Accepted Manuscript

Solar water heating for social housing: Energy analysis and life cycle
assessment

Manolis Souliotis , Giorgos Panaras , Paris A. Fokaides ,

Spiros Papaefthimiou , Soteris A. Kalogirou

PII: S0378-7788(18)30204-4
DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.03.048
Reference: ENB 8434

To appear in: Energy & Buildings

Received date: 16 January 2018

Revised date: 14 March 2018
Accepted date: 15 March 2018

Please cite this article as: Manolis Souliotis , Giorgos Panaras , Paris A. Fokaides ,
Spiros Papaefthimiou , Soteris A. Kalogirou , Solar water heating for social housing: Energy analysis
and life cycle assessment, Energy & Buildings (2018), doi: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.03.048

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Highlights

 Energy analysis of a social house building.

 Life Cycle Assessment of a hybrid PV/T and an ICS solar systems.
 Integration of the solar water heaters on the building’s envelope.
 Energy Balance of the fabrication-installation and operation phases.

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Solar water heating for social housing: Energy analysis and life cycle assessment
Manolis Souliotis1,2, *Giorgos Panaras2, Paris A. Fokaides3,4, Spiros Papaefthimiou5, Soteris A.Kalogirou6
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Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Greece
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Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Greece
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School of Engineering, Frederick University, Cyprus
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Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
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School of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Greece

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Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering,

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Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus

Abstract

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This work presents the study of two innovative solar water heating systems, integrated on the facades and

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the roof of a social house building. One of the systems combines collector and storage tank in a single

unit, called Integrated Collector Storage solar water heater; the other one comprises a photovoltaic and a
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thermal collector known as Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal device, in which the produced energy support

both thermal and electrical needs. The analysis has considered the integration of the studied solar systems
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on building’s envelope, investigating the effect of these systems in terms of building’s thermal load along

with their capacity to cover the hot water and electrical needs. The energy behavior of the building, as
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well as the energy output of the solar systems are investigated through simulation analysis for two cities

(Nicosia, Cyprus and Athens, Greece) and three orientation modes (South, East and West). The results
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show that, after the interventions, the energy demands of the building for space heating and cooling are
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decreased at about 10%, while the hot water and electrical demands are covered up to 80 and 50%,

respectively. The energy contribution of the respective solar systems with regard to the buildings’ energy
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demand is evaluated through Life Cycle Assessment; the respective analysis allows the evaluation of the

environmental impacts during the entire life cycle of the considered systems.

Keywords: Social House; Building Integrated Solar Thermal Systems (BISTS); Energy Analysis;
Integrated Collector Storage (ICS) solar water heaters; Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T)
solar systems; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
*Corresponding author: E-mail address: gpanaras@uowm.gr (Giorgos Panaras)

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1. Introduction

Social housing refers to houses or apartments that are suitable for people of low income [1]; within

this context, the term "affordable housing" is also mentioned for the same purpose [1]. The role of the

state is usually important, as for most cases an organization owned by the government, is responsible for

the management of these properties; the presence of a non-profit organization can also be the case.

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Taking into account that Energy Poverty is a major issue for Europe, as between 50 and 125 million

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people in Europe are unable to afford a proper indoor thermal comfort [2], growing interest on studies

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focusing on vulnerable parts of the population were carried out during the last decade. The energy

behavior of social housing premises can be of importance, demonstrating the ability of these people to

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cover their needs; energy efficiency measures, covering envelope issues or Heating Ventilation and Air

Conditioning (HVAC) systems, are indicated, while interventions concerning systems based on
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Renewable Energy Sources (RES) are also of importance [3]. At the same time, environmental limitations

should be considered [4]. Energy poverty studies have shown that economic pressure directs people to the
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exploitation of inappropriate and possibly polluting fuels for heating or other needs. Solid fuels like
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uncertified wood, carbon, or other biomass based products easily available to the household are referred to

[3, 5]. Within this context, in the relevant literature, the term “sustainable social housing” is used,
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indicating housing that is environmentally friendly by being built from recycled or other natural materials,

and energy efficient by using alternative sources such as solar power [1]. A useful tool towards this
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direction can be the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), constituting a detailed process to evaluate the
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environmental impacts during the entire life cycle of a product, from raw materials extraction to

manufacturing processes, use period and finally to disposal or recycling [6].

In the proposed work, a social housing block of apartments has been selected. The energy behavior

of the building has been studied, based on a reliable simulation software tool (i.e. Revit Autodesk [7]).

The analysis has considered the integration of solar systems on the building’s envelope, investigating the

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effect of these systems in terms of building’s thermal load along with their capacity to cover the hot water

needs for domestic applications. In other words, the proposed methodological approach has to deal with

the issue of the installed systems not only producing useful energy but also improving the thermal shield

of the building’s envelope. The reliability of the results is enhanced by the fact that the adopted solar

systems have been experimentally studied in the past by the authors [8, 9]; thus, detailed technical

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performance data are available. The solar systems discussed belong to the category of Building Integrated

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Solar Thermal Systems (BISTS). The first of the two studied systems combines collector and storage tank

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in a single unit, called Integrated Collector Storage (ICS) solar water heater. The second system comprises

a photovoltaic and a thermal collector known as Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) device, in which the

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produced energy covers the thermal and also the electrical needs of the occupants. Both solar heaters can

constitute a prospective alternative solution with regard to the well-established, in the examined
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geographical regions, Flat Plate Thermosiphonic Units (FPTU). The benefits by the use of the specific

systems are reflected onto an economical level through the more effective utilization of solar energy.
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In the analysis presented in this paper, the energy behavior of the selected social housing building is
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investigated for two cities (Nicosia, Cyprus and Athens, Greece) and three orientation modes (South, East

and West). At first place, the investigation concerns the initial shape of the building, while the analysis of
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the effect related with the installation of the solar systems is following. The energy output (thermal and

electrical) of the solar systems is calculated, allowing the quantification of their contribution to the total
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energy balance of the building. The respective energy figures are necessary for the assessment of the

systems’ environmental impact during their complete life cycle, according to LCA methodology. The
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respective evaluation results are of importance especially when considering systems not using

conventional fuels, as solar systems, providing useful insight for the actual systems’ contribution, beyond

conventional energy or economic terms.

