Research Activities in

Solar Heating and Cooling at the

University of Malta

Prof. Ing. Robert Ghirlando

Workshop on the utilisation of Renewable Energy with a special focus on solar energy 5th and 6th November 2009 MCST Hall, Villa Bighi, Kalkara, Malta

Photo by Erich Podesser

The Austrian Maltese Research Centre

Research activities in solar heating and cooling at the UoM:

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Past: many student projectsCurrent: PhD project in solar desalination

participation in Task 38computer modelling of vapour absorption experiments with vapour absorption

Future: attempts to secure fundingcombining solar cooling with geothermal cooling

Past: Student projects in collaboration with European and American Universities (under-graduate and atMasters levels)

Current: Testing of Active Solar Heating System for Apartments Scientific Publications and Co-authorship of Books

Future: R&I Application for research in collaboration with Industry to be funded by MCST (awaiting decision)ERDF Application to build a solar testing laboratory Research on Optimum combination of solar heating with assisted back-up heating using a heat pump for domestic hot water and space heating in homesResearch on Small-scale solar concentrators for combined hot water production and photovoltaic power generation

Institute for Sustainable Energy (formerly Institute for Energy Technology)

Past student undergraduate projects:

83/84Design Of A Solar Plant For The Air-Conditioning Plant At The Karen Grech Hospital, J. Muscat

87/88Thermal Behaviour Of A Solar Pond, A. Abela and A. AgiusHeat Pipe Solar Collector, D. AzzopardiInteraction Between Energy Transfers In An Absorption Machine, J. Bartolo and A. ForteThe Dynamic Behaviour Of Solar Absorption Cooling Machine, A. Tranter

89/90Solar Distillation Improvement, S. Gatt

90/91Construction And Testing Of A Solid Dessicant Solar Cooling System, J. Mangion

91/92Solar Still, S. SciclunaSolar Distiller Incorporating Heat Pipes, N. Grech and E. Busuttil

92/93System Design and Test of a Solar Assisted Heat Pump, S. Gatt and F. Bugeja

93/94Solar-Tracking, single Axis Feedback Control, J. Muscat Solar Powered Vapour-Jet Refrigeration Cycle, D. Sammut Construction And Testing Of An Experimental H2O-LiBr Absorption Cooler, C. Tabone

94/95Development Of A Compact Integral Solar Water Heater, E. Sultana

95/96Monitoring Of A Solar System Coupled to A Heat Pump, S. CamilleriA Semi-Cylindrical Solar Water Heater, A. Gambin

97/98A Study On The Performance Of An Ultra Modern Solar Plant At Mtarfa, C. Mifsud

98/99Investigating The Performance Of A Converter Solar Collector, G. Aquilina Driving A Pilot Heat Pump With Solar Panels, K. Sammut

99/2000A Solar Powered Heat Pump, D. Lautier

2001/2002Design, Construction And Testing Of A Cascading Solar Water Heater, C. Zammit

2002/2003Design and Construction on a Composite Solar Heater, R. Refalo

2003/2004 Study on Absorption Refrigeration, J.P. Buttigieg To Investigate The Performance Of A Composite Solar Heat Collector, A. Galea

2005/2006Solar Heat Cooling, A.K. Brincat

2006/2007Analysis of Solar Thermal Desalination, P. Refalo A Solar – Powered Absorption Refrigeration System, L. Scicluna

2007/2008The Construction of a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Test Rig, G. Zammit Mathematical Model of a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Unit, D Micallef

2008/2009Further Work on a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Test Rig, K. Lanzon

PhD Research Project on “Desalination of Seawater and Brackish Water by Decentralised Solar Energy Units”

in collaboration with local industry and financed by the MCST R&I 2006 programme.

Student: Paul RefaloSupervisor: Prof Robert GhirlandoProject leader: Dr Stephen Abela

Participation in Task 38 on Solar Refrigeration and Air Conditioning of the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme of

the International Energy Agency

4th expert meeting of Task 38 Solar Air Conditioning and RefrigerationApril 1-2, 2008 at Arsenal Research, Vienna, AUSTRIA

Modelling of Vapour Absorption Systems – development of a computer software model (Principal Researcher: Dr Christopher Micallef Student: Daniel Micallef)

Publication:Micallef, D. and Micallef, C., Thermal Analysis of a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Unit, The Eleventh UK National Heat Transfer Conference, Sept 2009.

Paper awaiting publication:Micallef, D. and Micallef, C., Mathematical Model of a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Unit

Experiments with vapour absorption using a Ammonia/Water Mini-bar fridge driven by solar energy

Building a LiBr/water refrigeration test rig

Projects submitted for funding under the MCST R&I 2008 programme:

R & D of the Performance and Efficiency of a Conventional Air conditioning System Integrated with a Solar Cooling System.

Passive Cooling of Maltese Buildings.

Combined Renewable Energy Systems.

Projects submitted for funding from the MCST R&I 2009 programme:

R & D of the Performance and Efficiency of a Conventional Air-conditioning System by Integrating it with a Geothermal Cooling System.

R & D of the Performance and Efficiency of a Conventional Air Conditioning System Integrated with a Solar Cooling System.

