SOLAR ENERGY APPLICATIONS IN INDUSTRIAL AND

COMMERCIAL SECTORS
SOLAR THERMAL
Solar thermal is the technology by which the solar energy is converted into heat energy and its
major applications in industrial and commercial sectors are ; Hot water usage for bathing and
washing, Pre-heated water up to 80 degree to oilers, Pasteuri!ation, condensation and cleaning
in "il# $airies, $rying and tanning in leather process industries, $egreasing and phosphating in
metal finishing industry, %esin &mulsification in Polymer 'ndustry, $rying in food, wood, live
stoc# and pharmaceutical industry, Swimming pool water heating etc(
SOLAR THERMAL APPLICATIONS
Solar water heating is one application of the Solar )hermal( Solar *ater Heaters +S*H, are of
two types; one is non-pressuri!ed solar water heating +S*H, and other is Pressuri!ed Solar
*ater Heating( 'n non-pressuri!ed solar water heater, the collector +-acuum tubes or flat plate,
and tan# are mounted on one fi.ture and are in one integrated unit( )an# is mounted at top of
the collector( )here is no pump used in this type of system( )his system wor#s on flow of water
through gravity from overhead tan# to solar water heater tan# +stainless steel tan# with // mm
poly-urethane insulation, and from this tan# onward to vacuum tubes and by natural convention
process, the hot water circulates and heats up the whole tan#( 't usually ta#es four hours to heat
up the water of 000 litters up to 1/ $egree in pea# winter season and 20 $egree in moderate
season and 30 degree in pea# hot season( So the temperature of water varies as per ambient
temperature( 4sually /0 5itters per person per day is ta#en while designing the system for
domestic use( 6or industrial application of washing and cleaning, the total water load in terms of
flow is calculated to design the system( )he total number of solar water heaters connected in
parallel or series depends upon the daily water consumption and temperature re7uirement(
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)he collectors used in Pressuri!ed Solar *ater Heaters can be flat plate or vacuum tubes( 'n
pressuri!ed solar water heaters, the tubes are made of copper and these are closed tubes and the
upper top has bulb dipped in water tan# through which heat radiates into the water in tan#( )he
copper tubes are filled with ether which e.pands 7uic#ly when sun radiations fall at tubes( So in
this type of system water does not enter into the copper tubes and therefore no chance of rusting(
'n pressuri!ed systems, tan# is separate than the collector unit and no gravity is re7uired( )here
are two circuits one is primary circuit and other is secondary circuit( 'n primary circuit the glycol
moves through circulatory pump by controller and in secondary circuit the water moves through
pump or without pump to end points ()hese #ind of systems are used in Solar Swimming Pools,
Solar pre-heat for oiler, Solar space heating, $e-greasing applications in industries and
buildings( )he tan#s in pressuri!ed systems can have one cooper coil or two coils depending
upon the type of applications( 'n large systems where 7uic# heat e.change is re7uired, the heat
e.changers are also used(
)here are four myths which are creating problems in its growth solar water heaters in
commercial and industrial sectors( 8ne is that if you install S*H, the hot water is available all
the times( )his is not true( )he hot water is a resource which is limited as per si!e of the S*H( 'f
you install one 000 ltrs of S*H, in 91 hours you will get 000 ltr hot water which you use once
or use slowly whole of the day( 'f you need more water, you have to have more than one S*H as
per hot water load re7uirement( Second myth is that it can be installed anywhere( 't is not true( 't
can be installed where south direction is available, whole day sun is available and space for
placing the S*H is available( So site analysis is the pre-re7uisite of installing solar water
heaters( )hird myth is that every plumber can install this system( 't is not true( 8nly trained
person can install such systems( :et installed your systems from %&;P certified technicians
only( 6orth myth is that if solar water price is %s(10,000, this is total cost( 't is not true( )he total
cost is the cost of S*H, piping and plumbing accessories which can vary from %s(9000 to
%s(<0,000 depending upon site conditions( Scaling is another issue in S*H which has to be
considered during performance monitoring of systems( ;mount of scaling depends on water
7uality( 'n industrial applications, water softeners are re7uired to soften the water before they
enter into solar collectors( :et your systems de-scaled in once two years as it will improve its
performance( =lean on wee#ly basis the collectors as in our country dust is too much(
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Solar )hermal Power Plant is another application of solar thermal( Solar thermal power plant
consists of solar collectors which can be of $ish, parabolic or tower type formation, steam
generation process and steam generators for converting steam into electric power( )hese thermal
power plants are very economical way of generating power as compared to solar electric power
generation( )he operational e.pense is more than that of solar electric systems( Space
re7uirement is more than Solar electric( High power upto 900 "* can be generated through this
solar thermal power plants(

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS
Solar Photovoltaic is the technology by which solar energy is converted into electrical energy
and its major applications in industrial and commercial sectors are; Solar Homes Systems upto
9000 *, Solar 5ighting, Solar Power Plants from <0 >* to 90 "*, Solar Par#s upto 90 "*,
Solar 4PS, Solar %oof ased 8n :rid Power :eneration, Solar )raffic Signals 5ights, Power
for %emote )erminal 4nits, Power for )elecommunication )owers and S= and "S=, uilding
'ntegrated Photovoltaic System, "ilitary signaling applications, Solar water Pumping, Solar
5ighting for Par#ing lots, Solar 5ighting for us Stop Shelters etc(
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SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS
S85;% &5&=)%'= P8*&% :&?&%;)'8?
