.
Fig. 10. Time waveform of CE in winter.

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Table 6
CE comparison between the collector with and without PCM in winter.
Items Without PCM With PCM

2
Average solar radiation intensity (W/m ) 365 319
Average ambient temperature (°C) 10.2 6.6
Standard deviation of solar radiation intensity 38.32 38.85
Average CE 0.78 0.87
Standard deviation of CE 0.10 0.07

Table 7
ACE comparison in winter.
Without PCM With PCM

2
I (W/m ) ta (°C) ACE I (W/m2) ta (°C) ACE

466 18 0.74 467 18 0.76

423 16 0.73 431 17 0.77 a. The system without PCM.
416 16 0.73 428 16 0.77
398 15 0.70 411 15 0.80
356 13 0.69 352 10 0.85
298 11 0.66 288 9 0.91
251 10 0.65 259 8 0.93
234 7 0.63 228 6 0.96

b. The system with PCM.

Fig. 13. COP and heating time at winter night.

Table 8
Performance comparison at winter night.
Items Without PCM With PCM
Fig. 11. Heat output – solar radiation intensity curves of the system in winter.
Average ambient temperature (°C) 10.1 5.6
Average COP 1.55 3.18
26 °C corresponding time 16:30 16:30
35 °C corresponding time 17:40 17:30
45 °C corresponding time 19:40 18:30
55 °C corresponding time 23:20 21:10
The time from 26 °C to 55 °C (min) 410 280

4.4. Coefficient of performance (COP) and heating time at winter night

COP and EWT at winter night have been measured as shown in

Fig. 13.
Through the analysis of Fig. 13 with the data measured during the
same night period with the same initial water temperature 26 °C, the
performance comparison between the system with PCM and without
PCM can be obtained as listed in Table 8.
From Table 8, the performance with PCM is obviously much better,
with about 2 times higher COP and shorter time to heat water to the
required temperature even with a lower ambient temperature.

Fig. 12. EWT comparison between the system with and without PCM at
summer night. 5. Conclusions

A novel solar water heating system (SWHS), capable of reducing the

611
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impact of solar radiation intensity fluctuations, has been fabricated by
using phase change materials (PCM) for thermal energy storage and
inserted oscillating heat pipe (OHP) for improving thermal efficiency.
Different operation modes can be switched according to the solar ra-
diation intensity to realize the seasonal maximum utilization of solar
energy. A test rig has also been made for the performance measurement
of the system. The full-year measurement in all kinds of environmental
conditions has been carried out for a couple of consecutive years. The
system performances, such as collecting efficiency (CE), average col-
lecting efficiency (ACE), coefficient of performance (COP) and exit
water temperature (EWT), have been measured. Through extensive
experimental analysis and the performance comparison between the
systems with and without PCM, the system with PCM is illustrated to
have much better performances, such as higher in efficiency, faster in
heating water, capable to keep water temperature at required value.
Moreover, system with PCM can overcome the influence of the fluc-
tuation of solar radiation. Under similar operation conditions, the main
comparison results are as follows:
(1). In daytime, PCM can effectively reduce CE fluctuations both in
strong and weak solar radiation. The CE fluctuation with PCM is
over 30% less than that without PCM.
(2). At summer night, EWT with PCM can keep over 50 °C, while EWT
without PCM has an obvious decrease.
(3). At winter night, COP with PCM is over 3.0 that can make EWT
reach 50 °C in a much shorter time than that without PCM.
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of
Jiangsu Province, China [No. BK 20151549].
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