Kalogirou, S.A.
September 2000
Energy, vol 27-9, p. 813-830
The thermal utilization of solar energy is usually confined to domestic hot water systems and somewhat to space heating at temperatures up to 60 degrees C. Industrial process heat has a considerable potential for solar energy utilization. Cyprus has a small isolated energy system, almost totally dependent on imported fuels to meet its energy demand. The abundance of solar radiation together with a good technological base, created favorable conditions for the exploitation of solar energy in the island. The number of units in operation today corresponds to one heater for every 3.7 people in the island, which is a world record. Despite this impressive record no solar industrial process heat system is in operation today. The main problem for this is the big expenditure required for such a system and the uncertainty of the benefits. The objective of this work was to investigate the viability of using parabolic trough collectors for industrial heat generation in Cyprus. The system is analyzed both thermally and economically with TRNSYS and the TMY for Nicosia, Cyprus, in order to show the magnitude of the expected benefits.
Source: www.engineeringvillage2.org