Survey of Solar Water Heaters

“The Institute for Sustainable Energy is offering technical inspection of installed domestic solar water heating systems.

This consists of making an on-site visit, conduct a technical survey, fill-up a questionnaire on hot water usage and produce an evaluation report.”

This free service has provided very valuable feedback to the ISE about problems associated with the installation and operation of SWH in Malta.

Extracts from Solar Water Heating Systems under the lens (The Times Dec. 2004) - R.N. Farrugia, M. Fsadni and C. Yousif

Survey on 70 operating domestic solar heaters gave preliminary indications on some critical factors that have adversely affected the performance of SWHs:

20% of systems were facing away from South by more than 15°. 21% were inclined at angles well away from 45° to the horizontal. 57% of the systems had no insulation on the hot water delivery pipes. Only 35% of the remainder had proper insulation applied to their systems while the rest had broken or cracked thermal lagging.

Due to these shortcomings, most SWHs had a combined loss ranging between 15 and 24% of their potential heating capabilities. Only 20% of all systems were considered to operate at acceptable conditions.

Over 50% of the systems had hot water storage tanks that were too large for the supplied solar collector (panel) area.

More than 40% of the SWH systems had a booster water pump connected to the cold water inlet. In all cases, the pump was oversized leading to mixing of delivered cold water with the stored hot water. Furthermore, the high pressure could cause irreparable damage to the solar system and the associated piping works.

About 40% of users take showers in the morning rather than in the evening, and this does not match the solar water heating cycle.

An amazing 88% favoured the installation of solar heating systems with few regretting having bought one. Some others noted an increase in their electricity bill. These few bad experiences are usually enough to cast a shadow on the viability and future prospects of solar water heating systems.

Publications by members of the Institute for Sustainable Energy presented at the 1st International Congress on Heating, Cooling and Buildings, EUROSUN2008, 7-10 October 2008, Lisbon

Impact of Domestic Solar Water Heating on an Energy Audit of a Residence in Malta R. Farrugia, C. Yousif & M. Villameriel Tejedor

Performance Analysis of Water-in-Glass Evacuated-Tube Solar Heating Systems in Malta C. Yousif, C. Fernandez Vazquez, V. Buhagiar,

Publications (Contd…)

World Renewable Energy Congress IX, Florence, Italy, 2006Barriers and Incentives for the Widespread Application of Renewable Energy in MaltaR.N. Farrugia, M. Fsadni, E.A. Mallia and C. YousifThe Renewable Energy Potential of MaltaR.N. Farrugia, M. Fsadni, E.A. Mallia and C. Yousif

Renewable Energies in Malta and Beyond" Seminar, 19th September 2005, Salina, Malta Contribution of Solar Applications Towards Achieving a RenewableEnergy Target for Malta Charles YousifInvestigation of Domestic Solar Water Heating Installations in MaltaS.P. Borg, C. Yousif and R.N. Farrugia

Ongoing Projects 2009/10With Erasmus Students from Valladolid University, Spain

Testing of a Pumped Vertical Flat-Plate Solar Collector System for use in Multi-Storey Buildings, Oscar Martin Ramos, Supervised by R. Farrugia

Co-Supervised by C. Yousif

Testing of an Air Source Heat Pump Water Heater, Sara Morentin Gutierrez, Supervised by Charles Yousif

Co-Supervised by R. Farrugia

Reports in Collaboration with James Madison University, Virginia, U.S.A

• Analysis and Optimisation of Solar Hot Water Heating Systems Using TRNSYS (1998).

• The Comino Expedition (2003) – Assessment of Installed Solar Heating and Feasibility Study of Solar Technology on Comino Hotel (2003).

• Solar Water Heating: A Preliminary Assessment of Systems Operating in Malta (2004).

• Solar Opportunities at the Arka Foundation Respite Centre of Gozo (2006).

• Monitoring of Electric Mains Distribution, Air-Conditioning and Solar Water Heating Usage with Photovoltaic Potential Study at Palazzo Verdelin, Valletta (2008).

Co-Authorship of Books

“Renewable Energy: Trends and Prospects”, Majumdar, S.K. et al, Editors, The Pennsylvania Academy of Science, Easton, PA 18042, U.S.A., ISBN: 0-945809-17-4, (May, 2002), Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 2002104916, Chapter 13: “Applications of Solar Thermal Energy and Chapter 29: The Integrated Science and technology Program: Offering a New Paradigm for Teaching Energy Concepts and Technologies.

"Handbook of Renewable Energies in the European Union II: Case Studies of all Accession States", Danyel Reiche (Editor) and Foreward by the European Commissioner for Enlargement Mr. Gunter Verheugen, Peter Lang Publishers, June 2003, ISBN 3-631-51151-5.

New Energy Sources - The Hope in the Book entitled: "Essays on Environmental Leadership", Erchul R. A. et. al. (Editors), Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, U.S.A.,  2004, pp. 225-244.

“EU Energy Law: Renewable Energy in the European Union, Part II, National Renewable Energy Support Schemes and Policies”, Doerte Fouquet (Editor), Claeys & Casteels BVBA Publishers, Belgium (under print), 2009.

Vielen Dank