The production of hot water through solar thermal energy systems is that wide regarding the production level that it is possible to provide homes with hot water using compact equipments for the generation of electricity through big thermal energy plants where the main source of the heat is a field of collectors. The production of the energy happens over thin film solar thermal collectors and enables a considerable reduction of the installation and overall costs.

The basic plan of operation consists of the following components:

• Solar field: sensing surface distributed over an area with a southern orientation, free of shadows and in the vicinity of consumption. Owing to the singular nature of the consumptions, we design sensing surfaces of up to 18 m2 in a single sensor, employing specific high-production systems.

• Primary hydraulic system: transferral of the energy generated from the field to an accumulator or to direct consumption, if possible.

• Interchange: heat exchanger between the solar field, the accumulation system and consumption. The programming of this element is important since, because there are variations in energy delivery, the flow modulation on both sides of the accumulator makes it possible to optimise performance.

• Accumulation: reservoir that compensates for the irregularities in energy delivery by the sun. We design special aerial and underground tanks, with cost reduction in mind.

• Control: each installation element is managed by a robot that is specifically programmed for the process at hand. The robot also makes it possible to manage the installation by remote control, with the resulting advantages in preventive maintenance and control of real production of the solar system.

The proper integration of these elements makes it possible to produce hot water at a lower cost than the equivalent hydrocarbon system. If we estimate a useful life to be 25 years and the tendency for fossil fuels to go up in price, the profitability of these installations is beyond doubt. As an added value, its maintenance costs are far lower than those of conventional installations.

Examples of application

•  Poultry farms. Plucking process.
•  Charcuterie production. Cooking process
•  Fruit and vegetable production
•  Dry feed production

Adaptation to any roof type

One of the problems with thermal solar sensors is the lack of adaptability by roofs to such installations. At ASSYCE we have designed different types of structures and weight systems for different roofs, which make integration possible on shingle or sandwich panel types, thus doing away with the need to perforate insulations.

Monitoring and control

In large consumption applications, installation management is crucial for obtaining adequate profitability.

Solar installations deliver energy in a discontinuous manner. For this reason management of the exchangers, circulators or stratification has to be variable depending on the conditions at each given moment.

Furthermore, we have developed a specific control for each element. Robotised control systems make it possible to program and adjust the installation for each specific case.