SmartSolar

Smart system for monitoring and control of solar water heaters

The most popular, worldwide, solar thermal systems are the thermosiphon systems to produce hot water for domestic use. These systems usually cover 60-90% of energy, which needs a household for hot water. Most of them are equipped with electrical resistance to meet the needs of the user, when solar energy is not enough. Solar water heaters help to achieve the energy and climate targets of both Greece and the European Union. For achieving the European objective for decarbonized, decentralized, digitalized energy production, only digitalization is required for solar water heaters, because the first two are already met. In Greece, 33% of households are using solar water heaters versus 50% that are using an electric water heater. Many devices, including water heaters, are available on the world market equipped with IoT features, which allows operational data collection and remote control, usually through Wi-Fi.

The object of the project is the design and development of an integrated digital system with electronic and information/communication technologies, which will include an intelligent device for monitoring and data collection from solar water heaters, and a smart application for communication and provision of services to users, professionals and energy networks. This intelligent device, which will be developed in the project, will collect by using temperature and flow sensors 24/7 measurements, which will then be processed with a specific algorithm and will allow, through remote communication, the control of the thermosiphon.

Action "Research-Create-Innovate",funding EYDE-ETAK/GSRT 2014-2020.