Int. j. eng. sci., Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015. pp.

39-44

TI Journals
ISSN:
International Journal of Engineering Sciences 2306-6474
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Copyright 2015. All rights reserved for TI Journals.

Design, Construction and Installation of 250-Liter Capacity Solar Water

Heating System at Danjawa Renewable Energy Model Village
Ismail Isa Rikoto
Sokoto Energy Research Centre, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto Nigeria.

Mohammad Bashir Abdurrahman*

Department of Mechanical Engineering Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Adamawa state Nigeria.

Mohammad Hassan Idris

Department of Mechanical Engineering Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Adamawa state Nigeria.

Mahmoud Muhammad Garba

Sokoto Energy Research Centre, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto Nigeria.

Mohammed Kabiru Halidu

Department of Computer Engineering Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Adamawa state Nigeria.

*Corresponding author: mobash2007@gmail.com

Keywords Abstract
Designed Based on preliminary investigations on the hot water requirement for Danjawa village in Wamakko local
Installation Government in Sokoto State Nigeria latitude 13o, a Solar water heating system was designed, constructed,
Model village and installed at the primary health Centre. Two flat plate collectors of 1m2 each was constructed using
Solar Water Heater locally available materials, the collectors were covered with single glazing of transparent glass. The surface
Flat Plate Collector of the collectors was darkened with black dull paint of emissivity of 0.95 to improve its absorption capacity.
Danjawa health Centre Assumed daily global solar radiation incident on horizontal surface of about 750W/m2 in the month of
December was adopted for the design of 250-liter capacity hot water storage tank with an additional 500
liters capacity cold water storage tank. The collectors were connected in series and assume to operate on the
same efficiency. The three collectors were expected to heat water from a temperature of 25oC to at least
70oC for various applications in the health Centre.

1. Introduction
Danjawa village is located about 5 Km from the University and has an estimated population of around 1000 people. The people of Danjawa are
predominantly subsistent farmers and the common crops produced in the community are millet and maize. They are also engaged in livestock
farming. The village is not connected to the national grid and depends solely on fire wood for their domestic energy needs. The village has an
estimated average solar radiation of about 7.0 KWh / m2 / day and has large amount of livestock animal wastes. In recognition of the energy
needs and the potentials for renewable energy systems to function efficiently in the community. In the light of the present deplorable state of
Nigerians power sector, the ever increasing cost of fossil fuel and unquantifiable degradation associated with every stage of its production and
utilization, solar energy as a renewable energy is better option as supplement or even substitute to our conventional energy sources [1]. Danjawa
village was chosen as the renewable energy model village. At present, Nigeria uses grid-connected, hydro and thermal power plants with total
installed capacity much less than the Nations domestic need, resulting into acute shortage of energy and frequent power outage to cater for
industries in urban and rural settlements. Equally, firewood and other related biomass resources which account for over 80% of the Nigerian
domestic energy consumption is fast disappearing due to increased population and multiple pressure on the already depleted forest resulting to
deforestation, detrimental effect on soil, ecological imbalance and related environmental consequences. The concept of the rural model village is
designed to integrate major renewable energy technologies to provide energy needs of a rural community i.e. Danjawa village, in Wamakko
Local Government, Sokoto State Nigeria. The model village project was jointly sponsored by Science and technology Education Post Basic
(STEP-B) Energy commission of Nigeria (ECN) and Sokoto Energy Research Centre (SERC). The project comprises of photovoltaic power
system, wind power system for the provision of electrical energy needs of the village. A solar water heater will provide for the hot water
requirement of the village. A biogas plant will provide biogas for cooking requirements of some selected households. A solar water pumping
system at the village was also provided for water requirement of the village. This first of its kind integrated model village which was
commissioned in November 2012. Solar water heaters are classified based on the designs, which are adopted to suit a specific purposes and
climatic conditions. Natural circulation solar water heaters are the simplest form of solar water heater due to its simplicity of construction,
design, utilization and maintenance. The design choice is based on number of factors: economic, climatic, availability of materials among others.
Design factors such as area of the collector, nature of the absorber plate material, storage tank capacity have been shown to affect the
performance of natural circulation solar water heaters [2].The aim of this work is to present the design, construction and installation of solar
heating system as part of the contribution of solar thermal unit of the Sokoto Energy research center Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Methodology
Some of the methods employed in conducting this research are:
i. An intensive data collection from available literature on works that relate to the design of solar water heating using flat plate collectors
from textbook, journals, conference proceedings and the web to obtain relevant information that will help in achieving the objective
of the research.
 Ismail Isa Rikoto, Mohammad Bashir Abdurrahman *, Mohammad Hassan Idris, Mahmoud Mummad Garba, Mohammed Kabiru Halidu 40

