ASSIGNMENT

SOLAR WATER HEATING PROJECT

SINGLE FAMILY HOME / BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

01

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT
You wish to examine the financial viability of using solar water heating to supply some of the domestic hot water requirements for a single family home. The owner of the home is keen to use renewable energy to satisfy a portion of his energy consumption. He would like a year-round system that operates in a freeze protected configuration.

SITE INFORMATION
The home is located in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 2-storey, 185 m2 home has 3 occupants. The roof has a pitch of 12 in 12 and faces due south. A high-efficiency, natural gas-fired water heater already exists in the house. The solar storage tank will be located in a room on the ground floor; the horizontal distance from the collector to the storage tank will be 3 m. Since there is little space available, a standard 150-litre tank will be used. All piping shall be copper with foam insulation. A small heat exchanger and pump will be used.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The customer will purchase the system out of savings. He suggests that a discount rate equal to current mortgage rates be used. These average around 8%. The retail price of natural gas is currently $0.44/m3, but this is very high compared to prices in the recent past: a year ago, it was $0.24/m3. The retail price for electricity is $0.06/kWh. Inflation averages about 2.2%. New glazed solar collectors have a life expectancy of 25 years. In the Province of British Columbia, solar hot water systems are exempt from provincial sales tax of 7%. Prepare a RETScreen study, documenting any assumptions that you are required to make, and report on the significant conclusions from this analysis.