Valentina Khoreva, a post-graduate student of NSTU NETI, the founder of the project "Nashe Solntse" (Our Sun), a participant of NSTU School of Technology Commercialization, has developed a solar thermal collector for hot water supply and house heating systems using solar energy. The collector helps to significantly reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
"A solar thermal collector is a device that employs the sun to heat water thus heating buildings. A solar heat receiver is installed on the roof or wall. The sun's rays fall on it while water or a heat carrier passes through the collector and heats the water tank. The heat carrier heats up to 90 degrees, in summer this process is faster, in winter the same temperature can be reached in a longer time, or the heating speed is reached by a larger receiver area, at least in Novosibirsk. It all depends on the size of the tank and how the water is consumed. It is not the main heat source, but a resource-efficient one. For example, if you have a detached house, it is very expensive to heat it in winter. If you want to save money, you can install a collector. These are green technologies that eliminate CO2 emission," said Valentina Khoreva.
The collector can 100% replace gas or stove heating equipment with a sufficient area of the solar heat receiver. According to the developer, for heating a 100 m² house the collector area should be 2-8 m², depending on the number of residents.
"A special plate with a heat carrier (antifreeze) is heated in the collector. The heat receiver is covered by tempered glass on the outside. The plate does not contact directly with the atmosphere, so the heat loss is significantly reduced. Heat insulation is used on the back side of the plate. The wide spread black barrel used for heating water in summer houses heats it only in summer on warm days. If it is sunny but cool, the temperature will be close to the air temperature due to heat loss. The sun provides up to 1 kW of thermal energy per 1m². By reducing heat loss as much as possible, the collector can heat the heat carrier at sub-zero temperatures. Also, on a hot day the barrel will heat up to a maximum of 40 degrees; in winter water will turn to ice in the barrel irrespective of sunshine. The collector heats the heat carrier up to boiling temperature in sunny weather. "
According to Valentina Khoreva, the solar thermal collector developed at NSTU NETI will be much cheaper than foreign analogs, but at the same time no less effective. Another advantage of the "Nashe Solntse" project is maintainability. Any solar thermal collector user will be able to repair the installation independently, which also makes the development more environmentally friendly.
"Installing a solar thermal collector is very expensive now, but we are developing devices that are both cheap and effective. We strive for the balance of technology, materials, and price. The advantage of our development is the reduced cost and increased efficiency of the solar collector. We have been actively participating in the NSTU School of Technology Commercialization since spring 2021. We are working out a project development strategy, as well as an investment plan, meeting with potential partners, and have also made an application for a grant," said Valentina Khoreva.
The project has already received feedback from representatives of core businesses and supporting funds such as Gazprom Neft, NLMK, Krastsvetmet, Skolkovo Foundation, Severstal, Severgroup, Kirovsky Zavod, ROSATOM, PwC Russia, GIPAR Engineering Centre LLC, and the experts of business-accelerator A:START.