Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

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Cleaner Engineering and Technology

journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/cleaner-engineering-and-technology

Experimental investigation on thermal performance of solar water heater

equipped with Serpentine fin core heat exchanger
Ekram Hadi Al-Askaree *, Nizar F.O. Al-Muhsen
Technical Instructors Training Institute, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: We present the design and development of a cost-effective solar water heater with good thermal efficiency,
An electronic control system powered only by the sun. Although they seriously harm the environment, oil and gas heaters are often used in
Solar panel Iraqi homes due to the country’s chronic electricity problem. Heat exchangers with copper tubes and aluminum
Thermal sensor
fins painted with dark black paint from the developed solar heater complex. The electronic control system
Solar water heater
Thermal efficiency
connected to the cold water line regulates the water flow rate into the heat exchanger pipes. It has a 0.5 L per
minute water flow. At 2: 45 pm on December 23, the peak of thermal efficiency of 58% was achieved. After
testing on the coldest days of the year in our country of Iraq, the solar heater’s water can reach a maximum
temperature of 64 ◦ C. This solar heater has been proven to be a reliable way to generate hot water with good
performance without utilizing electricity, oil, or gas and without polluting the environment with harmful gases.
Its features include Serpentine finned heat exchangers, an electronic control system, and affordability.

1. Introduction and reviewed, and it was found to be 50 ◦ C (Al-Kayiem and Yassen,

2015). It was found that by increasing the collector’s length and width,
Renewable energy resources have played an important role in the solar heater collector’s efficiency could rise to its ideal levels (Ranjan
contributing to electrical power generation to fulfill the increase in en­ and Kumar, 2021). The environmental effects of building a unique in­
ergy demand worldwide (Touaba et al., 2020). They support environ­ tegrated solar water heater for pool storage were detailed in (Sain et al.,
mental causes that seek to lessen the effects of pollution by halting 2018).
global warming. A novel integrated collector storage solar water heater This was experimentally tested under Scottish weather conditions to
was suggested by (Garnier and Tarriq Muneer, 2018). The authors ensure maximum efficiency. They were able to reach energy recovery
claimed that the proposed model has superior thermal performance over durations of 4–5 and 4–6 years, using a circular and linear strategy. They
the previous versions. The attained computational results demonstrated investigated the impact of weather on the thermal efficiency of an
that the collector charges effectively with some stratification. On the evacuated tube solar water heater using both experimental and theo­
other hand, higher draw-off rates resulted in the highest bulk water retical methods (AL-Joboory, 2020). Despite the local weather’s nega­
departure temperature. The number of air ducts and total mass flow rate tive impact on the thermal performance of the chosen solar system, the
were used to show that better collector efficiency could be attained with tests were carried out in Iraqi weather with wickless heat pipes. The
the appropriate design and operational settings (Hossain et al., 2011). system was tested in the open air under various load conditions. The
The temperature changes in the water’s internal storage tank were authors claimed that the overall efficiency of the tested solar system
tracked by an integrated solar water heater that they (Yassen et al., with hot water withdrawal (load circumstances) was improved by 14%.
2019) built. The authors’ investigations comprised two scenarios, with To compare the behavior of experimental temperature and energy pro­
and without a flow rate, during the winter and spring seasons, where the duction with theoretical predictions, a theoretical analysis of the per­
maximum value of the stored water temperature was 58 ◦ C and 78 ◦ C, formance of the solar system was constructed using the energy
respectively, in the absence of a flow rate. It is linked to the storage balance-based iterative electrical measurement methodology (AL-Jo­
tank’s corrugated absorption. The best degree of inclination for an ol­ boory, 2020). There was a good 8% agreement between theoretical and
factory collector, as well as the best angle of inclination, were evaluated experimental values. Phase change materials (PCM) have also been

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E.H. Al-Askaree), [email protected] (N.F.O. Al-Muhsen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100593
Received 27 July 2022; Received in revised form 28 November 2022; Accepted 28 November 2022
Available online 2 December 2022
2666-7908/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

