DEMONSTRATION OF A SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED PROJECT UNDER THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TASK FORCE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION (MOSTI)

A Renewable Energy (RE) Task Force was set up in June 2008 by MOSTI with the intention to identify and focus on the priority areas under RE as well to develop the relevant action plans.

This Task Force has taken two approaches:

(i) To study new areas of RE to be developed.
(ii) To evaluate and assess R&D projects which have been funded by MOSTI to be developed further.

The areas identified under RE are solar, biomass, wind and ocean. These areas are in line with the Renewable Energy Policy developed by the Government through the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water. MOSTI has been mandated to focus on the RE technology development aspect.

MOSTI has approved 13 pilot projects under the RE Task Force and is monitoring the progress of the projects. The outcomes of the projects are expected to be beneficial and thus be used as a benchmark for uptake of the technology by others. This Large Scale Solar Assisted Hot Water Heating Systems for Hospitals is one of the pilot projects under the Task Force awarded to Zamatel Sdn. Bhd in collaboration with The Solar Energy Research Institute in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.


PROJECT DETAILS

Very large amounts of energy is used for low-temperature process heat such as drying of lumber or food, cleaning in food processing, extraction in metallurgical or chemical processing, cooking, curing of masonry products, paint drying, and many others. Temperatures for these applications can range from near ambient to those corresponding to low pressure steam. There exist an opportunity to harvest solar energy utilizing solar collectors. One of the most attractive applications of solar hot water heating system is the use of such system in hospitals

Zamatel Sdn Bhd, in collaboration with The Solar Energy Research Institute in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia was entrusted to propose a pilot project on implementing a hot water heating system using solar energy. The chosen recipient of this solar hot water system is Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM).

This project is to integrate into the hospital’s current water heating system, a solar assisted hot water production. This would reduce the amount of LPG used for the heating system especially during day time. This pilot project is to show the effectiveness of solar heating system on a large scale application and to show the aesthetical improvements available to such hospitals and hotels.

PPUKM which is situated in Cheras, is about 10 km from the Kuala Lumpur city centre. It is one of the most modern state-of-the-art teaching hospitals for the Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia. The existing hot water system for the hospital is provided by a boiler. The fuel used is LPG. A total of eight calorifiers are used to transfer heat from the boiler system to the end-users. The units run 24 hours a day.

In this project, the solar assisted hot water system uses evacuated tube collectors, storage tanks, piping system, control system and instrumentation which were designed and fabricated for operation under the Malaysian climatic conditions.

OBJECTIVES

This project is aimed at:
• installing solar thermal collectors to preheat hot water for existing commercial hot water service
• demonstrating the use of solar heat piped energy as an economical alternative compared to water heating by fossil fuels
• reducing the amount of LPG used
• reducing greenhouse gases emission
• providing an advanced practical platform for solar thermal research

· Description of System

Type	Active system
Heat transfer medium	Distilled water in closed loop
Heat transfer mode	2 loops; 1 clos ed, 1 open
Heat storage method	Stored filtered water
System adaptation method	Via water supply inlet to existing calorifiers

· Basic Facts

Site of collector arrays	Open space, ground level
Total land area allocated for collectors	946 m²
Total solar collector panel area	344 m²
Total solar collector absorber area	187 m²
Number of collector tubes	2,304
Panel arrangement	Series of 4 panels, String of 12 series in parallel, Array of 3 strings in parallel.
Solar collector structure	108 concrete columns supporting 36 concrete beams forming 12 clusters.
Water storage capacity	15,000 litres

OUTCOME OF THE PPUKM SOLAR HOT WATER SYSTEM PROJECT

The completed solar hot water system is currently supplying hot water to the hospital for use by warded patients, staff and laboratories between 10am to 10pm daily. At night, water supply is heated up by an LPG fueled boiler. Through this arrangement, the hospital saves an average of 160 cubic meters of LPG daily. This translates to an LPG saving of 58,400 cubic meters a year. The potential annual CO2 emission reduction is 607 tonnes.

Location of the PPUKM’s Solar Hot Water System