The Viability of Solar Energy for Domestic Water Heating in Ethiopian Cities

Abstract

Investigation of the possible use of solar energy for domestic water heating is conducted for seven representative Ethiopian cities. In this study, the transient performance of the system is computed using a numerical heat transfer model of a flat-plate collector from the input of average annual climatic data and collector parameters. From the annual contribution of solar energy to the heating load and the estimated investment cost, the pay back period of the heating system for each city is calculated. The research result indicates that domestic water heating by solar energy as a viable alternative to electric water heating.