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:
Current:
Future:
many student projects
PhD project in solar desalination
participation in Task 38
computer modelling of vapour absorption
experiments with vapour absorption
attempts to secure funding
combining solar cooling with geothermal cooling
Institute for Sustainable Energy
(formerly Institute for Energy Technology)
Past:
Student projects in collaboration with European
and American Universities (under-graduate and at
Masters 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 homes
Research on Small-scale solar concentrators for
combined hot water production and photovoltaic
power generation
Past student undergraduate projects:
83/84
Design Of A Solar Plant For The Air-Conditioning Plant At The Karen Grech Hospital,
J. Muscat
87/88
Thermal Behaviour Of A Solar Pond, A. Abela and A. Agius
Heat Pipe Solar Collector, D. Azzopardi
Interaction Between Energy Transfers In An Absorption Machine, J. Bartolo and A.
Forte
The Dynamic Behaviour Of Solar Absorption Cooling Machine, A. Tranter
89/90
Solar Distillation Improvement, S. Gatt
90/91
Construction And Testing Of A Solid Dessicant Solar Cooling System, J. Mangion
91/92
Solar Still, S. Scicluna
Solar Distiller Incorporating Heat Pipes, N. Grech and E. Busuttil
92/93
System Design and Test of a Solar Assisted Heat Pump, S. Gatt and F. Bugeja
93/94
Solar-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
94/95
Development Of A Compact Integral Solar Water Heater, E. Sultana
95/96
Monitoring Of A Solar System Coupled to A Heat Pump, S. Camilleri
A Semi-Cylindrical Solar Water Heater, A. Gambin
97/98
A Study On The Performance Of An Ultra Modern Solar Plant At Mtarfa, C.
Mifsud
98/99
Investigating The Performance Of A Converter Solar Collector, G. Aquilina
Driving A Pilot Heat Pump With Solar Panels, K. Sammut
99/2000
A Solar Powered Heat Pump, D. Lautier
2001/2002
Design, Construction And Testing Of A Cascading Solar Water Heater, C. Zammit
2002/2003
Design 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
2005/2006
Solar Heat Cooling, A.K. Brincat
2006/2007
Analysis of Solar Thermal Desalination, P. Refalo
A Solar – Powered Absorption Refrigeration System, L. Scicluna
2007/2008
The Construction of a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Test Rig, G. Zammit
Mathematical Model of a Vapour Absorption Refrigeration Unit, D Micallef
2008/2009
Further 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 Refalo
Supervisor:
Prof Robert Ghirlando
Project 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 Refrigeration
April 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 Airconditioning 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, 2006
Barriers and Incentives for the Widespread Application of Renewable
Energy in Malta
R.N. Farrugia, M. Fsadni, E.A. Mallia and C. Yousif
The Renewable Energy Potential of Malta
R.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 Renewable
Energy Target for Malta
Charles Yousif
Investigation of Domestic Solar Water Heating Installations in Malta
S.P. Borg, C. Yousif and R.N. Farrugia
Ongoing Projects 2009/10
With 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