Solar Pool Heating at Obbola School : A pilot study about performance evaluation of different solar thermal collectors and their long-term economic benefits for Umeå Municipality

Abstract: This pilot study aims to evaluate the thermal performance of different types of solar thermal collectors and their long-term economic benefits for Obbola school, located within the Umeå municipality. The goal of this project is to investigate how much thermal and electrical energy can be generated annually and even during summertime by using only solar collectors for heating purposes of an outdoor pool at Obbola school. The solar thermal collectors that are selected for this project are Solar Keymark-certified flat plate, evacuated tube, and photovoltaic hybrid solar collectors. This study will include designing and simulation roof-integrated and ground-based collectors in Polysun software and determine their thermal performance at European Standards of 45° and collectors facing true south. The simulations in Polysun were conducted on the main site roof area of 65 m2 and a steep grass area of 66 m2 behind the main roof.This pilot study shows that only during the summertime, between the 1st of May and the 31st of August, flat and evacuated tube solar collectors can generate between 4.5 - 5.1% of the school's annual average thermal energy needs. The total average generated thermal energy by these collectors during a year is about 20800 kWh. A hybrid solar collector's thermal energy generated during the summertime covers only 0.6% of 400215 kWh, the annual average thermal energy the school needs. At the same time, the generated electricity will cover only 1.2% of the average electricity the Obbola school needs, which is 539600 kWh.Some economic analyses were conducted to evaluate the long-term economic benefits of installing solar thermal collectors for Umeå municipality, including payback period, life cycle profit, annuity, and life cycle costs. The payback period results show that these collectors have between 9 to 20 years of returning their initial investment. This economic analysis was based on the collector's service life between 25 to 40 years, depending on the brands and manufacturers. These collectors' average life cycle profit revenue is between 178816 SEK and 294415 SEK after 25 and 40 years, respectively. This profit margin makes it very attractive for Umeå municipality, and this model can be used for further implementation at other schools within the municipality. The annual annuity revenue from these collectors is 10269 SEK to 12737 SEK after 25 and 40 years of service, respectively. The results from the return-on-investment show that the installation will give about a percentage profit of 2.8% to 3.5% between 25 and 40 years, respectively. These collectors' average life cycle costs over 25 and 40 years are 358094 SEK and 677231 SEK, respectively. According to the economic analyses, the results show that this pilot study will be a very profitable investment for the Umeå municipality.