extensively used to enhance the thermal performance of solar home hot reducing CO2 emissions by 90.225 kt/y. Computer programs were used
water systems (Touaba et al., 2020). The effects of the high energy to simulate.
storage density and isothermal process were investigated to target the Researchers (Tambunan et al., 2018) explain that the maximum
boost in the adopted system’s efficiency (Murali and Mayilsamy, 2015), temperature at which the plates absorb energy increases linearly, with
The authors concluded that the adopted PCM could enhance thermal increased absorption. This is because, at higher absorption, more solar
energy distribution over the existing solar collector (Daghigh and Sha­ energy is converted into Heat to the absorbing plate and makes its
fieian, 2016). acknowledged the connection between hot water usage temperature increase.
and system performance. Energy efficiency changes are more likely to In summary, reduce your use of electrical energy and take advantage
occur now than they were previously. This efficiency reaches its of recycling electrical appliances that have been stored because they are
maximum after the experimentation day, which was around 5.4%. The damaged to reduce their impact on the environment. A solar collector
complex experienced its highest outflow temperature between 3:00 and made of a serpentine finned heat exchanger obtained from an old air
4:00 p.m., which was roughly 64 ◦ C. A fixed and improved flat plate conditioner modified to function as a solar water heater collector was
solar collector combined with a new and improved thermal system was proposed. The purpose of designing and implementing this system is to
tested (Anoune et al., 2017). This includes a thermal collector with a rationalize electricity consumption, especially in the electric heater
specially designed intelligent electronic system to control a three-mode device that consumes electric current (10–15 A) and capacity (2.2–3.3
uniaxial tracker, a heat transfer fluid circulation pump, a storage tank, kW) to produce hot water continuously. The absence of waterproofing
and finally a thermal heating resistor mode. The influence of hot water holes in serpentine finned heat exchangers was checked. Serpentine fins
consumption behavior on electricity consumption was investigated. a provided a large surface area to absorb the solar rays that penetrated
flat plate collector equipped with an intelligent electronic system that into it through the glass cover. The waves of sunlight are short, and after
was specially designed for controlling a mono-axial tracker with three passing through the glass, they turn into long heat waves that cannot be
positions, a circulation pump that pumps the heat transfer fluid, and a carried through the glass to exit, collide with the glass and are reflected
storage tank (Anoune et al., 2017). Another research project aimed to back to the Collector, which increases the absorption and heating of the
efficiently investigate and determine the required surface area of the pipes and fins of the exchanger, as explained by (Tambunan et al.,
used solar collector based on the users’ demands. The authors noted that 2018). After searching the literature, it was not found the adoption of a
a smaller collector area might result from adding less hot water to the recycled (low-cost) Serpentine finned primary heat exchanger for flat
mixture (Kumar et al., 2018). According to (Akhtar and Mullick, 2012), solar heater water. In addition, to further enhance the efficiency of the
solar radiation absorption in a glass cover increases a flat solar panel proposed thermal system, a homemade intelligent control system has
collector’s temperature and modifies the convective and radiative heat been developed to control the system according to the demand for hot
transfer coefficients. It also looked at the impact of solar radiation on water and operating hours.
interior and exterior surface temperatures, using a variety of indepen­
dent factors to work out how much heat is absorbed by the glass. A new 2. System description: solar heater control system
solar collector design with a louvered fin was proposed by (Garnier and
Tarriq Muneer, 2018). The experimental investigation demonstrated As shown in Fig. 1, an open-source electronics platform called
that the proposed solar collector with the louvered fin had superior Arduino was created to be used in this work for monitoring and
thermal efficiency compared with the conventional solar heater. recording the real-time captured data. A full set of K-type thermocouples
(Ango et al., 2019) designed a flat panel solar collector made of was used to measure the water stream temperatures at the selected
polymer. They described the key developments about the key variables positions of the tested hot water system. The water flow rates were
that influence the effectiveness of the polymer flat solar panel collector. measured using a digital flow meter of type YF-S201. The real-time
They also evaluated the effect of operating conditions numerically on thermal efficiency of the suggested solar hot water system was calcu­
the polystyrene solar panel collector. Researchers at the University of lated using a TES1333 solar power meter to measure the actual solar
Bristol have been putting new and improved thermal systems through irradiance. A plastic valve coupled to a servo motor was installed on the
their paces. They created a test bench for a thermal system, complete water pipes to open and close the watercourses and consequently control
with a dynamic and static Flat Plate Collector. The Flat Plate Collector the water flow rate according to the designed experiments for this study,
thermal collector has an intelligent electronic system that is specifically as shown in Table 1. For the experimental testing of this study, the
designed for controlling a three-position mono-axial tracker (Anoune electronic control unit (ECU) was created and developed to be adopted
et al., 2017). The heat losses from absorption into the glass were 9% less as adequate. Practically, the proposed solar hot water system has been
than the expected level that (Moss et al., 2018a) found in the test under divided into two operational modes. Firstly, in winter system mode, the
the solar simulator, with and without vacuum, with a reduction in heat water temperature ranges from 35 to 45 ◦ C, with an average of 40 ◦ C.
loss as the pressure dropped to less than 0.5 PA. In testing, the re­ Secondly, in the summer system mode, in which the water temperature
searchers (Moss et al., 2018b) found that the double-glazed cover could ranges from 55 to 65 ◦ C with an average of 60 ◦ C, it was decided to
help reduce the coefficient of heat loss in solar collectors. Flat plates install a two-way valve to select between the two systems’ modes. In the
have the highest optical efficiency, while vacuum tubes have lower heat summer, for instance, if the water temperature is below 35 ◦ C, the device
loss coefficients but lower optical efficiency. In EGT solar collectors compares this value to previously stored data and then instructs the
(Kalair et al., 2022), have tested even better performance in the shunt servomotor connected to the valve. The device’s thermal sensors were
mode of fins and U tubes. configured to measure the temperatures of the user’s working fluid at
For a flat-panel solar water heater (Balaji et al., 2019), has figured each of the chosen locations of the suggested test rig.
out the ideal convection mode. In direct contact with the solar absorp­ Thermal sensors were installed on the device to measure the tem­
tion tube, two different types of rod-and-tube thermal performance en­ peratures of the user’s working fluid at each of the chosen locations of
hancers were used. By doing so, they were able to boost the water flow the suggested test rig. The temperature values were then manually
rate and boost the solar panel’s ability to produce heat. An important recorded after they were displayed on an LCD screen that was set on the
factor in the rate of heat transfer of the IS unit, particularly in terms of system’s frame. A dual key is used to select one of the two systems.
the evolution of charging time (Fusion), was the use of annular fins by
the researchers (Elmaazouzi et al., 2019). The melting time is lowered to 3. Methodology
11.13% for 50 1 fins with a length of 12 mm and a thickness of 1 mm
The researchers (Abas et al., 2022) designed a solar photovoltaic The experiments conducted for the proposed solar hot water system
power plant capable of producing 180 rigatoni of electricity per year and in this study were divided into two operational modes. First off, the