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2. Description and energy demands of the social house building

The building under investigation refers to a project designed and commissioned by the Cyprus

Organization for Land Development (CLDC). CLDC was established by the Republic of Cyprus in 1980

as part of its social policy in the field of social housing. CLDC is the main actor in Cyprus in the

implementation of the public housing policy, either through the implementation of its own projects or by

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taking over the management and promotion of public housing plans, in order to support vulnerable, low

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income social groups to secure their own housing. As of early 2015, CLDC has provided housing to more

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than 4,500 families in Cyprus; about 2,675 residences were allocated, including both houses and

apartments, in different locations of the island of Cyprus. A detailed analysis of the building stock of

CLDC and its energy performance is provided in [10].

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Fig. 1: 3D standard views of the architectural drawing of the investigated social house building.
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Fig. 2: Drawings of the social house building for the front, back, right and left side views.

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The building analyzed in this study is a three-store multifamily building, located in the municipality

of Agios Dometios, in Nicosia, Cyprus. The building was constructed in 1999, and currently houses 12

families (48 occupants). The 3D standard views (front and back side) of the architectural drawing of the

examined social house building are given in Fig. 1, while in Fig. 2 the drawings of all side views are

depicted.

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Fig. 3: Typical floor plan of the social house building including the dimensioning (in m).

The total floor area is ~1,170 m², in which its typical plan, including the dimensioning, is depicted

in Fig. 3 and the exterior wall area is ~830 m². The building elements used were those typically applied in

Cyprus in the era prior to the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

[11, 12]. These are: perforated common bricks, 20 cm thick and plaster on both sides of the wall of 2.5 cm

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in thickness for masonry; reinforced concrete of 15 cm in thickness, screed and waterproofing layers of 10

cm and 0.5 cm, respectively for roof; double glazing plane glass of 4 mm thickness with 9 mm of air

spacer for fenestration and aluminium frames. The materials used and their corresponding dimensions and

properties are reported in Table 1, in which the U-values are calculated, too. In the same figure, Rsi and Rse

(in m²·K/W) correspond to the thermal resistances for both convection and thermal radiation for the inside

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and external ambience of the building, respectively. The calculation of the U-Values was accomplished,

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following the BS EN ISO 6946 [13].

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Table 1
Masonry and roof construction of the investigated building including the U-Value calculation.
U-Value calculation (External Wall) U-Value calculation (Roof)

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Thermal Thermal Thermal Thermal

Thickness Thickness
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Material Conductivity Resistance Material Conductivity Resistance

d (m) d (m)
λ (W/m·K) R (m²·K/W) λ (W/m·K) R (m²·K/W)

Plaster 0.025 1.0 0.025 Trowel 0.010 0.80 0.0125

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Reinforced
Brick 0.200 0.4 0.500 0.150 2.50 0.060
Concrete
Plaster 0.025 1.0 0.025 Screed 0.100 1.35 0.074
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Rsi Waterproofing
0.130 0.005 0.23 0.022
(m²·K/W) layer
Rse Rsi
0.040 0.100
(m²·K/W) (m²·K/W)
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Rse
0.040
(m²·K/W)
U-Value U-Value
~ 1.389 ~ 3.242
(W/m²·K) (W/m²·K)
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The whole building energy analysis of the investigated building was implemented with the use of

the energy analysis tool of the software Revit Autodesk. Revit is a software for BIM (Building

Information Modeling) that performs energy analysis on the building design through all stages, with the

flexible cloud based service that uses the DOE2 simulation engine [7]. DOE2 simulation engine,

developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE-2 is a widely used and accepted freeware building

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energy analysis program that can predict the energy use for all types of buildings. DOE-2 uses a

description of the building layout, constructions, operating schedules and conditioning systems, along

with weather data, to perform an hourly simulation of the building.

Initially, the analysis was performed for two locations, Nicosia (Cyprus) and Athens (Greece),

assuming that the front side of the building is oriented at South. The analysis was extended to two more

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orientation modes for the front side of the building (East and West), including the incorporation of two

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innovative types of solar water heaters mounted on the building’s envelope and roof, respectively.

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The heating and cooling loads of the building at its initial condition, were calculated by assuming a

water cooled centrifugal chiller (COP 5.96) and an open, atmospheric pressure cooling tower with variable

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speed fan. Concerning hot water, a gas-fired hot water boiler with 84.5% combustion efficiency was

assumed. The values for the COP and the boiler efficiency were selected in accordance with the ASHRAE
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Standard 90.1-2013 (Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings) [14]. The

building operating schedule and the total number of occupants were considered to be 12 hours per day for
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7 days per week and 48 people (3 floors x 4 flats per floor x 4 persons per flat), respectively. The heating
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loads are classified to those with a positive sign (equipment, light fixtures, occupants, passive heating),

which act as heat gains in the building, and the loads with negative sign which are composed by the heat
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losses of the shell (roofs, walls, underground and surroundings), infiltration losses and window conductive

losses. It should be noted that a rather simplified approach for space heating and cooling loads, that of
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single zone has been adopted; this can be compensated by the fact that the building usage is the same for

practically all spaces. As expected, the heat losses during winter are higher compared to the building’s
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heat gains. The fuel requirement for covering the heating demands of the building is 70.50 MWh for

Nicosia, 62% of which is for the HVAC system and 38% for domestic hot water and 87.07 MWh for

Athens, 69% of which is for the HVAC system and 31% for domestic hot water. The total load (space

heating, cooling and hot water), according to the results, for Nicosia and Athens is 237.36 and 232.98

MWh, respectively.

