InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue3,June2013 www.ijesci.

org

EmissionReductionResearchonSolarHot
WaterSystemProject
WeiLi1,ChaoHuang2*,MinghuanLi3,XiuqinMa4
SchoolofEnergyandenvironmentEngineering,HebeiUniversityofTechnology,Tianjin,China,300401
877207202@qq.com;2huangchao@hebut.edu.cn;31060041857@qq.com;4xiuqin_m@hebut.edu.cn

Abstract
Energy is nearly exhausted, and climate is changing
seriously in current. On the road to vigorously develop
energyconservation,andtoseekcleanandrenewableenergy
inChina,asacleanenergy,theapplicationofsolarenergyin
buildings has been strongly developed and researched. In
this paper, pollutant emission reductions, environmental
benefits, economic benefits and social benefits of solar hot
water system project of a residential area in Tianjin are
calculated and analyzed. The mode of hot centralized
collection and individual heating is used in this solar hot
water system project. It can be seen that solar energy
technology plays an important role in energy conservation
and emissions reduction in China, and has a profound
significanceforpromotion.
Keywords
Solar Hot Water System; Co2 Emission Reductions; Pollutant
Emissions;EconomicBenefits;EnergyConservationandEmission
Reduction

Introduction
With the features of large total amount, clean and
nonpolluting,andthereisnodepletionphenomenon,
solarenergyresourcenowhasbecomeoneofthemost
importantrenewableenergy.Sincethe21stcentury,the
utilizationofsolarenergytechnologyhasbeenwidely
developed. The utilization of solar energy technology
is converting solar radiation into heat or electricity of
two ways, one of the most important ways is
converting the solar radiation into heat instead of the
burning of fossil fuels, the technology in buildings
includesheating,airconditioning,hotwaterandsoon.
The development and utilization ofsolarenergy isan
importantaspectofbuildingenergyconservation,and
it has made a great contribution to solve todays
energycrisis,globalwarmingandotherissues.
Theannualamountofsolarradiationis5152.363MJ/m2,
which in the lighting surface of the solar collector is
5966MJ/m2,theannualsunshinetimeis2612.7hours,
so it has abundant solar energy resources in Tianjin.
Therefore, in this background, this paper chooses the

project of a residential area with the using of solar

waterheatingsystemstosupplydomestichotwaterin
Tianjin.Bycalculatingtheprojectemissionreductions
of greenhouse gases (CO2) and air pollution, and the
project internal rate of return, the paper analyzes the
engineering practice in three aspects which are the
environmental benefits, economic benefits and social
benefits, respectively. Through the analysis, it can be
seenthatthesolarhotwatersystemhasgreatbenefits
ineachaspect,whichisworthpromoting,anditisan
important mean to achieve energy conservation and
emissionreductioninChina.
Solar Hot Water Project
AnewresidentialareahasbeenconstructedinTianjin,
the total land area is 153,595.20 m2, planning
construction area is 153.600 m2, the construction is
small highrises, the household is 2424, the estimated
total resident population is 7757. Taking into account
of the uneven using heat of residential users, and the
problemofthedifficulttochargeforthehotwaterby
the central heating, it uses solar water heating system
for residential users providing domestic hot water in
the area, whose mode is the latest hot centralized
collectionandindividualheating.
With the mode of hot centralized collection and
individual heating, the solar collector is centrally
arranged on the roof of each building, as shown in
figure 1. Water tank is set up in the roof, while solar
thermal storage tank is installed in per household to
separately provide hot water for the household. Heat
collected by solar collectors is centrally stored in the
tankwhichisintheequipmentroomontheroof,and
uniformly delivered to storage tanks of every
household used for heat transfer through the pipe
network. In addition, in order to ensure to meet the
24hourdomestichotwatersupply,waterstoragetank
in each household added the electric auxiliary
equipment.Whentheweatherisbetterandsunshineis
ample,heatcollectedbythesolarcollectorcanprovide

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FIG1THELIVEACTIONOFRESIDENTIALSOLARCOLLECTORS

theheatrequiredbythehousehold,whenitislackof
sunshine,thehouseholdcanstarttheelectricauxiliary
heatingequipmenttomeetthedemandfortheheat.

electric water heater can be used under pressure, the

user pays the water bill. It is quick and easy for the
users[1].