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E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

Fig. 1. Wiring diagram of the electronic control system.

the user’s working fluid at each selected location of the suggested test
Table 1
rig. The temperature readings are automatically recorded after being
Technical information of water pump, flow sensor and water flow sensor.
displayed on an LCD screen mounted to the system’s frame. The con­
Suffering 1.75 MPa Escalating vertical or ducted experiments continued for 5 days. The testing period ran from
pressure position horizontal
10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day. The captured data was recorded at a
Working − 40 ~ +150 ◦ C Pulse cycle output 50% ± 10% rate of one reading every 5 min. The amount of solar irradiance falling
temperature
on the solar collector was first measured using the solar flood meter (W/
Min insulation 100 M Ω Maximum output > DC4.7 V (input
resistance pulse volt. voltage DC5V) m2). K-type thermocouples and a customized data logger were used to
Judgments 0.5–25 L/min Electric life 1 × 107 (5 VDC, 10 record the actual temperatures at each measurement point depicted in
MA) Fig. 2. The mass flow rate of the water was measured using a water flow
Pulse flow F = 18Q ± 5% Body material PA66 + 30% glass meter of type YF-S201 with a working range of 1–30 L/min. Every
Q = L/min
testing date between December 21 and December 29, 2021, involved
collecting fifty (50) readings. .
water is typically 40 ◦ C in winter system mode, with a temperature range The wind speed on the testing days was also noted and considered
of 35–45 ◦ C. Secondly, in the summer system mode, in which the water when calculating the study’s results. On December 23, the sky was
temperature ranges from 55 to 65 ◦ C with an average of 60 ◦ C, a two- cloudy, but on the other days, the sun shone, and the air temperature
way valve was installed to choose one of the two systems’ modes dur­ varied each day. The performance of the solar collector at various
ing the conducted experiments. For instance, in the summer operation ambient temperatures and wind speeds can be clearly seen from this
mode, if the water temperature is less than 35 ◦ C, the ECU system difference.
compares the measured temperature value to that previously recorded According to the following classification, graphs have been adopted
and saved. Accordingly, the command will be sent to the servomotor for these readings and the conclusions drawn from them, such as the
linked to the valve, so the operating mode will be selected. Thermal volume of energy absorbed by the solar collector and the collector’s
sensors were also installed on the device to measure the temperatures of thermal efficiency:

Fig. 2. All parts of Solar water heating system that provided with electronic control unit:
1- Cool water tank 2- Hot water tank 3- Pressure measurement 4- Cool water pipe 5- Smart temperature controller 6- Temperature sensor 7- Analog output flow sensor
8- Electronic control unit system 9- Velocity flow meter 10- Mass flow meter 11- Heat exchanger 12- Hot water pipe 13- Controller Box.

