Environmental Impact of Domestic Solar Water Heating Systems
Date Issued
2005
Author(s)
Abstract
In this paper a study on the environmental protection offered by domestic solar water heating
systems is presented. The systems investigated employ electricity or diesel as back-up auxiliary
energy. Both systems investigated produce about 2050 kWh of energy per year, cover about 89% of
the hot water needs and give positive and very promising financial characteristics. The results show
that by using solar energy for domestic water heating considerable amounts of greenhouse polluting
gasses are avoided. The savings, compared to a conventional system, are about 80%, with electricity
or diesel backup. With respect to life cycle assessment of the systems, the energy spent for the
manufacture and installation of the solar systems is recouped in about 1.2 years, whereas the
payback time with respect to emissions produced from the embodied energy required for the
manufacture and installation of the systems varies from a few months to 3.7 years according to the
fuel and the particular pollutant considered. Moreover the cost of damage avoided by some of the
pollutants is investigated with respect to damages to crops, materials, mortality and morbidity. It
was found that C£31 (Euro 51.7) are avoided per year when the system is using electricity as
auxiliary and C£13 (Euro 21.7) when diesel is used. It can therefore be concluded that solar energy
systems offer significant protection to the environment and cost savings and should be employed
whenever possible in order to achieve a sustainable future.
systems is presented. The systems investigated employ electricity or diesel as back-up auxiliary
energy. Both systems investigated produce about 2050 kWh of energy per year, cover about 89% of
the hot water needs and give positive and very promising financial characteristics. The results show
that by using solar energy for domestic water heating considerable amounts of greenhouse polluting
gasses are avoided. The savings, compared to a conventional system, are about 80%, with electricity
or diesel backup. With respect to life cycle assessment of the systems, the energy spent for the
manufacture and installation of the solar systems is recouped in about 1.2 years, whereas the
payback time with respect to emissions produced from the embodied energy required for the
manufacture and installation of the systems varies from a few months to 3.7 years according to the
fuel and the particular pollutant considered. Moreover the cost of damage avoided by some of the
pollutants is investigated with respect to damages to crops, materials, mortality and morbidity. It
was found that C£31 (Euro 51.7) are avoided per year when the system is using electricity as
auxiliary and C£13 (Euro 21.7) when diesel is used. It can therefore be concluded that solar energy
systems offer significant protection to the environment and cost savings and should be employed
whenever possible in order to achieve a sustainable future.
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