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015.

ii. Distribution of questionnaires for the purpose of obtaining the hot water requirement, sizing of the clinic to provide the theoretical
framework on which design calculations would be based.
iii. Design of collectors and storage tank which will be combined with heat distribution system to operate based on hot water demand.
iv. Selection of appropriate construction materials based on locally available materials.
v. System construction

2.2 Design concept

Figures 1.0, Fig 2.0 and Fig 3.0 show the perspective view and assembly of the thermo syphon solar water heater respectively.

Figure 1. Perspective view of solar water heating system Figure 2. Detail of solar collector

Figure 3. Perspective view of solar water heating system (skeletal)

41 Design, Construction and Installation of 250-Liter Capacity Solar Water Heating System at Danjawa Renewable Energy Model Village

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015.

3. Design analysis
3.1 Assumptions
Volume of water to be heated, v = 250m3
Average heating time, t = 7 hours
Average insolation, I = 750 W/m2
Ambient temperature, Ta = 25oC
Water inlet temperature, Ti = 25oC
Transmittance of the cover material, = 0.9
Absorptivity of the absorber plate (coated with black paint), = 0.95
Angle of inclination of solar collector = 13 degrees

Table 1. Design conditions and assumptions

Items Condition or assumptions
Location Danjawa(Latitude13oN)
Testing period April, May, and June
Collector inlet temperature 25oC
Collector outlet temperature 70oC
Plate to covers spacing 2.5cm [3]
Collectorto water outlet distance 25cm [3]
Bottom and edge insulation 5cm [4]
Top, edge and bottom loss Negligible
Collector size 85 x 120 m2
No. of glass covers 1
Tube spacing 8cm [5]
Orientation Due south
Mean solar radiation for December 750W/m2

3.2 Collector orientation

The orientation of flat plate collector is based on two considerations:

3.2.1 Azimuth angle

The azimuth angle for fixed surface in the northern hemisphere is due south [6]. In Northern hemisphere where Sokoto is located, the collector
orientation should be facing south.

3.2.2 Tilt angle.

The tilt angle for fixed flat plate collector is to tilt the surface to the horizontal by an angle equal to the latitude of the location [6]. Since the
latitude of sokoto is 13o the collectors were tilted to this angle.

3.3 Selection of solar water heating system

A header and riser flat plate collector was considered because of its attractive features, such as:
i. Simplicity in design
ii. Cost
iii. Effectiveness
iv. Easy/little maintenance requirement
v. Quite promising in performance

3.4 Determination of clinic hot water demand

The hot water demand could be on the basis of daily, monthly, and annual requirements, number of occupants of the Clinic that use the hot
water, the temperature of cold water, and the expected or the desired hot water temperature, and based on the analysis of the Questionnaire
issued, the following requirements were obtained:

Table 2. Hot water requirements for various applications in the clinic.

Hot water Applications Quantity of hot water/day
Laundry 60 liters
Maternity unit 90 liters
Patient bathing 50 liters
Ablutions 20 liters
Future projection (10% for 10 years) 30 liters
Total 250liters

3.5 Sizing of the collector based on hot water demand

The sizing of the collector area is according to the hot water demand
The heat requirement is given by
Q = MC (T T ) (i)
Where Q - Quantity of heat in Joules
M - Mass of the water in kg
- Specific heat capacity of the water J/kg/K
- Hot water temperature desired oC
o
- Cold water temperature C
Since Density =
 Ismail Isa Rikoto, Mohammad Bashir Abdurrahman *, Mohammad Hassan Idris, Mahmoud Mummad Garba, Mohammed Kabiru Halidu 42

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015.

mass = Density total volume (ii)

= V
Substitute for mass in the above equation
Q = VCpw (T T ) (iii)
Where - density of water
V - Volume of water per day
Therefore, for 250-liter of water, the heat requirement is
Q = VC (T T )
= 1 250 4200 (70 25)
= 56700000 Joules
Density of water 1 kg/m3 approximately
Specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J/Kg/K
The collector area is given by:
A = Q/tI (iv)
Where = Area of the collector (m2)
= Quantity of heat (joules)
I = Solar radiation (W/m2)
= Efficiency (%)
= Heating time (sec) = 7hrs =7x3600s

According to [7], the efficiency of solar collector is between 0.4 and 0.6.
An efficiency of 0.5 was adopted for the design [8].
Collector area = . = 6.
The collector of 6m2 is required to heat water of 250-liter per day from 250C to 700C for seven hours. To reduce the cost of construction, 3
collectors of 1m2 and 250-liter water tank were constructed as shown in plate1.