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E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

• Changing the thermal efficiency of the collector by dividing the

(6)
− H
T o = T a − (T a − T i )em.C
difference between the temperature of the absorbent surface of the
collector and the temperature of the air surrounding the pool by the Due to the type of heat exchanger used in the study (with one cur­
amount of solar radiation falling on the pool rent), the relationships in Equations (1)–(6) hold true when the heat
• As local time changes, so does the rate at which the temperature of transfer coefficient is constant along the pipe. Practically is dependent
the hot water generated by the heater system differs from the tem­ on the fluid type, temperature, fluid flow rate inside the pipe, and tube
perature of the cold water entering the system. The water flow rate diameter. Practically, UL (based on pipe diameter and temperature). The
(L/min) changed over time within 5 h. speed of fluid flow inside the pipe, the type of liquid, and the type of
• The water flow rate (liters per minute) changes with the rate of liquid’s speed.
difference between the temperature of the hot water produced by the
vDρ
heater system and the temperature of the cold water entering the Re = (7)
μ
system.
• A thermocouple measures the temperature of the water leaving the When a liquid’s flow velocity is below its critical value, it stratifies,
collector in order to establish the relationship between water flow with the fluid layers sliding over each other within the tube as
rate and hot water temperature concentric cylindrical layers. The thermal transition is not very effective,
• The value of the temperature of the water leaving the system is and the value of the first is small. The critical velocity is derived from the
theoretically calculated from equation (9), and a relationship be­ Reynolds number Equation (7) because when the fluid’s flow velocity
tween that temperature and the flow rate of the water entering the exceeds the critical value, the flow becomes turbulent and starts to
system is then drawn. Relationship of thermal efficiency of the col­ vibrate, increasing the UL value.
lector to the rate of water flow (L/min). Where v is the fluid flow speed, D is the diameter of the pipe, ρ is the
• The relationship between water flow rate (L/min) and thermal loss density of the fluid, and μ is the viscosity of the fluid. If the tube is
rate (s). smooth here, the flow inside is stratified, i.e. the Reynolds number is
smaller than 2000.
The system consists of two heat exchangers; it functions as a solar
Re≪2000 (Laminar flowrate)
collector, and the solar beam is used as the heating source in a single-
current heat exchanger. The air surrounding the heat exchanger is
Re≫2000 (Turbulent flowrate)
heated by the penetration of the solar beam from the single glass cover
covering the exchangers, and a short light wave under the glass turns Hence, we conclude that the turbulence and velocity of the fluid flow
into a long heat wave that cannot penetrate back through the glass. inch the rate of thermal transfer and also.
Water is the fluid that absorbs heat from the heat exchanger tubes’ walls. The rate of heat loss Ǿ from hot fluid outside (air) the tube to the cold
As the amount of time spent in the sun’s rays’ increases, so does the fluid inside the tube (water) is given by Equation (8):
temperature of the air inside the system.
Ǿ = UL . L (T o − T i ) (8)
Ta (◦ C) α t (sec)
where:
Due to the use of a single-current heat exchanger, the temperature of UL is the overall heat-transfer Coefficient per unit pipe length in (W/
the air surrounding the walls of the heat exchanger tubes is constant m. o C).
along the entire length of the tube. L is pipe length in (m).
To & Ti are the temperature of hot air outside the pipe and cold water
Ta (◦ C)≌Tb (◦ C)
inside the pipe respectively. Form accounts:
The rate of heat energy gained by water J/sec: apply the Equation (6) to the laminar flow at the low speed, the value
of UL is no more than (6 W/m oC) and in the turbulent flow, UL is not less
Q̇ = ṁ Cp( Tout – Tin ) (1) than (10 W/m o C) if assume that the length of the tube is (1.9 m).
A pipe differential element (dL) determines the flow rate and water H = UL L (Kreider and Kreith, 1975) H = 6 ∗ 1.9 = 11.4 W/o C … …
temperature as it leaves the system. Equation (2) is then used to calcu­ (laminar flow).
late the heat transferred in this element (dL): H = 10 ∗ 1.9 = 19 W/o C … …. (Turbulent flow).
Tin = 13 ◦ C & Ta = TB = 26 ◦ C, TB = Pipe wall temperature.
Ǿ = UL (T a − T)dL (2) ṁ1 = 1.667 g/s.

where: (9)
H
To = TB − (TB − Ti )e− ˙
mC

UL is the thermal transfer coefficient of the unit of pipe length.