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3. Description and energy performance of the proposed solar water heaters

The social house building was studied regarding its energy behavior as one unit, but also in

connection with the proposed solar systems. The solar systems that were considered in the study, are used

for covering the domestic hot water needs of the occupants, while for the energy demands regarding space

heating and cooling, conventional systems were considered. Two types of solar systems were chosen to be

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examined; an Integrated Collector Storage (ICS) solar water heater and a hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal

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(PV/T) solar water heater. ICS systems include absorber and water tank(s) integrated in a single unit; thus,

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their construction is simpler and their cost is lower compared to the well-established, in the examined

geographical regions, Flat Plate Thermosiphonic Units (FPTU) [15]. In recent works [16, 17], the

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advances of the ICS solar water heaters have been discussed in detail. Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal

(PV/T) solar systems combine photovoltaic modules (PV) and solar thermal (T) absorbers in a single unit,
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producing both electricity and thermal energy, mainly for domestic applications. The major advantage of

these systems is their ability to exploit more solar energy per unit surface area, compared to the
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corresponding ones using separate photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors [18].
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3.1 Description and energy performance of the Integrated Collector Storage (ICS) solar water heater
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The design of the ICS device, which is a product of SOLE S.A. [19], is based on the proper

combination of curved reflectors and two water storage tanks, in which the absorbed solar radiation is
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distributed non-uniformly. That distribution is the result of the seasonal elevation of the sun, aiming at the

achievement of sufficient rise in the water temperature during the day and the preservation of stored heat
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during the night [20, 21]. The two storage tanks are connected in series, with the water inlet and outlet

being at the lower and the higher placed tank respectively. In this way, satisfactory temperature

stratification can be achieved in the stored water, with the hotter being in the storage tank placed on a

higher level. The reflector trough of the ICS systems consists of two similar subsystems mounted together

in one device as indicated in detail in Fig. 4. They comprise two reflector parts of Compound Parabolic

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Concentrator (CPC) geometry, combined with the two cylindrical storage tanks. The storage tanks have

the same diameter DT = 0.25 m and tank length equal to LT =1.42 m; the volume of each storage tank is

69.70 l, while the total stored water volume in both ICS systems equals to VT =139.40 l. Details for the

reflector geometry have been reported in previous work by the authors [8]. According to SOLE S.A., the

curved reflector is fabricated from aluminized foil (with reflectivity ρr = 0.85), a single glazing with 5 mm

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of thickness (with transmissivity at normal incidence of irradiance τr = 0.95), a black mat absorbing

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surface (with absorptivity αr = 0.92 and emissivity ε = 0.90) and the thermal insulation, which is

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polyurethane, with mean thickness of 6 cm and thermal conductivity λ = 0.05 W·m-1·K-1. The dimensions

for the ICS system are summarized in Table 3.

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Fig. 4: The double-tanked ICS solar water heater installed at the test field.
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In previous work [8], the ICS system was experimentally studied in detail and the results showed

that the solar device operates effectively enough. Τwo equations summarize the thermal behavior of the
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solar system, in which the day and night operation of the device are depicted versus the meteorological

conditions. For the daily operation of the ICS solar system, the Mean Daily Efficiency, ηD equals to:
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ηD = 0.697 – 6.441·(ΔΤm,D / Gm) (1),

where ΔΤm,D / Gm = [(Ti,D+Tf,D)/2-Ta,D] / Gm. Ti,D and Tf,D are the initial and final temperature of the system

during its daily operation, while Ta,D and Gm are the mean daily ambient temperature and irradiance,

respectively. For the night operation of the device, the Thermal Loss Coefficient, US (WK-1) equals to:

US = 8.927 + 0.031·ΔΤm,N (2),

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where ΔΤm,N = Tf,D - Ta,N. Ta,N is the mean nighttime ambient temperature. Based on the above equations,

the energy output of the device during its operation phase was determined.

3.2 Description and energy performance of the PV/T solar water heater

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Fig. 5 Cross section of the studied PV/T device, also indicating the parts of the system (left) and the
installed system at the test field (right) [9].
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The proposed PV/T system contains a number of PV/T collector units and one storage tank, which is

placed inside the studied building. For the complete understanding of the operation of the device, Fig. 5
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depicts an autonomous PV/T system comprising the collector and the storage tank. The PV/T collector
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consists of a silicon PV module (model ES636/QP by Energy Solutions S.A.) and a heat extraction unit

(copper sheet with pipes) which is in thermal contact with the rear surface of the PV module. The
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electrical characteristics of the PV module, at Standard Test Conditions (STC), is presented in Table 2.

The aperture area of this prototype device is 0.99 m2 and the overall dimensions are 1490 × 670 × 46 mm.

The dimensions for the PV/T system are also summarized in Table 3.The fluid medium is water, flowing

through the pipes in order to avoid the direct contact of water with the PV rear surface (Fig.5, left). The

PV/T collector is thermally insulated at its back and edges to reduce heat losses to the ambient and is

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connected with a cylindrical storage water tank. The system operates in a forced (pumped) operation for

the water flow. It is important to note that the flowing water through the pipes is stored in the cylindrical

tank, indicating that the whole unit operates as an open fluid-circuit system.

Table 2
Electrical characteristics of the Photovoltaic Module ES636/QP-Energy Solutions S.A. during operation at
Standard Test Conditions (STC).

