A Study on Solar Water Heater Based On Phase Change Material

The present work has been undertaken to study the feasibility of storing solar energy using Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and utilizing this energy to heat water for domestic purposes during night time. Now a day's solar energy is used an alternative method for heating but the main drawback of the solar water heater is storage. There is mismatch between supply and demand. So we go for current thermal process and modifications are always needed for better utilization. Our main objective is to design, fabricate and do performance test on solar water heater with different types of phase change materials. This ensures that hot water is available throughout the day. The system consists of two simultaneously functioning heat-absorbing units. One of them is a solar water heater and the other a heat storage unit consisting of PCM. The water heater functions normally and supplies hot water during the day. The storage unit stores the heat in PCMs during the day and supplies hot water during the night.