Optimum Sizing of Residential Active Solar Water Heating Systems for Libyan Families

Abstract

This paper investigates the optimum sizing of active solar water heaters for the residential sector in Libya according to family size, typical weather conditions, and typical operating conditions. An active solar water heating system model built in TRNSYS was used to evaluate the thermal performance of the system, while the optimization process was accomplished using the genetic algorithm technique. Nine design parameters were chosen for the optimization, and their search space of the problem under investigation was defied.Three Libyan family sizes were suggested for the investigation for optimum solar water heaters; 4, 6, and 8 people. The Pareto optimal front of the cost function for the three cases was plotted as a function of system’s solar fraction. The design parameters of some feasible non-dominated solutions are presented in tables. These results confirm the effectiveness of using the genetic algorithm technique for solar water heating system optimization