T is the equilibrium temperature of the element (dL). (10)
− 11.4
T o = 26 − (26 − 13)e1.667∗4.184
By substituting Equation (1) equal to Equation (2), Equation (3) is
produced, and then from the latter, Equation (4) is produced. To = 23.464352 ◦ C … … (laminar flow)

dQ̇ = ṁ C dT = UL (T a − T)dL (3) T o = 26 − (26 − 13)e−

19
(16.677∗4.184) (11)
( )
dT − UL
= dL (4) To = 16.1 ◦ C … … …. (turbulent flow)
T − Ta m˙ c
Ǿ1 out, laminar =(1.667)(4.185)(23.5–13) = 73.252 W … …(laminar flow)
Since the temperature of the air surrounding the heat exchanger
tubes is constant, along the tubes, and from the integration of Equation Ǿ1 out, turbulent = (16.67) (4.185) (16.1–13) = 216.27 W … …(turbulent flow)
(4) the result is obtained in Equation (5), then the factorization of the
two logarithms of the parties produces Equation (6). Q 1in. = (1.667) (4.185) (26–13) = 90.69 W … … (laminar flow)

T a − T 0 − UL L
Ln ≡ (5)
T a − Ii ṁc

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E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

Table 2
The relationship of the serenity of the sky CC
ɳth = (73.252 /90.69) *100% = 80.77% … … (laminar flow) to the value of the Solar intensity I h, d watt/
m.2.
Q 1in. = (16.67) (4.185) (26–13) = 906.9 W … … (turbulent flow)
CC Ih,d watt/m2
ɳth = (216.27 /906.9) *100% = 23.9% … … (turbulent flow)
0 36.411
1 42.581
2 48.751
3 54.921
3.1. Collector temperature and thermal losses 4 61.091
5 67.261
The thermal losses of a flat panel collector depend on the operating
temperature of the collector. The fluid flow rate can be determined, as in
But when the sky is fully covered with clouds
Equation (13), by the complex of the heat balance in the Equation (12).
Ih, d = 98.111
Ǿa = ṁ. Cp (T coll.out − T coll.in ) (12)
cos i = sin δs sin(L − β) + cos δs cos(L − β)cos Hs
/
ṁ = Ǿa Cp (T coll.out − T coll.in ) (13)
cos i = 0.102955241 + 0.886214865 = 0.9891701016
The average temperature of the collected water can be considered as
an average of the inlet and outlet temperatures of liquid-cooled collec­ (i) = 8.44o (21)
tors, as applied in Equation (14).
T coll,in + T coll,out 4. Results and discussion
T coll = (14)
2
Fig. 3 shows the process of heat transfer from a hot air bath to a
Since it is assumed that the back and edge losses are minimal, an
running water element in a pipe of a one-way heat exchanger due to the
expression for the thermal loss from this complex caused by radiation
temperature difference between air and water in the pipes, heat is
and convection has been developed and is presented here without sup­
transferred from hot air to cold water. The analytical results in Fig. 4
porting data as Equation (15).
show the effect of time on minute from (0.0–245 min on mass flow rate
( )
T coll − T out σ T coll 4 − T out 4 of water through this time for five days (21–December 29, 2021). Due to
Lt = + 1 2n+f − 1
(15) the turbulent flow of water, the introduction of one litter of water per
1 (c)
n
εir,c + εir,g − n
+√ ̅
hc1 4
(T coll − T out )/(n+f ) minute into the solar collector had no significant effect on the temper­
ature of the water leaving the collector as shown in Fig. 4. But at a flow
3.2. Delivery and efficiency rate of half a liter per minute, then less than half a litter per minute, the
maximum amount of acquired thermal energy Q is observed. Due to the
The amount of energy absorbed by the absorber plate Icoll is the angle of inclination of the sun and the low temperature of the air sur­
insolation diminished by the cover and absorbing surface reflectance rounding the complex. The relationship between the flow rate of water
losses (second-order ground reflection effects are ignored) as in Equa­ and time is observed as an inverse relationship. After fixing the water
tion (16) (Reserved and J.H.L, 2017). flow rate per minute, it was observed that the relationship became
almost linear inversely. After fixing the water flow rate per minute, it
Icoll = Ib,coll (1 − ρbn )αs,b + Ih,d (1 − ρd )αs,d (16)
was observed that the relationship became almost linear inverse. The
Flume meter was connected to the cold-water pipe as in Fig. 2 Part No.
Ih,b cosi
Ib,coll = (17) 10, which is connected on the other hand with the Electronic Control
sin α