Solar &lectric Power can be generated varying from <00 *atts small solar home systems to <00
"* Solar Power Plants or sometimes more than that( )he solar power systems are of two types;
one is off-grid and other is on-grid systems( 'n off-grid systems, the system has no lin# with
4tility grid and components used in Systems are Solar Panels, =harge =ontrollers, 'nverters,
$eep =ycle atteries, mounting and electric accessories( Solar Panels convert solar radiations
into electric current and this current passes through charge controllers which charges the battery
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by controlling current for the battery( =harge controllers maintain control on charging the battery
for its long life( So the $= power is stored in atteries and this stored energy is converted into
;= Power to operate the ;= appliances( )he $= appliances can be operated directly with the
battery( So $= and ;= load can be operated through a solar power system(
4n-professional and 4n-trained people in the mar#et are selling under-designed and low 7uality
systems because of which the customers are losing confidence in solar technology( 8n the one
hand, solar technology has high upfront costs and on the other hand people are selling low
7uality and under-designed systems to cut down the costs( )he most important thing in solar
Power systems is its right design and putting high 7uality system components which should
guarantee faultless operation of the whole systems for 90 years( )he other important thing for
customers is that they should not buy system in watts but systems in watt-hours( 6or e.ample
/00* system can wor# for one hour and can wor# for 91 hours( 'f it generates power for one
hour, the system capacity will be /00 *att-Hours and if the system wor#s for 91 hours, <9000
*att-Hours +<9 >*H% per day means <9 units per day,( ?ow both systems are of /00 * but
their operational hours vary( )he cost of the system is calculated as per watt-hours, not as per
watt( So customers should not buy watts but watt-hours as they are buying not watts but watt-
hours which is real energy as they pay their electric bills in watt-hours or >ilo *att Hours which
is called the 4nits in common language(
8n-grid systems are common in the world and world is moving toward on-grid technology( 8n-
:rid system is that system which is connected with 4tility :rid with built in two meters one is
e.port meter and one is import meter and in some case one bi-directional meter which reverses
when electricity is sold to :rid and at the end the user pays for the net meter reading( 'n two
meters system, when energy is sold to :rid, the e.port meter counts and when energy is bought
from grid, import meter counts the power consumption and user has to pay the net reading of
both meters( 4ser@Power producer will be paid by the 4tility if 4tility has bought more and sold
less( )o ma#e legal such systems, there is 6') +6eed-'n-)ariff, policy by which the solar power
generation is governed( )hrough 6') policy, the :overnment fi.es up the rate of buying from
solar power producers as per slabs( 'n Pa#istan, there is no net-metering policy and there is no
6') policy( 8n-:rid power is cheaper and does not have batteries( 8ne of the barriers in 6') in
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Pa#istan is the continuous load shedding because such systems stop wor#ing as such systems
have no bac# up when grid is off(
S85;% 5':H)'?:
Solar 5ighting is another application of solar photovoltaic( Solar 5ighting has many types( )he
solar lighting can be solar street lighting, solar flood lighting, solar garden lighting or some
special applications of lighting( 'n solar lighting, very important thing is the designing of solution
so that the lights wor# automatically and remain on as per re7uirement( "ost of the solar lights,
we see un-lit in the nights or they lit for some hours and then go off against the timing
re7uirement( )he reason for this is that the un-professional people have designed and sold under-
designed and low 7uality systems( *hile purchasing the solar lighting systems, define your
specifications and then buy systems accordingly and monitor their operational hours
continuously(
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SOLAR PUMPING
Solar Pumping is another application of solar photovoltaic( )he solar pumping systems are of
two types, one is $= solar Pumping system and other is ;= solar Pumping system( $= solar
pumping systems are small systems which are for domestic purposes, offices and irrigation of
small lands up to two ;cres( )hese $= solar pumping systems are very reliable and cheaper( 'n
this system the pump motor is $= motor and one controller controls its operation which is "PP)
controller responsible for smooth operation of the pump without the need for batteries( )he
ma.imum flow with $= systems can be upto <0,000 :allons per day with ma.imum head of
900ft(
Solar ;= Pumping system consists of ;= Pump, Pump =ontroller and solar panels( )hese are
big systems of motor power varying from 9>* to 20>* and their up-front costs vary from
%s(<" to 90"( )hese ;= pumps are for all #inds of agriculture and big farming applications(
)he flow can vary from <0m0 per hour to 000 m0 per hour with head varying from <00 ft to 200
ft(
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Solar Pumping is very speciali!ed job and calls for high technical e.pertise starting from pump
design A selections to installation and commissioning of systems( )he customers should buy
systems from professional companies and get installed from trained pump technicians(
Solar pumps are very economical if you compare operational costs with the conventional
pumping system wor#ing through $iesel generators or 4tility :rid( )he paybac# varies from
three to seven years depending on the type of system you are buying(
SOLAR POWER FOR TELECOMMNUCATION NETWORKS
Solar power for telecommunication networ#s is another application for solar photovoltaic( )he
telecommunication )S towers have power supply from $iesel :enerators in areas where no
grid is available and have bac# up diesel generators where grid is available( 8perational &.pense
of power generator is very high( )he best replacement of the diesel bac# up is the solar power
which is clean energy( )hese systems can be hybrid +solar and wind, where wind is available(
"any telecom operators have installed solar systems and they are very much satisfied and many
are still in the process of planning for purchase of solar power systems( ;gain designing of solar
solution for BS towers is a speciali!ed job(
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SOLAR POWER FOR REMOTE TERMINAL AND SURVELLIANCE UNITS
'n 8il and gas production and processing plants, the parameters are controlled and monitored
remotely through remote computeri!ed terminal units( 'n surveillance systems, mostly the
monitoring is remote and solar power application in this area is very reliable and cost effective(
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