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Maximum Electrical Power, Pmpp 123.8 W (+3% / -0%)

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Voltage at Maximum Power Point, Vmpp 16.5 V

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Current at Maximum Power Pont, Impp 7.49 A
Maximum Voltage (Open Circuit), Voc 21.9 V
Maximum Current (Short Circuit), Isc 8.08 A
Maximum Voltage Tolerance
Deviation of Voltage (Open Circuit)
US 880 V
-0.35 (%/K)
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Deviation of Current (Short Circuit) +0.07 (%/K)

For the effective operation of the solar device, aiming at covering the energy needs for domestic
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applications, the ratio of the stored water volume per aperture area, VT / Aa plays an important role for the
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time response regarding the temperature increase, as well as the final hot water temperature [8]. The

storage tank has been chosen to be combined with one unit of the PV/T collector, comprising volume of
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30.17 l and consequently, the corresponding ratio VT / Aa for the PV/T system, was defined as 30.48 l·m-2.

In the right side of Fig. 5 the installed system at the test field is depicted. In accordance to the energy
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analysis of the proposed solar devices, the PV/T system was experimentally studied [9] and its energy
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performance is similarly, to the above performance of the ICS system, summarized in two equations.

These equations present the Maximum Electrical Efficiency, ηel of the PV module versus its temperature

and also the Mean Daily Efficiency, ηD of the PV/T system (PV/T collector and storage tank) versus the

meteorological conditions. For the electrical output of the PV/T collector, the Maximum Electrical

Efficiency was defined according to the equation:

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ηel = 0.146 – 8·10-4·TPV +1·10-6·(TPV)² (3),

where, TPV is the temperature of the PV module. For the daily operation of the PV/T solar system, the

Mean Daily Efficiency, ηD equals to:

ηD = 0.311 – 5.743·(ΔΤm,D / Gm) – 0.615·(ΔΤm,D / Gm)² (4),

where ΔΤm,D / Gm = [(Ti,D+Tf,D)/2-Ta,D] / Gm. Ti,D and Tf,D are the initial and final temperature of the system

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during its daily operation, while Ta,D and Gm are the mean daily ambient temperature and irradiance,

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respectively. Based on the equations (3) and (4), the energy output of the device during its operation phase

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was determined.

Table 3

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Construction parameters of the studied solar water heaters (length, LS; width, WS; surface area, AS; depth,
DS; height, HS; geometrical Concentration Ratio, CR; ratio VT / Aa)
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LS WS AS HS DS VT / Aa
System CR
(m) (m) ( m² ) (m) (m) ( lm-2 )
ICS 1.04 1.525 1.59 0.75 0.43 0.91 97.20
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PV/T 1.490 0.670 0.99 1.21 0.12 1 30.48

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4. Results of the energy behavior of the social house building and the solar water heaters

This section includes the results of the energy analysis both for the building and the installed solar
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systems. The analysis of the energy output of the proposed solar water heaters and the thermal

performance of the building includes the study cases for different orientation modes of the building. In
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particular, the study cases are defined by the orientation of the front side of the building; Case A: South
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orientation, Case B: East orientation and Case C: West orientation. Thus, the thermal behavior of the

building is affected mainly by the installation of the PV/T collectors on the front side facade of the

building, by the increase of the external wall’s total thermal resistance, and by the solar irradiance. Fig. 6

depicts the front side view of the building with the installed PV/T collectors on its facade. For each floor,

4 sets of PV/T devices are considered; each set contains 6 PV/T collectors, connected in series.

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Accordingly, each set of the PV/T collectors is connected with a storage tank of ~181 l, following the

considered ratio of the volume per aperture area (30.48 l·m-2), as discussed in section 3.2. The PV/T

collectors and the storage tank define one PV/T subsystem, which is assigned to one residence. Thus, 12

of these subsystems are considered, with total area of PV/T collectors 71.28 m² and total volume of stored

hot water 2,172 l.

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Fig. 6: Front side view of the social house building with installed PV/T collectors.
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The PV/T collectors are assumed to be installed with fully contact on the building’s front side
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facade, thus the thickness of the front side external wall is increased by almost 5 cm. As the PV/T

collector is thermally insulated at its back side, the corresponding total thermal resistance of the external
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wall, which includes the PV/T collectors, is significantly increased by about 3.5 times. On the surface of

the external wall’s front side, without the installed PV/T collectors (light blue surface of Fig. 6), 5 cm
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thick thermal insulation is assumed to be installed. As a result, the total area of the building’s front side

external wall behaves with thermal uniformity. Following the same procedure which was discussed in

section 3 (Table 1), regarding the calculation of the U-value of the external wall of the building [13], after

the interventions reported above, the U-value of the building’s front side external wall equals to 0.396

W/m²·K.

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Fig. 7: US
3-dimensional sketch of the social house building. Installation of the PV/T and the ICS solar
water heaters on the front side facade and the roof of the building, respectively.
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The installation of the ICS solar water heaters on the building’s roof, practically does not affect its
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thermal behavior. Additionally, the orientation of the ICS heaters, for any of the discussed cases, was

assumed to be South, regardless of the orientation modes of the front side of the building (that includes the
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PV/T collectors). Then, following an analogous scenario, similar to that for the PV/T systems, 12 ICS

devices were assumed to be installed on the roof of the examined building, with each one to be assigned to
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one residence. The total aperture area of the ICS devices covers 19.08 m² of the roof area, while the total
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volume of hot water equals to 1,673 l. The 3-dimensional sketch of Fig. 7 depicts both types of the solar

systems, installed on the facade and the roof of the social house building.
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4.1 Results of the energy analysis for the social house building

The social house building, at its initial state for both cities, exhibits large amounts of thermal losses

due to the insufficient thermal insulation of its shell. The results indicate that in Nicosia and Athens the

annual thermal losses were 75.3 and 133.2 MWh, respectively. The installation of the proposed solar

thermal systems, on the facade and the roof of the building, is expected to decrease the thermal losses to

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some extent. The loads for space heating, cooling and hot water needs for the tested cases are presented in

Fig. 8. Fig. 8a presents the monthly variation of the total load in MWh for space heating, cooling and hot

water and Fig. 8b presents the variation of the heating load for space heating and hot water production.

