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Abstract:
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This project investigates the use to solar energy to heat Anheuser Busch’s storage facility in Fairfield, California, specifically using solar (Trombe) wall and an evacuated tube collector design considerations. This warehouse is currently using 25 steam heated air units that constantly malfunction. Anheuser Busch demands a solution to this problem by finding an alternative system that will meet the heat load requirements while at the same time utilize renewable energy sources. Using preexisting solar radiation data, as well as the facility constraints, an optimal solution will be presented.
Sources of Data
The hourly solar radiation data was collected from the National Solar Radiation Data Base for the Travis Field Air Force Base in Fairfield, California for 2005. The hourly temperature and wind velocities were taken from Weather Underground, a website that has historical data for various locations from 2006 to present. Microsoft Excel was used to perform the calculations necessary to present the solution.
Conclusions
The most optimal solution for this project was the Trombe wall design. The October 4th heat load demand is 35 MW and the wall capacity is 7 MW. This only meets 20% of the heat demand and the other two selected days were even less, therefore auxiliary heat must be supplied. The evacuated tube collector’s smallest storage tank is 859 m3 (227,000 gallons), which is an impractical and costly design. |
