Unlocking Solar Potential
Removing reliance on non-renewable energy sources through solar water heaters is a promising and cost-effective approach to mitigate the impact of over-reliance on dirty energy sources. The growing concern about environmental degradation and depleting energy sources has directed the world towards sustainable technologies.
Solar water heaters, a type of solar energy system, use sunlight to heat water for various purposes including hot water generation. This energy-efficient solution is considered an attractive solution for global energy challenges as it requires low operational costs, can provide hot water during on-site generation, and can be easily scaled up or down in terms of power and capacity.
A well-designed thermal energy system consists of a heat exchanger a storage tank a circulating pump and a solar collector. The heat exchanger is the key component of the system, absorbing and converting natural heat into thermal energy. The solar water heater works in two cycles: the heating phase and the off-peak phase. During the absorption phase, the key component heats the fluid in the circulating pump, and in the off-peak phase, the hot water is pumped into the household for actual use. Conventional absorption heat pump water heaters also improve performance by using a second hotter water to heat the system whenever possible.
Implementing massive solar water heater systems can significantly reduce the electricity consumption. Data suggests that, for every 0.5 MW of solar water heater capacity installed, the demand for electric power from utility companies is decreased by at least 1.2-1.5 MW.
In developing countries, such renewable energy sources can save households a significant amount of money on their utility bills.
It is estimated that large-scale adoption of solar water heaters could reduce energy usage by 11-21% by 2025, saving over $1.1 trillion in utility bill savings.
With such effective results associated with solar water heaters, regulators worldwide should prioritize and invest significantly in developing solar water heater technologies, providing support for production and large-scale deployments.
However, current global markets are lacking the growth rate on renewable energy sources, driven primarily by the development and marketing of renewable energy technologies. Authorities must therefore provide immediate attention and incentives to renewable energy sectors, besides focusing on eliminating bureaucratic hurdles for business owners to step into the commercial energy markets.
Increasing the demand for solar water heaters will also increase employment prospects worldwide, and push down wages in renewable energy industries while raising financial performance among the companies in this area. So the introduction of solar water heater technologies will undoubtedly prove pivotal for saving global electric power demand and making a significant dent in solving one of our most enduring sustainability issues.