TheSAMPheatpipevacuumtubecollectorisusedin
the solar water heating system, its model is C3SD1 *
8L, Dimension is 100mm 2000mm, it mainly
consistedbytheheatpipe,theabsorberplate,theglass
tube,themetalendcapandthegetterdeviceandetc.
Bydesign,itisneedtoinstall2984collectors,thetotal
collector area is over 3000 m2, the heat gain efficiency
of the collector is up to 60% 68%. The annual solar
fraction of solar water heating systems is up to 65%.
Thewaterstoragetankisinstalledineveryhousehold
toilet, which is the 80L SAMP horizontal enamel
interiortank.The64GermanyVillecirculatingpumps
areinstalled,pumppoweris800W,pumpflowrateis
1020 tons / hour, and pump head is 828m. When
there is sufficient solar energy, the water in the
collectoris heated bysolar radiation through the heat
exchanger.Whenthewatertemperaturereachestheset
requirement,thehotwatercirculatingpumpbeginsto
work,thehotwaterisdeliveredtotheusershotwater
tankforstorage.Meanwhile,a1.5KWelectricalheating
equipment is installed in the household hot water
storagetanktomeetthedemand.Whenthewatercan
not be heated by solar energy to the desired
temperature, the user can open the electric heating
equipment. The way of the system is fell into the
freezing measures. When the pumps stop working,
due to gravity, the water in the collector and
circulationlinewillautomaticallyfallbacktothewater
tank, without the need for other energy. Solar water
heater in the bathroom which is like to conventional

Environmental Benefits

170

The data provided by the project owners shows that,

there are 2,424 households in the district in total, the
designedwaterconsumptionofhouseholdsis150L/d,
the designed hot water temperature of Tianjin area is
50C, the designed cold water temperature is 10C[2].
The heat of the community yearround supply for
domestichotwatercanbecalculatedasfollows:
13
HG m
c T2 T1 2.22 10 J (1)
Where:
HG Heatrequiredbythecommunityallyearround
supplyingfordomestichotwater,J;

m Daily designed water consumption of every

household,L/d;

c Specificheatofwater4186J/(kg).
T1
Initialtemperatureofwater,;
T2 Designedtemperatureofdomestichotwater,can
be selected according to the parameters of the design
document,;

The annual solar fraction of solar hot water system is

up to 65%, and then the heat of the solar hot water
systemperyearcanbecalculatedasfollows:
13
13
HGW 2.22 10 65% 1.443 10 J (2)

InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue3,June2013 www.ijesci.org

Where:

activity,t;

HGW :Theannualheatofthesolarhotwatersystem,
J.

D :Dustcontentinthecoal,%;

Compared with the project supporting hot water for

the households with coalfired boilers in Tianjin, the
allyearround solar energy hot water system
supporting the energy can save a lot of coal, and the
amountofcoalsavingcanbecalculatedas(3),
M=

HG W
NCV

= 720.10t (3)

Where:

M : The amount of coal saving of the solar hot water

systemperyearofthedistrict,t;
HGW :Heatofthesolarhotwatersystemperyearof
thedistrict,J;
NCV : Lower order heat of coal, we select 27170kJ/kg
basedoncoalquality

Wecanseethatthedistrictsavesalotofcoalbyusing
solarenergy,soreducesalargenumberofemissionsof
the greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Emission
reductioncanbecalculatedasfollows[3].
1)CalculationofCO2EmissionsAnnually
ERCO M NCV EFCO 10
2
2

12

1850.86t

(4)

fa :Sharethatflyashofsootaccountsinthetotal

ash,thevalueisrelevanttotheburningway,%;
d : The dust removal efficiency of coalfired

boilersandotherequipments,%;
C soot :Contentofcarboninthesoot,%.

