Feasibility Study of Using Solar Thermal Energy for Heating Swimming Pools in Central European Climate (Hungary as a Case Study)

Abstract

Heating swimming pools using electrical elements is costly and causes environmental impact by producing CO2 emissions. While renewable energy, such as solar energy, proves a viable alternative source for swimming pool heating. This article aims to simulate various Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) systems in cold climates like Central European countries to define the best system for swimming pool heating. Three different systems were compared: a solar heating system without auxiliary heating or heat exchanger (B6), with a heat exchanger (B6.1) and with a heat exchanger and an auxiliary heating source (B6.2). Also, five crucial variables were chosen, along with the variation of the other parameters using the response surface method (RSM). This system optimisation aims to define an optimal system with less financial expenditure. It was found that the best system is B6, represented by Experiment No 25, which indicates the Collector type: flat plate collector (FPC), pool depth: 1 m, pool temperature: 26 ℃, pool covers, and windshield are actively operated. We used the T*SOL Valentine Software-2018 (kWh) to measure the solar contribution for each case. For each vector, our coded values range from [-1, +1]. The formula 2k (25=32 experiments) defines the number of experiments, where k is a vector number. In addition, two more experiments were done to define second-degree non-linear coefficients with a pool depth (B) of 1.5 m and 28 ℃ pool temperature. These two additional experiments, however, had no impact on our results. Finally, the swimming pool heating systems suitable for this weather were compared. This experiment can help the locals to find the optimal swimming pool heating system for their pools.