The final temperature of the stored water was considered at 45°C in both figures. According to the results,

the cooling load, for both cities and for all orientation modes, dominantly determines the total energy

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demand of the building all year long. In Nicosia, the total demands are slightly higher than the

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corresponding values for Athens, mainly because of the cooling part. Regarding the heating load for space

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heating and hot water, the results indicate that in Nicosia the demands are lower. It should be noted that

the installation of the PV/T collectors on the front facade of the building seems to have insignificant effect

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on the thermal behavior of the building and of course, its corresponding total thermal demands, regardless

of the chosen orientation. The results show that the achieved improvement of the thermal behavior of the
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building, after the interventions on its envelope, is almost 10%, for all cases, as a consequence of the small

area of the installed PV/T collectors.

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Fig. 8: Variation of the monthly loads (in MWh) of the social house building for the tested cases. (8a)
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total load for space heating, cooling and hot water at 45°C and (8b) heating load for space
heating and hot water at 45°C.
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A clear figure for the energy demands of the building is presented in Fig. 9, in which the annual total

demands including space heating, cooling and hot water vary, for all orientation modes, in the range
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between 225 to 250 MWh. The results refer to two cases for hot water, 45 and 55°C, in order to

compensate possible thermal losses of the piping during the flow of thermal energy towards the occupants

of the residences. The differences between the amounts of the loads for all cases are not significant,

substantiating the claim that, as the installed PV/T collectors holds a small area compared to the total

surface area of the building’s envelope, the load cannot be practically affected.

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Fig. 9: US
Annual total loads of the social house building (in MWh) for space heating, cooling and hot
water (at 45 and 55°C) for the tested cases.
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4.2 Results of the energy output for the proposed solar water heaters
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The analysis focuses on the energy output of the proposed solar systems in conjunction with the

thermal and electrical needs of the social house building. The main objective refers to the coverage
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fraction of the building’s thermal load, as well as its electrical load, at a satisfactory level. The study takes

into consideration the thermal and electrical load of the building, in connection with the surface area of the
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installed systems. Both PV/T and ICS solar systems’ operation is investigated, aiming at covering the
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thermal needs for water heating demands, while the covering of the electrical needs of the building is

studied through the electrical energy output of the PV/T collectors. In the analysis conducted, the thermal
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performance of the solar heaters was taken into consideration, as discussed in section 3, in accordance

with the prevailing weather conditions as well as the tested cases for different orientation modes. The

thermal and electrical energy of the PV/T system and the thermal energy of the ICS system were

calculated for final stored water temperatures, during their daily operation, at either 45 or 55°C, in

compliance with the generally accepted temperature range for domestic applications.

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Fig. 10: Monthly thermal energy output in kWh (10a) and coverage fraction of thermal load (10b) for
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the PV/T and ICS solar water heaters at 45° C.

Fig. 10 depicts the variation of the thermal energy output in kWh and the corresponding coverage

fraction of the thermal load, for the hot water demands of the building, both for the PV/T and for the ICS

systems. The results presented refer to the final temperature of the stored water at 45°C. As indicated in

Fig. 10a, the PV/T solar water heater produces thermal energy for almost 6 months during the year, while

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on the contrary the ICS heater produces thermal energy throughout the year. It is obvious that for both

cities during the winter the PV/T system does not provide thermal energy at the selected water

temperature. It is also evident that the orientation of the building clearly affects the produced thermal

energy of the PV/T system. In particular, for the West and East orientation, the PV/T system provides

almost the same amounts of thermal energy although the solar irradiance presents slightly different values.

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In Athens the thermal energy amounts are higher than the corresponding values in Nicosia. The maximum

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thermal energy values arise during July and August, while for the South orientation mode the

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corresponding maximum value is observed during August and September. The monthly variation of the

produced thermal energy for the ICS solar system, in both cities, follows almost the same trend as for the

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PV/T system, with the significant difference that the system produces thermal energy at the specific

temperature for all year long. In Nicosia, the thermal energy amounts present higher values during winter
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and lower values during summer, compared to the corresponding amounts in Athens.

The monthly variation of the coverage fraction for the hot water energy demands, as indicated in
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Fig. 10b, follows the same trend as that for the thermal energy output. The PV/T system covers more than
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60% of the thermal load for water heating during summer, while in winter it cannot practically contribute.

This finding is strongly connected with the fact that the PV/T system presents low thermal efficiency
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values for the considered water temperature. In other words, even though the total surface area of the

installed PV/T system holds a significant portion of the front side of the building, it cannot effectively
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treat the thermal load. On the other side, the ICS system presents a different behavior, as the

corresponding coverage fraction varies in the range between 20 to 130% during the year. This can be
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attributed to the optimal orientation and inclination of the system, as well as to the fact that the ICS system

presents high thermal efficiency values. The differences observed between the two cities, are related to the

effect of the prevailing weather conditions to the energy output of the systems.

As mentioned above, the analysis was realized also for final stored water temperature of 55°C and

for the case that both systems (PV/T and ICS) are installed on the front facade and the roof of the building

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simultaneously. Fig. 11 depicts the comparative results regarding the annual coverage fraction in all cases,

as reported above. For the PV/T system, in all orientation modes, the values vary in the range between

almost 5 to 20%, depending mainly on the considered final water temperature. The corresponding values

for the ICS system vary in the range between 40 to 60%. In the case that both systems were installed

together, the annual coverage fraction approaches the value of 80% for almost all orientation modes, at the

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final water temperature of 45°C and half of it at the corresponding temperature of 55°C. Between the two

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cities, Nicosia presents systematically higher values of annual coverage fraction, in comparison to Athens.

