Combined systems for hot water preparation and heating support

Important prerequisites for the efficient operation of a combined system are good thermal insulation, which enables a heating system based on low temperature (e.g. underfloor heating), as well as the possibility of a favourable alignment of the correspondingly large collector surface. Low-energy and passive houses offer favourable conditions for so-called combined systems due to their low heating requirements. However, combined systems can also be used in buildings with a higher annual heating requirement if solar thermal energy is combined with another heating system (e.g. condensing boiler), ideally, a heating system also based on renewable energy sources such as biomass heaters. Especially in the transition periods, solar heat can cover a large part of the space heating requirements.

The largest solar thermal plant in the world at present is on the campus of the Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University for Women (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). The total collector area is 36,000 m2 and was built with collectors from Austria, which were specially designed for the extreme wind conditions in this region. The system is used for hot water preparation and heating support and can supply about 36,000 people. Over the lifetime of the plant, 125 million kg of CO2 can be saved.

Link: http://www.nachhaltigwirtschaften.at/results.html/id6807