System No. 8 in Fig. 2 and from this design, the amount of water flowing
Ih,d = 0.78 + 1.07α + 6.17CC (18) per minute was controlled, which will lead to a temperature change
depending on the flow rate due to its effect on the residence time.
The amount of energy delivered to the working fluid q0 is Icoll Fig. 5. It shows the water flow rate (l/min) as a function of the
diminished by thermal losses Lt (see Eq. (15)), temperature difference between hot water exiting the system and cold
q0 = Icoll − Lt (19) water entering the Collector. When ΔT is zero, the path is as high as
possible and quickly descends until the flow rate is 0.5 L/min. Since the
Finally, the collector efficiency η is the ratio of output, q a to input, I b, flow has become stratified, the reduction becomes gradual and practi­
coll + Ih,d (Kreider and Kreith, 1975): cally linear. When the water entering the system has a flow velocity
qa greater than 0.5 L/min. Since the flow is turbulent here, it was found
η= (20)
Ib,coll + Ih,d that the decrease accelerated with the increase in the temperature dif­
ference between hot and cold water. However, when the flow rate of
From solar declination δ s = − 23.44◦ in December 21st, Local solar
water entering the system decreases, the temperature difference in­
hour angle Hs = 0◦
creases correspondingly, especially when the flow decreases to 0.5 L/
At 11:30am-12:30pm. latitude L = 33.26◦ , β = L ±15 = 33.26 ± 15
min. This applies to Equation (13). On the other side, the temperature of
= 48.26◦ , 18.26 ◦
the water coming out of the solar collector increases, the increase con­
Solar altitude α from Eq.:
tinues to 01:30 p.m., because the intensity of solar radiation decreases
sin α = sin δs sin L + cos δs cos L cos Hs = 0.549022818 after this hour and the incidence of solar rays becomes oblique, but the
temperature difference continues to gradually increase due to the heat
⸫ α = 33.3◦ retention of water because the heat exchanger used is with fins, which
increases the endothermic surface area.
Diffuse component I h, d from Eq. (26) and as shown in Table 2. Figure (6) shows the same relationship in Figure (5) but the value of
Ih,d = 0.78 + 1.07α + 6.17CC = 36.411 on sun day(clear sky) CC = 0 the temperature of the hot water out of the system was calculated
theoretically from the Equation (9), taking into account the value of The

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E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

Fig. 3. Heat transfer from hot air bath to running water element in tube for a single-current heat exchanger.

Fig. 4. The relationship between ṁ (L/min.) water flow rate and Time (min.). For five days 21–29/12/2021.

Fig. 5. The effect of mass flow rate (ṁ (L/min) on the difference of temperature (Tout - Tin) oC.

temperature of the exchange pipe wall TB: as well as taking into account winter solstice from 21st to 29th of December and the drawings were
the value of the coefficient of the heat ex-changer (Ή:Heat exchanger collected with the same scheme for the purpose of comparison. The
factor (W.oC− 1) as in Equation (9) and the highest difference between readings were close with a slight difference due to a change in the values
Tout which we measured in practice in the heat of the water coming out of the solar constant because some of these days the sky was overcast or
of the system and To theoretically extracted from Equation (9) 33.9 ◦ C completely clear and the sun was shining.
was at 1:10 p.m. The lowest difference was 11.7 ◦ C at 10: 55 a.m., so the Figure (8) shows the difference between the temperature of the hot
difference in Figs. 4 and 5 was especially evident in the first phase of the water produced by the heating system and the temperature of the cold
drawing when the flow was turbulent, i.e. the flow rate is more than 0.5 water with the local time, where we note that the curve of the difference
L/min. In Figs. 4–7, all readings were acquisitioned from the day of the in temperatures takes a path that reaches its maximum value at 01:30 p.

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E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

Fig. 6. The effect of To (The temperature of the hot water out of the system) (oC) on the mass flow rate of water (ṁ (g/sec.).