(3) Calculation of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions

Annually

ERSO 2 M S 1 S 0.71t (6)

2

Where:
ER SO

2 : Sulfur dioxide emissions of the project

activity,t;
M : The amount of coal saving of the project
activity,t;
S :Theshareofcombustiblesulfurincoal,%;
S : The desulfurization efficiency of coalfired

boilersandotherequipments,%.
4)CalculationofNOXEmissionsAnnually
ERNO

1.63 M N 0.000938 5.21t

(7)

Where:
ER CO :CO2emissionsoftheprojectactivity,t;
2

NCV : The program lower order heat of coal, we

select27170kJ/kgbasedoncoalquality;
M : The amount of coal saving of the project
activity,t;

EFCO : CO2 emission factor of per unit coal,

2

Where:
ERNO :NOXemissionsoftheprojectactivity,t;
X
M : The amount of coal saving of the project
activity,t;
N :ThecontentofNitrogeninthecoal,%;

:Nitrogenconversionrateinthecoal,%.
TABLE1EMISSIONREDUCTIONSUNITT

tCO2e/TJ.
2)CalculationoftheSootEmissionsAnnually

Types

Reductions

CO2

1850.86

ERsoot

M D Pfa 1- d
1-Csoot

0.24t (5)

Where:

SO2

0.71

NOX

5.21

Soot

0.24

CO

32.92

ERsoot :Sootemissionsoftheprojectactivity,t;

5)CalculationofCOEmissionsAnnually

M : The amount of coal saving of the project

ERCO 2.33 M C 32.92t (8)

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Where:

According to the data from table 3.1 , it can be

calculatedthatthisprojectcanrecoverthecostineight
years,theinternalrateofreturn(IRR)withorwithout
CERsincomeinoperationlifetime,canbeseenintable
3[5].

ERCO :COemissionsoftheprojectactivity,t;
M : The amount of coal saving of the project
activity,t;

During the operation period, with the rising prices,

energy shortage, electricity bill and income may
change. With the use of the system, Maintenance
expenditure will also be increased. So in the paper,
threeparameterfactorsareconsideredinthefollowing
sensitivity analysis, they are annual income, annual
operationandmaintenancecost,andinitialinvestment.
The IRR of the proposed project (without CERs
revenue)variestodifferentextent,asshownintable4
andfigure2.

C :Thecontentofcarboninthecoal,,%;

:Theincompletecombustionofthecoal,%.
So we can get the emission reductions of
greenhouse gases and air pollutants every year
thoughcalculation,theresultsshowintable1.
Economic Benefits
Accordingtothedatareportoftheproject,wecansee
the economic parameters of the project, detailed data
areshowedintable2[4].

TABLE2ECONOMICPARAMETERSOFTHEPROJECT

Parameters
TotalInvestment
OperationLifetime
O&MExpenditure
CERsPrice[4]

Unit
10000Yuan
Year
10000Yuan/Year
$US/tCO2
10000Yuan/Year
10000Yuan/Year

WithoutCERs
WithCERs

AnnualEconomicIncome

Value
1076
15
174.14
7
314.15
322.22

Source
ProjectDataReport
ProjectDataReport
ProjectDataReport
ChinaCDMInformationCentre
ProjectDataReport
StatisticalCalculation

TABLE3COMPARISONOFFINANCIALINDICATORIRRWITHANDWITHOUTCERREVENUE

Parameters

Unit

WithoutCERs

WithCERs

BaselineIRR

IRR

9.82

12.05

TABLE4SENSITIVITYANALYSISONIRROFTHEPROJECTACTIVITY

RangeofVariation

5%

2%

2%

5%

AnnualIncome

7.82%

9.03%

9.82%

10.59%

11.73%

AnnualO&MCost

10.89%

10.25%

9.82%

9.38%

8.72%

InitialInvestment

10.73%

10.17%

9.82%

9.48%

8.98%

Sensitivity analysis of the Project

12.00%
11.50%
11.00%
10.50%
10.00%
9.50%
9.00%
8.50%
8.00%
7.50%
7.00%

-5%

-2%

Annual Income

0
Annual O&M cost

2%

5%
Total static investment

FIG2SENSITIVITYANALYSISOFTHEPROJECT

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InternationalJournalofEnergyScience(IJES)Volume3Issue3,June2013 www.ijesci.org

