@inproceedings{34284,
  author = {Milica Grahovac and Katie Coughlin and Mohan Ganeshalingam and Robert Hosbach and Vagelis Vossos},
  title = {Costs and Benefits of Community Scale Solar Water Heating},
  abstract = {<p><span>In this paper we present a new population</span><span>-</span><span>level life</span><span>-</span><span>cycle cost (LCC) analytical </span><span>framework to quantify the relative costs and benefits of deploying solar water heating (SWH) </span><span>end</span><span>-</span><span>use technology at a community scale, in comparison to individual systems, unde</span><span>r a wide </span><span>range of conditions. A primary innovation is to provide a quantitative definition of scale </span><span>parameter to distinguish between individual</span><span>-</span><span>and community</span><span>-</span><span>level projects, and to identify major </span><span>aspects of system cost and performance that are impacted by</span><span>a change in </span><span>scale</span><span>.</span><span>We describe the structure of the population</span><span>-</span><span>level LCC model and the methodology of its </span><span>sub</span><span>-</span><span>models as developed for a study of SWH in California. We evaluate multiple residential </span><span>building types and climate zones in California to understa</span><span>nd factors that may influence the </span><span>relative performance of community</span><span>-</span><span>scale installations vs. individual households. We developed a </span><span>new hot water demand model, as well as a new multiscale SWH cost and performance model.</span><span>Our results show that there exists an </span><span>optimal</span><span>scale for the SWH systems. A scale of eight </span><span>provides maximum LCC benefits (minimum LCC) for single</span><span>-</span><span>family detached, </span><span>a scale of </span><span>16 or </span><span>32 for single</span><span>-</span><span>family attached, and 32 for multi</span><span>-</span><span>family households. Minimal backup water heater </span><span>natural gas use occu</span><span>rs at scales</span><span>of</span><span>two to four for single</span><span>-</span><span>family detached housing, four to eight </span><span>for single</span><span>-</span><span>family attached, and eight to 16 for multi</span><span>-</span><span>family housing. We support the results with </span><span>population</span><span>-</span><span>level illustrations of scaling and climate zone effects on the energy</span><span>use and scaling </span><span>effects on installation cost, total installed cost, purchase price and LCC.</span></p>},
  year = {2020},
  journal = {2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings},
  month = {08/2020},
  publisher = {ACEEE},
  address = {Pacific Grove, CA},
  url = {https://aceee2020.conferencespot.org/event-data/pdf/catalyst_activity_10923/catalyst_activity_paper_20200812133157248_498ce455_3a9c_4278_9088_6e3fdce5745b},
  language = {eng},
}