Fig. 7. The relationship between mass flow rate of water with the temp. of water go out of collector Tout.

Fig. 8. Difference temperatures between hot water and cold water with local time.

m. for the five days (21–December 29, 2021) with some small difference Figure (9) shows the change in thermal efficiency as the water flow
in the values of the difference between the degrees of cold and hot water rate to the solar collector changes in the heater system. It was noticed
due to the difference in the intensity of the sun radiation in those days. that the thermal efficiency curve starts with the highest efficiency at the
This is an application of Equation (20), where the thermal efficiency is lowest water flow rate and then the efficiency gradually decreases with
equal to the amount of thermal energy gained by the running water in increasing flow rate until the flow rate reaches 0.5 L/min which is 11:00
the pipes of the exchanger, which it gained by conduction from the walls a.m. The highest efficiency of 90% at 12:15 to 12:35 p.m. was achieved
of the pipes and by conduction with the absorbing surface of the col­ which is the highest thermal efficiency. the solar mosque so that it is
lector and the fins on the pipes, which increase area of the endothermic approximately equal to the angle of latitude on which the city of
surface minus the amount of heat lost due to reflection of the beam and Baghdad is located to give us the best results for efficiency and thermal
due to leakage through the sides. This energy equation is divided by the performance.
thermal energy entering the system and is acquired by the black billet in All these considerations were taken into account in order to compare
the collector of the flat heater with the energy calculated from Equation the state of efficiency in the case of cloudy weather. The state of partial
(18), which includes the constant absorption rate in the case of the awakening and the state of complete awakening, and how the efficiency
scattered beam absorption rate for the fully awake state. is affected by all these cases. Furthermore, it was taken into

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E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

Fig. 9. The relationship between Thermal efficiency (ɳth = Ǿ water/Ǿ abs to water *100) and mass flowrate ṁ (g/sec.).

consideration the angle of inclination of the solar mosque so that it is a good is imported, all CO2 emissions that were released during its
approximately equal to the angle of latitude on which the city of production must be added, and vice versa (Hannah Ritchie, 2020).
Baghdad is located. showed that the acceleration in rising temperatures due to industries,
It is observed from Figure (10) that the path of readings for the car exhausts, generators as example of that. All of the previously
thermal efficiency of the solar collector begins with the highest effi­ mentioned factors have increased CO2 emissions, as well as global
ciency and then gradually decreases until the lowest efficiency value warming and pollution. Therefore, resorting to manufacturing devices
reaches on 21/12, which is 3.8%, and on 23/12 the lowest value reaches running on clean and renewable energy is the best solution to reduce
8.8%, 13.07%, 10.9% and 9.4% on 27, 28 and December 29, 2021, environmental pollution.
respectively. The reason for choosing this curved path is that when
testing the collector, i.e. in the early hours between 9:00 a.m. and 11: 30 5. Conclusions
a.m., because the solar flux in the case of rapid increase and the amount
of thermal energy absorbed by the collector is large and in the case of In this study, we concentrated on the financial and environmental
increasing and thermal loss is small, which increases the efficiency of the effects of switching from an electric heater to a solar water heater. We
collector, while during the middle of the day or afternoon, the temper­ suggest making use of waste products from heat exchangers that were
ature of the absorbent surface of the controller rises and the thermal loss dismantled and kept in a waste storage at the Institute for the Prepara­
increases, in other words, the energy learned to the collector decreases, tion of Technical Trainers in Baghdad. These heat exchangers were
which reduces the efficiency and the line connecting the center of the employed as radiators in an outdated air conditioner. These exchangers
points drawn represents the performance of the collector during the are sequentially disconnected from the air conditioner, checked for
Heater operation and readings for 5 h. leaks, and then reconnected. It served as the system’s solar collector. We
In Figure (11), the path of the readings for heat losses is the highest suggested using Serpentine fin heat exchangers, which have a wide area
value when the wind speed is l 8, that is, the value of heat loss = L for absorbing sun energy, and an electronic control system to regulate
16.275/L 2, and then returns the value of heat loss gradually decreases, the temperature of hot fluids. We suggested using an electronic control
but converging in values are almost linear, that is, on days 28/12 and system to limit the hot water’s temperature to no higher than 40 ◦ C in
29/12, and on days 27/12 and 23/12, the heat losses continue to in­ the summer and 65 ◦ C in the winter. We obtained the following out­
crease after the wind speed is 10 L as the air speed increases, the heat comes with this design:
loss increases.
Emissions based on consumption represent the consumption and 1. The rate of water flow per minute, the higher the temperature of the
lifestyle decisions made by a nation’s citizens. These emissions are in water produced during the days 21–29 December, and these days are
addition to the widely reported production-based emissions. Whenever considered the coldest days of the year in Baghdad.