3.6 The volume of hot water tank

The volume of hot water tank was determined based on the collector area. The capacity/size of the hot water tank should be 1.5 and 1.6 of the
hot water working load (Danshehu, 1997), and (Bande, 2011). Therefore, 250 lt X 1.5 = 375 liters.
Under favorable condition a 1m2 collector will heat between 50 to 100 liters of water per day. 1m2 collector was assumed to heat 85liters of
water per day under normal weather conditions.

4. Selection of materials
In the selection of materials for the construction of solar water heating system essential factors have to be considered such as the economic
consideration, the availability of the materials in the local market, flexibility in construction, ease of maintenance, and also the properties of the
materials. These are the major factors considered in this research work. Details of material selected are hereby discussed below.

4.1 Glazing
Glass is used as glazing material in this project. Although other materials that are cheaper and resistant to breakage than glass can be used such
as plastic, their main disadvantage is that their transmittance for long wavelength is also high and therefore is not as good heat trap as glass.
They also deteriorate over a period of time due to ultraviolet radiation in solar radiation. Top glazing is the important in solar air heater as it
prevents convective and radioactive heat losses from upper side of absorber plate.

4.2 Absorber plate

Some materials that could be used include copper, aluminum, mild steel and galvanized iron. Copper being the best among the materials for
absorber plate due to its high thermal conductivity was not used because, it is very expensive. Aluminum is next to copper, but has high
reflectance; mild steel iron was therefore used for the absorber plate. Because it is relatively cheap compare to the others mention above.

4.3 Collector tank and insulation

The materials that are used for insulation include the following: glass wool, saw dust, rice husk, poly urethane foam, Styrofoam, etc. poly
urethane foam was used because it is relatively cheap and available in the local market.

4.4 Collector casing

The collector case houses the remaining components of solar collector. Mild steel and Afara wood were used because of their availability and
relatively cheap in the market, very light as well as it serves as insulation.

4.5 Pipes
Galvanized steel pipes were used for connecting pipes from storage tank to the collector header and risers due to its rigidity and resistance to
corrosion.

4.6 Cold water tank

Plastic tank of 500 liters capacity was chosen as a temporary storage of water and for supplied of 250-liter capacity hot water tank. Plastic tank
serve as reservoir and does not require further work to be used as reservoir.

4.7 Hot water storage tank

The hot water tank was constructed from galvanized iron sheets, with outside tank properly lagged with insulating material to prevent heat loss.
The insulation behind the tank was covered with mild steel sheets.

4.8 Collector and storage stand

The stand for the collector, hot water tank and cold water tank were made from 2 mild steel angle iron for its strength and availability in the
market.
43 Design, Construction and Installation of 250-Liter Capacity Solar Water Heating System at Danjawa Renewable Energy Model Village

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015.

5. Solar water heating System construction

5.1 Construction of solar collector
The procedures for constructing header and riser flat plate collector are listed below:
i. Metal sheet was measured and cut to the required size of the collector (85cm by 120cm).
ii. 1 inch G.I. pipe was measured and cut to required length for header (80cm)
iii. inch G.I. pipe was measured and cut in to required length for risers (120cm)
iv. Header pipe was measured and drilled of 8cm in between the pipes; the drill was made slightly bigger than the diameter of pipes risers
to make fit for welding.
v. The welded header and risers were placed on the absorber plate and tack/weld to make a complete heat exchanger.
vi. A wooden box was constructed to accommodate the heat exchanger to match with the developed heat exchanger.
vii. Rectangular flat bar and rectangular square pipe were cut and welded to house the transparent cover glass.
viii. The transparent glass cover was cut to the size of the collector area.
ix. The 50mm poly urethane insulation foam was cut to size the collector
x. The collector was assembled with necessary insulation.