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Fig. 11: Annual coverage fraction of thermal energy for the PV/T, ICS and both PV/T and ICS solar
systems at water temperature of 45 and 55°C in all tested cases.
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In Fig. 12 the results regarding the electrical output (in kWh, 12a) along with the coverage fraction (12b

and 12c) of the building’s electrical load for the PV/T system, are presented. The results refer to water
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temperature of 45°C. However, the differences of the values for the case of 55°C are marginal, as

indicated by eq. (3) in section 3. All diagrams follow the same trend and indicate that the inclination of the

PV/T system in combination with the orientation of the building, are the most critical parameters.

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Fig. 12: Monthly electrical energy output in kWh (12a) and coverage fraction of the electrical load for
the total demands (12b) and for the lighting (12c) of the building for the PV/T system at 45°C.

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It is worth to be noted that the variation profile diagrams for the South orientation mode, for both

cities, present the opposite figures than those of the East and West ones. In addition, at the East orientation

mode the amounts of the electrical energy are higher compared to the corresponding ones at the West

orientation. These findings are in accordance with the angle of incidence of the solar radiation on the

aperture area of the PV/T collectors for these orientation modes. The differences of the values in the

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energy output between the cities are strongly related to the solar radiation intensity, along with the

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ambient temperature during the daily operation of the PV/T system. The coverage fraction of the total

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electrical load (Fig. 12b) depends also on the orientation modes and varies in the range between 5 to 25%.

However, these values are low, due to the fact that the installed PV/T collectors’ surface represent a small

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portion of the total building’s facade area. For the case of the corresponding coverage fraction of the

electrical load for lighting (Fig. 12c), the results indicate that the PV/T collectors cover almost 50% of the
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electrical demand during winter at the South orientation mode and 45% during summer at the West and

East orientation modes. Taking into account the results, the PV/T system covers significant fraction of the
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electrical demands of the building, considering their surface area.

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5. Life Cycle Assessment of the proposed solar systems

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodological tool widely used for evaluating the
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environmental impacts during the entire life cycle of a system, from raw materials extraction to
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manufacturing processes and finally to disposal or recycling. According to the methodology specified by

ISO 14040, a complete LCA study should contain the following phases: Goal and Scope Definition
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(GSD), Life Cycle Inventory analysis (LCI), Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and Interpretation

[23]. The GSD of an LCA defines the boundaries of the studied system and determines its functional unit

which provides the basis for comparison with alternative goods or services. The product system is

represented through its life cycle processes and the associated material and energy flows from and towards

the natural environment. Through this analysis all the environmental exchanges can be allocated to the

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functional unit and they are reported in the LCI analysis. In particular, during the LCI the quantities of the

consumed resources, the waste flows and the emissions are attributed to the stages of the product’s life

cycle (production, use and disposal). An integrated analysis of the lifecycle of the device is carried out in

order to quantify all inputs used (raw materials and energy) and outputs produced (air, liquid and solid

emissions) during the life cycle of the device. In the next stage, the LCIA provides indicators and the basis

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for analyzing the potential contributions of the resource extractions and wastes/emissions of the inventory

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analysis to a number of potential impacts. These impacts are aggregated through characterization,

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evaluation, classification and weighting resulting to an evaluation of the product life cycle, on a functional

unit basis, in terms of several impact categories (such as climate change, toxicological stress,

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eutrophication, etc.). Finally, through the interpretation, the results of all the above stages are evaluated in

order to assess the global environmental profile of the product. The procedure used in this study follows
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the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards [23, 24] and it has been realized through the use of software

SimaPro8.2 [25] which incorporates the database Ecoinvent 3.3 [26]. The current work involves the Eco-
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indicator 99 methodology in order to categorize and weight the environmental impacts throughout the life
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cycle of the system and assign them to specific indicators that refer to different impact categories, i.e.

carcinogen, respiratory inorganics, respiratory organics, climate change, radiation, ozone layer,
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acidification/eutrophication, ecotoxicity, land use, mineral use and fossil fuels [27, 28].

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the environmental impacts during the entire life cycle
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for both proposed systems [22]. An inventory analysis was thus conducted according to the LCA

methodology, in order to evaluate their energy and emissions loads. The scope of the conducted Life
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Cycle Inventory (LCI) study was restricted to the production, use and disposal phases, thus rendering this

analysis to a "from cradle to grave" one. Two inventory steps were considered, i.e. the PV/T and ICS

systems’ production phase and use. All the data sources used for the conducted analyses have been

selected based on their credibility. State of the art processes have been considered for all the intermediate

fabrication phases of the components of the studied system, as well as for the raw materials used. In

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addition, in all cases the data have been cross checked with the most accurate and up-to-date databases,

i.e. the Ecoinvent 3.3 and others which accompany the SimaPro 8.2 basic software that has been used in

this study. Regarding the presented data, apart from being as technologically advanced and relevant as

possible, the geographic aspect was also taken into account wherever feasible (e.g. use of data for

electricity production in Cyprus and Greece).

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5.1 LCA of the Integrated Collector Storage (ICS) solar water heater

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For the studied ICS solar water heater, the functional unit contains two main components: i. The ICS

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unit, which includes the outer metal cover, the CPC reflector, the insulation, the water tanks and the

absorbing plate and ii. The support system. The ICS unit comprises five parts: the casing, the insulation,

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the parabolic reflectors, the solar glass cover and the water tanks. The casing in the ICS system is
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fabricated in a specifically designed vacuum chamber employing 3 mm thick high impact polystyrene

(HIPS) plastic including a UV radiation stabilizer. HIPS plastic is a versatile, economical and impact-
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resistant material that is easy to machine and fabricate. The next step is the placement of insulation inside

the casing. A thick polyurethane (PUR) layer is placed between the parabolic fins and the casing in order
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to minimize the thermal losses. This process contains the infusion of a specific quantity of liquid PUR in

the bottom of the casing. After a little time PUR becomes solid, expands and is stabilized, thus finally
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taking the form of the casing and filling in all the cavities. In the bottom of the device two parabolic
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mirror fins are placed aiming to concentrate, collect and transfer the solar radiation to the tanks in order to

heat the embodied water. The parabolic fins of the CPC reflector are fabricated from cut and bent
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aluminium plates. After their construction these fins are placed and welded on the top of the insulating

