Modelling and Simulation of Solar Water Heating System (SWH) with Thermal Storage using Flat Plate Solar Collector

Electrical energy source in Malaysia is commonly from by fossil fuel such as coal, petroleum, LNG, LPG, kerosene, etc. However, these unrenewable sources of energy are neither economical nor favorable to the environment. Even though Malaysia produces enough electricity to meet current consumption levels, the reduction of electrical usage should be taken for us as a main consumer in this country in order to reduce energy consumption. Towards this end, solar energy seems to be a singularly legitimate and feasible source of alternative energy for heating water. Solar energy is permanently renewable, environmentally beneficial, and convertible to various energy forms. A solar water heating system is used to convert solar energy to thermal energy to heat water. This research investigates the application of solar energy to meet water heating needs especially in Malaysia and models the water heating system. Through modelling in the simulation, the average system efficiency for solar collector and thermal storage are determined as the total costs on a daily basis or monthly average.