Solar Water Heating Systems in Georgia

Transcription

1 Solar Water Heating Systems in Georgia Cost Benefit Analysis Rural Energy Program April 2008 Prepared by Levan Kobakhidze Tbilisi 2008

2 Solar Water Heating Systems in Georgia Cost Benefit Analysis Prepared for: USAID/Caucasus 25 Atoneli Street 0105, Tbilisi, Georgia Prepared by: Rural Energy Program 26 Dzmebi Kakabadzeebi Street, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia Tel: Fax:

3 Table of Content Summary... Situation in Georgia... 4 Solar Water heating technologies available in Georgia... 5 Potential fields of utilization of solar water heating systems... 5 Analysis of Economic Viability according to the specific projects... 6 Simple Solar Water Heating System for a family with three members Solar Water Heating System for a private house (7-10 members)... 8 Solar Water Heating System for a small hotel... 9 Solar Water Heating System for a large hotel or enterprise Cost Benefit Analysis, Recommendations

4 Summary This document is for those who are basically interested in solar water heating systems or are willing to use them. You can get general information on the situation in Georgia, technologies and products. You can get to know which are the perspective fields for utilization of these systems and can also get assistance in finding the answer to the question: Is it worth investing in solar systems or not? Finally, you can get advice and recommendations. Situation in Georgia Unlike in the developed countries, no much attention is paid to utilization and development of renewable energy sources in Georgia; it concerns both the government, and population. The situation is similar with solar water systems, although slight progress can be noticed during the last 2-3 years and the interest of the population in this field is gradually increasing. In contrast to other renewable energy sources, utilization of solar energy has certain advantages. First of all, it concerns its territorial availability: the Solar energy is more or less equally distributed on the horizontal surface of the earth while, for example wind has a periodic nature and depends on other environmental factors One of the driving motives of development of this sector is the continuous increase of energy carrier tariffs. This drives the population to look for alternative energy sources. Currently one of the most available alternatives is solar water heating systems, as the cost of energy for water heating makes up a significant portion in a family total energy budget. 4

5 Solar Water Heating Technologies Available in Georgia As mentioned above obvious progress can be noticed in implementation and development of solar water heating technologies that caused the emergence of new interested parties on the local market. To date, there are tens of companies involved in production and import, or maintenance and installation of solar water heating systems in Georgia. Systems are mainly imported from Turkey, China and sometimes from the various western European countries. However, locally produced systems are also available on the market. There are mainly two different technological systems: flat collectors and vacuum pipes. Principally the systems may be also divided in two groups: passive and active. Passive systems outnumber active ones, as for small sized systems the price is significantly lower. Active systems include such additional components as circulating pumps, controllers, etc. They are used in larger applications. Solar water heating systems also vary according to quality and cost. Therefore, a local customer has an option of selecting a suitable product; however, only a limited number of companies offer qualified installation and maintenance of the systems. Potential Utilization of Solar Hot Water Systems Currently, the main consumers of solar hot water systems are private persons and families. However, small enterprises, hotels, construction companies and other institutions also show keen interest in this field. Potential consumers of solar hot water systems are: small, medium and large hotels, open and indoor swimming pools, public bath-houses, farms, greenhouses, enterprises, and also private persons and families in the apartment houses or private houses. 5

6 Economic Viability Analysis based on Case Studies Based on the four specific examples, the economic viability of solar water heating systems was assessed to determine justification of making investment in this field. The following examples were selected for case studies: 1. A small family, technically viable system at relatively low lost; 2. A large family and high-performance water heating system 3. Small hotel and high-technology, high-performance water heating system 4. Large hotel and high-technology, high-performance water heating system. System simulation was conducted by particular software Polysun. This software facilitated providing of long-term vision of system operation and economic or environmental effects, based on the local solar irradiation data and specifically selected characteristics of solar hot water systems. System cost, cost of traditional water heating system (that may be replaced by solar water heating system), energy carrier tariffs and expected changes in these tariffs, lifetimes of solar and traditional systems, level of annual solar insulation in Tbilisi and other significant parameters for simulation are included in the calculations. Constant characteristics used for all the below listed examples: Electricity Tariff USD / kwh (16 tetri) Cost of annual maintenance of the solar 0.5% of the cost of the system system Solar system lifetime 20 years Expected electricity tariff change Average - after %, after %. (Real increases, excluding inflation) Location Tbilisi Orientation of collectors South Collectors dip angle 45 6

7 Simple Water Heating System for a family with three members System characteristics: Passive system, enclosed circuit (wintersummer) Hot water tank - enameled 110 litters. Collector flat, aluminized, prismatic solar reflector, m 2. Price of the system and installation USD1300. Economic effect: payback period of initial investment - 6 years. Environmental effect: equivalent CO tons per year 7

8 Solar Water Heating System for a Private House (7-10 members) System characteristics: Active system Hot water tank - dual-profile, enameled 500 litters. Collector flat, copper, prismatic solar reflector, 7 pieces - 14 m 2. Price of system and installation USD7900 water consumption up to 392 litters /day (average annual) System Diagram: Share of solar performance hot water in the total consumption annually per months - %: Economic effect: payback period of the initial investment - 6 years. Environmental l effect: equivalent CO tons per year 8

9 Solar Water Heating System for a small hotel System characteristics: Active system Hot water tank - dual-profile, enameled 1000 litters. Collector flat, copper, prismatic solar reflector, 12 pieces - 24 m 2. Price of system and installation USD11000 Water consumption up to 859 litters /day (average annually) System Diagram Share of solar performance hot water in the total consumption, annually per month - %: Economic effect: payback period of the initial investment - 5 years. Environmental effect: CO 2 equivalent tons per year 9

10 Solar Water Heating System for a large hotel or enterprise System characteristics: Active system Hot water tank - dual-profile, enameled 7000 litters. Collector flat, copper, prismatic solar reflector, 100 pieces m 2. Cost of system and installation USD47000 Water consumption up to 6000 litters/day (average annually) System Diagram: Share of solar performance hot water in the total consumption annually per month - %: Economic effect: payback period of initial investment - 4 years. Environmental effect: CO 2 equivalent tons per year 10

11 Cost Benefit Analysis, Recommendations As shown in the above examples, solar hot water systems cover 75-85% of annual hot water demand and accordingly cost of hot water decreases in similar ratio. We can also conclude that the bigger and more dimensioned the system is, the more beneficial and economically justified is installation of such system, i.e. the more water is consumed daily, the more reasonable for the consumers is installation of such systems. Generally, none of the consumer remains a loser, as correctly installed high-quality solar water heating system s lifetime is above years and initial investment payback period is 3-7 years. The most important for the customer is to make a careful choice and determine which system is offered and how professionally it is installed. Based on current trends in Georgia, it is evident that in the near future alternative energy sources will be rapidly developed. However, there still exists such barriers as limited dissemination of information in population, institutional barriers etc. At the same time, it should be mentioned that the Government may take on an important and decisive role in addressing the above barriers. In addition, it is essential to create specific preferential credit lines for renewable technologies that will support development of this field. 11