Geographic Constraints on Passive Solar Domestic Hot Water Systems Due to Pipe Freezing

Jim Salasovich, Jay Burch, Greg Barker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus Citations

Abstract

The supply and return piping of passive solar domestic hot water systems (SDHWS) is typically exposed to ambient weather conditions, and damaging pipe freeze is a major concern. This paper presents a pipe-freeze model that accounts for hot water draws and uses 30 years of actual weather data. The simulation results are cast in terms of pipe-freeze probabilities. Using contour maps of the continental United States, the pipe-freeze probabilities for residential, commercial, and seasonal passive SDHWS are presented for various pipe and insulation geometries.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)469-474
Number of pages6
JournalSolar Energy
Volume73
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2002

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-550-35015

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