5.2 Construction of storage tank

i. The tank was constructed by cutting the required height and circumference of the metal sheet. (180cm by 90cm).
ii. Another tank was constructed based on the same methods above to accommodate the storage tank after placing insulation of 50mm
around the tank.
iii. The collector was fixed to the tank using appropriate pipe sizes (1nch,3/4 inch and with plumbing accessories)

6. System assembly
The absorber plate was made up of mild steel of 1.2mm thickness and was cut into the required dimensions of the collector 80mm by 120cm.
1inch G.I pipe was measured and cut in to require length (8cm) for headers. inch G.I pipe was measured and cut into the required length of
120cm for the risers. Header pipe was measured and drilled of 80mm in between the pipes; the drill was made slightly bigger than the diameter
of the pipe risers to make it fit for welding. Maximum care was exercised during the brazing work in order to ensure mechanical strength, low
thermal resistance and good thermal connection so that excellent heat transfer would be achieved. The absorber plate was made up of a total
harnessing area of 1.02 square metres and top of this was placed 10 risers heat exchange pipes made from galvanized iron (G.I) of 12.7mm
diameter and each spaced 8cm in between to provide mechanical locks around the tube. The collector casing was constructed using 1x12x12ft
Afara wood and , Plywood made in the form of box respectively. The box was guided by a piece of wood enclosed with polyethane foam
for insulation at the bottom and sides by 5cm insulation thickness. These were done to minimized heat loss and lower the thermal conductivity.
A glass of 4mm thickness was choosing for transparent cover to reduce the thermal loss from the collector absorber plate
The storage tank was constructed using 20 gauge galvanized iron metal sheet and welded with brazing rods. Provision was made for inlet and
outlet collector pipes to hot water storage tank. A 12.7mm diameter pipe was connected at to the tank height to serve as hot water outlet from
the collector to the storage tank. A distance of 5cm from the bottom of the tank for the collector inlet to the storage tank was also provided. The
casing of the hot water tank was filled with 50mm insulation foam to serve as insulation. Some of the plate of various stage of constructions
stage would be found in appendix.

7. Solar water heating system installation

The solar water heating system was installed at the maternity unit of the Danjawa rural health centre clinic. Various installation arrangements are
show in Fig Below and the drawing attached. The system components of the solar water heating system were assembled by the use of connecting
pipes and necessary check valves to provide one dimensional flow of water. The up riser was made to discharge into the tank at a distance of
5cm above the tank base hot. The cold water supply pipe from the cold water tank was fitted 12cm above the base. The hot water supply was
channeled through inch (12.7mm) diameter pipe fitted at 25cm below the top of the tank, so that 1/3 of the tanks capacity could be delivered at
any given moment. The hot water supply pipe was fitted to run for over 12m length delivering water at one tapping points in the bath room.

Plate1. Solar water heating system installed at Danjawa Model Village

 Ismail Isa Rikoto, Mohammad Bashir Abdurrahman *, Mohammad Hassan Idris, Mahmoud Mummad Garba, Mohammed Kabiru Halidu 44

International Journal of Engineering Sciences Vol(4), No (3), March, 2015.

8. Conclusion
Solar water heating system was designed, constructed and installed at Danjawa village as part of the integrated renewable model village
sponsored by STEP B, ECN, and SERC. The system has a capacity of 250-liter hot water tank with 500 liters cold water storage tank. The
solar water heater has total collector area of 3m2. Thermal performance of thermo syphon flat plate solar water would be investigated in different
weather conditions on both sunny and cloudy days. The hot water requirements in the health centre mostly fall below 60oC, it is expected that the
system could meet up most of the hot/warm water needs of the Health centre.

References
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85-92.
[3] Y.M. Bande, Introduction to Renewable Energy Technologies ( Albarka Printing Press, Birnin kebbi pp 50,2011).
[4] A.S. Sambo and M.B. Bello ,An experimental Evaluation of collectors for thermo syphon solar water heater, Nigeria journal of solar energy, (1990) Vol, 9
pp 223-238
[5] B.G. Danshehu, Design and Development of an 85 liters solar assisted hot water system, M Eng (Energy studies) Thesis Bayero University, Kano Nigeria
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Kano Nigeria (2005).
[7] J.A Duffie, and W.A Beckman, Solar thermal processes, ( John Wiley and sons New York pp 5,1991).
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