PUR layer. The cylindrical water tanks are located to the bottom of the CPC reflector and they are

fabricated from curved galvanized steel, having a total capacity of 280 l. The outer surface of the tanks is

coated with a black paint, thus aiming at the maximum absorption of the impinging solar radiation. The

tank lids are made from the same material and they are connected to the tanks after their placement in the

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casing. The inner surface of the tanks is coated with an enameled glass layer in order to prevent corrosion

effects during their lifetime. As an additional measure against corrosion, the tanks incorporate a

magnesium rod, while an electrical resistance is also placed inside the tanks in order to provide an

additional heating source for the stored water. At the top and front surface of the device's casing, a highly

transparent tempered glass pane is placed thus maximizing the incoming solar radiation and minimizing

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any security issues. The external plastic pipes (for the circulation of hot and cold water from the solar

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water heater to the house and vice versa) and their insulation are described as "other parts". A typical ICS

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support system employs aluminium bars which are assembled and fastened to the collector by means of

bolts and screws. It has been assumed that the studied ICS systems are being assembled, packed and

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stored in the factory and finally transported to local storehouses in order to finally reach the end users. The

anticipated operation life time of the system is estimated to 10 years.

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5.2 LCA of the PV/T solar water heater
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The basic parts of the PV/T solar water heater are: the photovoltaic panel, the absorbing plate with

the fluid flow tubes, the water tank, the water pump and the support system. In order to focus only on the
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environmental behavior of the studied prototype PV/T device, the LCA’s boundaries were limited only to

the necessary components for the typical operation of the whole system (i.e. apart from the pump all other
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electronic components, controls, sensors, converter, etc have not been considered in the inventory). Thus,
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for the studied prototype PV/T devices, the functional unit (FU) comprised four main components: i. The

absorbing collector, including the photovoltaic panel, the absorbing plate, the pipes for the thermal fluid
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flow and the thermal insulation, ii. The water tank, including the thermal insulation, iii. The water pump,

including the valves for the water fluid and iv. The support system that used to fasten the PV/T system on

the roof. The most important part in the production of the PV/T device is the fabrication of the

polycrystalline silicon (Poly - Si) PV module, which is composed of the solar cells and the frame. The

main materials used for the production of solar cells are: silicon, glass and polyethylene. In the front side

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of the PV module, an additional 2mm thick glazing was placed, while the thermal absorber was placed in

the back side, and consists of two parts: the absorbing plate and the fluid flow pipes. Both the absorber

plate and the fluid flow pipes were made from copper (for the pipes a copper tube was cut in smaller

pieces and then welded to the absorber plate by acetylene welding). Finally, the 5 mm thick thermal

polyurethane (PUR) insulation with a galvanized iron sheet were mounted to the back side of the absorber.

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The cylindrical water tank was placed on the upper side of the PV/T module and mainly consisted of one

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metallic cylindrical tank, which has been fabricated from 0.5 mm thick curved galvanized iron plate. The

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outer surface of the cylindrical storage tank was covered by a 5 cm thick high-density polyurethane foam

layer, in order to protect the tank from thermal losses. A typical PV/T support system employs galvanized

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iron bars, which are fastened to the collector by means of bolts and screws. Regarding the disposal phase

of the PV/T system, no relative data are available.

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Table 4 presents in detail the employed materials and their quantities (in kg) for the studied PV/T

and ICS devices.

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Table 4
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Details of employed materials and quantities for the studied solar systems.
PV/T ICS
Material Mass (kg) Material Mass (kg)
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Solar Glass 12.38 PUR 12.82

Galvanized Iron 11.83 Steel 53.13
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Copper 8.55 Aluminium 12.04

Aluminum 4.32 HIPS Plastic 4.02
Steel 2.12 Solar Glass 19.61
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Plastic tube 2.55 Plastic tube 2.05

Silicon 0.62 Glass fibre 2.00
PUR 4.11 Magnesium 0.40
Plastic cover 0.18
Total 46.66 Total 106.07

Solar systems’ recycling is not a typical task as the lifetime of already installed devices is extended

(both solar thermal systems and photovoltaics can operate for over 20 years with lowered efficiency). On

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the other hand the units are assembled from multiple materials that could be recycled, including glass

(comprising the front cover of most systems), synthetic materials (for the encapsulation and seal of the

devices), PV silicon cells and metals (such as steel, aluminum, lead, copper, gallium and cadmium). For

the European Union, solar panel disposal falls under the European Union’s Waste of Electrical and

Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive and is strictly regulated. As this study refers to systems with

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limited yet commercial availability, it has been assumed that the complete solar systems after the end of

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their lifetime will be collected and disposed to the nearest landfill by truck [8, 9].

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6. Environmental impacts during the lifetime of the solar systems

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The following basic components have been investigated in order to validate the environmental

impacts of the studied solar water systems throughout their life cycle: fabrication and delivery of energy
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and raw materials, manufacture processes, installation and transportation processes during each step. Fig.

13 includes the aggregated environmental impacts per aperture area for both the PV/T and ICS systems. It
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is evident that the PV/T solar water heater is less environmentally friendly compared to the ICS device,

with the respiratory inorganics and climate change being the most influencing impact categories for both
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systems.
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In particular, for the PV/T system, the highest environmental load is attributed to the PV/T collector,

as the PV module seems to be the least environmental friendly component throughout its lifecycle, due to
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its major component: the silicon. The industrial fabrication of silicon wafers demands the use of excessive

heat, thus influencing most of the impact categories, i.e. climate change, carcinogens and respiratory. The
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extensive amount of copper used in the production of the thermal absorber and the pump is responsible for

the high respiratory inorganics score appearing in the two main components of the PV/T system. This also

contributes to the scores in climate change and ecotoxicity categories. Finally, the storage tank presents

lower environmental impacts during the manufacturing process in carcinogens, respiratory inorganics and

climate change categories.

