5. Conclusion
Our experimental and numerical works on evaluating the performance of the two common types of evacuated tube solar water heaters for DHW applications have been described. Our experimental results indicate that, for applications in the subtropical climate of Hong Kong, the daily thermal performance of the two-phase closed thermosyphon solar collector is marginally higher thanthe single-phase open thermosyphon design. Numerical system models were successfully developed to analyse the dynamic performance of the two types of thermosphon systems. Then year-round energy performances as applied to single-family DHW system were compared making use of the TMY weather data of Hong Kong and the IEA recommended domestic hot water draw-off pattern. The simulation results showed that the two-phase closed system is slightly better than the single-phase open system. Nevertheless, their payback periods are relatively the same (around 7–9 years) because of the higher first cost of the two-phase closed thermosyphon collector system. With an economical payback period of 6–8 years, the flat-plate collector system can be more attractive for low temperature DHW applications. The evacuated-tube collectors are therefore more suitable for integration with heat pump or absorption chillers to form advanced systems where a higher water temperature is desirable. However, the above recommendations depend very much on the market prices of the solar collectors that could be adjusted from time to time.