Social Benefits
Hot centralized collection and individual heating is
used in this solar hot water system in the district.
Basedonthelasttwosectionsoftheeconomicbenefits
andenvironmentbenefitsanalysis,theannualaverage
energy conservation rate can reach 65%, and it can
reducetheamountemissionsofgreenhousegasesand
air pollutant during the lifetime. At the same time, if
CO2 emissions of this project can be traded in carbon
market,itcanalsogetasubstantialamountofincome.
Theimplementationofthisprojectnotonlysolvesthe
problem of household hot water using, but also
reduces the use of fossil energy, reduces greenhouse
gas emissions for the country, for the community.
Meanwhile, the project has a lot of bright spots, and
whoseimplementationbringshugesocialbenefits.
(1) Although the initial investment is great, but the
later running costs is smaller. Solar collectors are
combined with roof slope perfectly. It is not only to
ensuretheappearanceofbuildingfacades,butalsoto
ensuretheefficiencyandsafeoperationofthecollector.
During the lifetime of the solar equipment, electricity
savings is far exceeding the cost of the products
households pay for. For the households, the
consumption of conventional energy is reduced, heat
utilitiesexpensesisreduced,anditismoreconvenient
touse,aroundenvironmentiscleaner,householdslive
more enjoyable. For residential investors, the
residentialqualityisimprovedbecauseofthedesign,it
is not only response to the government policy of
energy conservation, but also increases the selling
point,achieves return oninvestment,it can be said to
achieveawinwin.
(2) The design of the solar hot water system is
innovative, traditional hot centralized collection and
centralizedheatingisbroke.Therunningmodeofhot
centralized collection and individual heating is used,
whichsolvesthelongandembarrassingsituationthat
itisdifficulttoinstallsolarforthehighriseresidential.
After many arguments, hot centralized collection and
individual heating is proved to be a scientific and
feasible green energy program. It can be said that the
successfulapplicationofthedemonstrationprojecthas
setoffconstructionboomwhichisawaveofhighrise
residentialbuildingintegratedsolarenergyproject.
(3) In recent years, because of countrys mandatory
requirementonenergyefficiencyofnewconstructions,
when the engineers are designing, the most headache
problemishowtoachieveenergysaving.Atthesame

time the solar energy equipment manufacturers are

also actively exploring products that are energy
conservation and environmental protection. In this
project, designers and solar energy equipment
manufacturersmakeconcertedeffortindesigningthis
system, energy conservation design concept of the
engineers has been achieved, the more outstanding,
applicable solar products are introduced by the solar
energyequipmentmanufacturers.
(4) If CO2 emissions of the project are certified to
produce CERs, through the previous calculation,
incomecanbeincreased.Atthesametime,itprovides
help to theachievement of the national energysaving
emission reduction targets. The construction industry
is a high energyconsuming industry, the successful
development of the project has a very great project
promotionprospects.
Conclusions
Energyisexhausted,andclimateischangingseriously
in current. On the road to vigorously develop energy
conservation,andtoseekcleanandrenewableenergy
in China, as a clean energy, the application of solar
energy in buildings has strong development and
research. In this paper, pollutant emission reductions,
environmental benefits, economic benefits and social
benefits of solar hot water system project of a
residentialareainTianjinarecalculatedandanalyzed.
The modeofhot centralized collection and individual
heating is used in this solar hot water system project.
By calculation, it can save 720.10 tons coal in this
project every year, so that CO2 emissions annually is
1,779.56t, SO2 emissions is 0.71t, NOX emissions is
5.21t,COemissionsis32.92t,sootemissionsis0.24t.At
the same time, by the internal rate of return and
sensitivity analysis, IRR of this project including
environmental benefits is 12.05%, with a strong
economic attraction. Energy are saved, emissions are
reducedintheproject.Whetherforhouseholdsorthe
stateandsociety,ithasenormoussocialbenefits.Thus
itcanbeseen,thesolarenergyasanewcleanenergy,
its technology will be an important technology in the
future. It provides an important means for our
countrysenergyconservationandemissionreduction,
fightingclimatechangeandsustainabledevelopment.
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