Fig. 10. The relationship between thermal efficiency and (TB - Ta)/I for 21,23,27&December 29, 2021.

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E.H. Al-Askaree and N.F.O. Al-Muhsen Cleaner Engineering and Technology 12 (2023) 100593

Fig. 11. The relationship between Thermal losses (Lt watt) and v (knots) for 23–December 29, 2021.

2. The day of December 28 had the best results for heating the water organizations in the public, private, or nonprofit sectors.
and the same flow speed as the rest of the days of experiments due to
the completely healthy atmosphere and the irradiation period more Declaration of competing interest
than the remaining days, and vice versa, the lowest results were on
December 23, where the sky was overcast. That the described work has not been published before and is not
3. When comparing the efficiency of the heater for the five days, under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is
December 28 was the best because of the awakening of the atmo­ approved by all authors, that the responsible authorities in which the
sphere and the greater amount of energy gained because it is pro­ work was performed tacitly or explicitly approve it, and that if accepted,
portional to the average temperature difference between the water it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any
entering the system and the resulting hot water. By increasing the other language, including electronically without the written consent of
difference, the heat gained increases, and in turn increases the the copyright holder.
thermal efficiency, which is equal to the amount of thermal energy
gained by water over the amount of heat gained by the plate from the Data availability
sun. The highest efficiency was reached at 90% at 12:15 p.m. on
December 28, 2021. Data will be made available on request.
4. When comparing the relationship of thermal efficiency with the
speed of water flow in the pipes, the inverse relationship was that the Nomenclature and Abbreviations
efficiency decreased with increasing the speed of water flow because
the period of accelerated water in large quantities is not enough to Acronyms
heat that amount of water, so the thermal energy gained by the water AC (m2) Area of the solar collector
decreased, and the thermal efficiency decreased correspondingly. CP (J/g. C) Specific heat of assembly fluid
5. When comparing the relationship between the speed of the air sur­ PV Photovoltaic
rounding the solar complex and the thermal losses from the leakage
of some heat from the sides of the complex and the sides of the glass Symbols
cover and other leaks, it was a direct relationship where the lowest T coll.out collector transport-fluid - outlet temp. oC
percentage of losses was on the 28th because the air was still, and the Tcoll.in collector transport-fluid - inlet temp. oC
atmosphere is completely awake, and the highest losses range from li Thickness (m)
December 23 to 27, according to the hours and the acceleration of hc1 coefficient of heat transfers from the outermost collector
the air during this time. cover (W/m2. oC)
Ή Heat exchanger factor (W.oC− 1)
In other words, it was proved that the use of Serpentine fin heat L Length(m), W: Width(m)
exchangers gave us good results using the provision of hot water on the Pr Prandtl number
coldest days of the year in a clear, Partly cloudy and overcast atmo­ ṁ Flow rate (kg. s− 1)
sphere The use of this advanced solar heater reduces the environmental Icoll a property of the collector independent of the operating
impact by taking advantage of Waste recycling of consumable appli­ temperature of the collector.
ances This refers to That the use of waste materials based on the circular I b,coll Collector insolation
economy Effectively reduces the environmental impact and suggests the Nu Nussle Number
possibility of The use of various types of waste. This study It refers to the ρ bn The reflectance from several glass surfaces
rationalization of electrical energy consumption through the installation qa delivered energy
of an electric heater with a solar heater, which provides approximately Tb The temperature of the exchange pipe wall (◦ C)
3.3 kW of electrical power, that can be used in homes, schools, and δ=(23.5π/180) sin (2π284+J)/365 Solar declination (radian)
government institutions to power other devices. Energy and environ­ J = 1 to 365 Julian day
mental impact assessments, in the use of the upgraded heater, which can φ=(2π/360) x Latitude Latitude of the place (radian)
be used in future studies to manufacture an absorption cooling system, ωs=arccos (-tanφtanδ) Sunset hour angle (radian)
especially if the resulting water temperature reaches more than 88 ◦ C,
especially since the summer period in Iraq is long. Symbols
λ Thermal conductivity (W. m− 1. K− 1)
Funding η Efficiency
τ Transmissivity
No specific grant for this research was provided by funding α s,d Absorptance for diffuse radiation

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