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Fig. 13: Aggregated environmental impacts per aperture area (Pt/m²) during the fabrication and
installation phase for the main parts of the studied solar water heaters.
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The highest environmental impacts per aperture area in the ICS system are caused due to the PUR
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insulation material. The necessity for extensive use of large quantities of PUR during the assembling

processes mainly influences the respiratory inorganics category, while the wastes generated during the
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manufacture processes affect the climate change and carcinogens impact categories. In addition, the

extensive use of aluminium for the construction of the parabolic fins of the CPC reflector is responsible
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for the increased values of respiratory inorganics, carcinogens and climate change.
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The total energy spent per aperture area during the fabrication and installation phases for both solar

systems were 26.5 MJ/m² for the PV/T and 33.5 MJ/m² for the ICS system, respectively. In Fig. 14, a
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more detailed view for the energy spent per aperture area of the heaters’ main parts, is depicted. In

particular, the highest amount of energy spent during the fabrication and installation processes of the PV/T

system, is attributed to the PV module and the thermal absorber. The fabrication of the PV module is more

energy demanding than the respective processes for all the other components of the system, due to the

manufacturing of the silicon wafers. The water tank appears to be the less energy intensive part in

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comparison with the rest parts of the system. Regarding energy spend per aperture area of the ICS system,

the thermal absorber and the water tank shared almost equally the total amount.

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Fig. 14. Energy spend per aperture area (MJ/m²) during the fabrication and installation phases of the
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studied solar water heaters.

The determination of the total energy balance during the whole lifecycle (fabrication, installation
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and operation phases) of each of the studied devices has been an additional target of this study. The
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energy balance between the energy spent during the fabrication and installation phases of the devices, and

the energy produced (both thermal and electrical) during their operation, has been calculated per aperture
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area (GJ/m²) in order to obtain comparative results. The results for both systems have been taken for an

operation period of 10 years. Fig. 15 clearly shows that the energy balance for the PV/T system is strongly
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correlated to the mean stored water temperature. In particular, as the required water temperature increases
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the values of the energy balance decrease and this is evident for all orientation modes. The same trend of

the corresponding results stands for the ICS system, but as the thermal efficiency of the ICS heaters is

higher compared to those of the PV/T systems, on the specific temperature range, the values of the energy

balance are significantly higher than those of the PV/T systems. The environmental and energy analysis

for both studied devices showed that the ICS performs better than the PV/T system. On the other hand,

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PV/T devices affect the energy behavior of the social house building. Both systems could be considered as

promising regarding their thermal performance in combination with the sizing, the mounting options and

their architectural and aesthetic incorporation in the studied buildings’ shell.

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Fig. 15: Energy balance (GJ/m²) due to the fabrication, installation and operation phases for the studied
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systems at Nicosia and Athens, for mean daily water temperature 45 and 55°C.

7. Conclusions
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This paper describes the study of two types of solar systems (i.e. ICS solar water heaters and hybrid
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PV/T systems) acting as building integrated elements (i.e. BISTS) to a social housing block of apartments

and aiming at covering both the hot water and electrical needs.
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The conducted energy analysis (on the basis of the simulation tool Revit) demonstrated the

dominance of the cooling loads for the two studied cities considered; Athens and Nicosia. The

consideration of different orientation modes for the building, did not have significant effect to the

estimated loads. The calculation of the solar systems’ energy output, on the basis of experimentally

derived relations, showed that the PV/T system can cover, 5 to 20% of the hot water load on a monthly

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basis; the orientation mode and the temperature of the mains water proved to be the critical parameters.

The same quantity for the ICS was estimated in the range between 40 to 60%. In the case that both

systems are installed simultaneously, the annual coverage fraction approaches the value of 80% for almost

all orientation modes and the final water temperature of 45°C; for the corresponding temperature of 55°C

this figure is halved. The annual output of the systems is higher in Nicosia, compared to the case of

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Athens, as a result of the prevailing weather conditions; the opposite is valid for the heating load,

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enhancing higher fraction values for Nicosia.

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In terms of electrical energy, the coverage fraction lies in the range of 5 to 25%, depending on the

orientation modes. The demonstrated values are low, as the installed PV/T collectors hold a small portion

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of the total building’s facade area. Even in that case, the results indicate that the PV/T collectors cover

almost 50% of the electrical lighting demands during winter at the South orientation mode and 45%
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during summer at the West and East orientation modes.

Regarding the environmental analysis, the energy balance between the energy spent during the
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fabrication and installation phases of the devices, and the energy produced (both thermal and electrical)
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during their operation, has shown that ICS perform better than PV/T systems. Nevertheless, the fact that

PV/T systems affect the energy behavior of the complete building can be a prospective feature if all loads
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of the building are to be included in the analysis; this task can be treated in a future work. As an overall

conclusion, the analysis demonstrated that both systems could be a promising solution for covering the hot
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water needs of a social housing building, especially if installed together.

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Acknowledgements

Prof. Kalogirou and Dr. Souliotis acknowledge COST Action TU1205 "Building Integrated Solar Thermal

Systems" for providing excellent research networking. Dr. Souliotis acknowledges the Greek PPC (Public

Power Corporation S.A. - Hellas) for the financial support. Finally, Dr. Fokaides gratefully acknowledges

Ms. Christiana Panteli and Mr. Kyriakos Polycarpou, students of the MSc Programme in Sustainable

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Energy Systems at Frederick University, for their contribution in the whole building energy analysis task.

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