Thesis (MTech (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Solar energy is still not being used effectively in countries in the developing world, though it's a partial solution to the problem of shortage and expensive energy. Normally harvested through flat plate collectors, converting solar radiation into heat is the most direct application that can be effected in water heating systems. Many researchers have attempted to develop means of improving the efficiency of the flat plate solar energy collector; however there appears to be no evidence of any work regarding the effect of geometric configuration on the performance of flat plate solar collector. This study presents results obtained when comparing the performance of a solar water heating system equipped with three manufactured flat plate solar collector panels of numerically identical surface area but of different geometric configuration as they were individually attached to a typical geyser. Data was obtained inside a laboratory. The amount of heat acquired from flat plate collectors of solar energy depends primarily on their surface area that is exposed to the solar irradiance, however, the geometry of the collectors was thought that it might affect to some extent the amount of heat harvested. The circulation of the water from the panel to the geyser was due to the self-induced thermo-syphon effect. The results obtained during the test period (7 hours per day for two consecutive days) indicated that the system’s thermal efficiency was best when the square geometrical configuration collector was used. A dimensional analysis using the Π Buckingham method that was performed on the parameters affecting a flat plate solar collector yielded three dimensionless numbers that lead to a power law relationship which might be useful in enhancing solar water heating systems’ design.

Os sistemas de aquecimento através da energia solar são uma fonte interessante de energia acessível e distribuída. No Brasil, a utilização de coletores solares planos já é bem conhecida e difundida. Os coletores solares de tubo evacuado até pouco tempo tinham um custo considerado elevado para o nosso mercado, mas atualmente esta tecnologia está cada vez mais difundida no mercado nacional com custos menores. Para se entender se o custo adicional deste coletor quando comparado aos tradicionais coletores planos é vantajoso, são necessários estudos comparativos para determinar as reais vantagens e quando as mesmas podem proporcionar uma maior economia financeira à instalação. Esta dissertação compara as tecnologias atuais de coletores planos com os de tubo evacuado disponíveis no mercado nacional, mostrando comparações em diferentes regiões do país e analisando se as vantagens encontradas são interessantes do ponto de vista do custo da instalação. Para realizar estas analises foram desenvolvidos testes para caracterização dos tubos destes coletores, de forma a determinar os parâmetros de desempenho dos mesmos. Também foi preparada uma bancada de testes para os coletores solares e foram realizados ensaios de comportamento térmico. Conhecendo os resultados foi possível adequar e utilizar um software de simulação desenvolvido no Laboratório de Energia Solar da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Este software visa a simulação de sistemas de aquecimento de água com diferentes configurações em qualquer região do país. Com a implementação dos coletores de tubo evacuado, e com simulações do seu desempenho em diferentes regiões, é possível comparar o seu comportamento em relação ao coletor plano. Nesta dissertação as curvas de desempenho foram comparadas em diferentes situações, onde foi possível verificar em que momentos o coletor de tubos pode ser melhor que o plano. Também foram realizadas comparações entre a área ocupada e o custo destes coletores para instalações em 3 diferentes regiões do país. Com estas comparações ficou evidente que para climas mais frios o coletor de tubos evacuados pode apresentar melhor desempenho que os coletores planos, mas o seu custo ainda é muito maior que os coletores planos nacionais. / The solar water heating systems are a interesting source of accessible and distributed energy. In Brazil, the flat plate solar collector use is well known. The vaccum tube solar collectors until little time ago had an elevated cost for our market, but, today, the technology is available in our national market with lower costs. And to understand if this costs, that are higher than the flat plane collectors are worth it, some studies are necessary to understand the real benefits of this technology. This work aims to compare both technologies available in the national market, showing comparisons in different regions of the country and studying if the advantages are interesting in the economical point of view. To achieve that some tests were developed in order to obtain the performance parameters of this collectors. Also an external bench was developed to test this collectors according to the Brazilian standard. With the results and knowing the behavior of this collectors it was possible to program the simulation software that was developed in the Laboratório de Energia Solar of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. This software aims at the simulation of water heating systems in different regions of the country. With the implementation of the vacuum collectors in the software, it was possible to simulate different climate conditions over the country and compare the behavior with the flat plate collectors. In this work the performance curves were compared in different climate situations, so that was possible to understand when the vaccum collector can be better. Also some comparisons where made between the occupied area and the costs in three different regions of the country. With the results of this comparisons it is evident that for cold climates the vaccum collector can obtain a better performance than the flat plate collectors, but its cost is still higher.

Os sistemas de aquecimento através da energia solar são uma fonte interessante de energia acessível e distribuída. No Brasil, a utilização de coletores solares planos já é bem conhecida e difundida. Os coletores solares de tubo evacuado até pouco tempo tinham um custo considerado elevado para o nosso mercado, mas atualmente esta tecnologia está cada vez mais difundida no mercado nacional com custos menores. Para se entender se o custo adicional deste coletor quando comparado aos tradicionais coletores planos é vantajoso, são necessários estudos comparativos para determinar as reais vantagens e quando as mesmas podem proporcionar uma maior economia financeira à instalação. Esta dissertação compara as tecnologias atuais de coletores planos com os de tubo evacuado disponíveis no mercado nacional, mostrando comparações em diferentes regiões do país e analisando se as vantagens encontradas são interessantes do ponto de vista do custo da instalação. Para realizar estas analises foram desenvolvidos testes para caracterização dos tubos destes coletores, de forma a determinar os parâmetros de desempenho dos mesmos. Também foi preparada uma bancada de testes para os coletores solares e foram realizados ensaios de comportamento térmico. Conhecendo os resultados foi possível adequar e utilizar um software de simulação desenvolvido no Laboratório de Energia Solar da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Este software visa a simulação de sistemas de aquecimento de água com diferentes configurações em qualquer região do país. Com a implementação dos coletores de tubo evacuado, e com simulações do seu desempenho em diferentes regiões, é possível comparar o seu comportamento em relação ao coletor plano. Nesta dissertação as curvas de desempenho foram comparadas em diferentes situações, onde foi possível verificar em que momentos o coletor de tubos pode ser melhor que o plano. Também foram realizadas comparações entre a área ocupada e o custo destes coletores para instalações em 3 diferentes regiões do país. Com estas comparações ficou evidente que para climas mais frios o coletor de tubos evacuados pode apresentar melhor desempenho que os coletores planos, mas o seu custo ainda é muito maior que os coletores planos nacionais. / The solar water heating systems are a interesting source of accessible and distributed energy. In Brazil, the flat plate solar collector use is well known. The vaccum tube solar collectors until little time ago had an elevated cost for our market, but, today, the technology is available in our national market with lower costs. And to understand if this costs, that are higher than the flat plane collectors are worth it, some studies are necessary to understand the real benefits of this technology. This work aims to compare both technologies available in the national market, showing comparisons in different regions of the country and studying if the advantages are interesting in the economical point of view. To achieve that some tests were developed in order to obtain the performance parameters of this collectors. Also an external bench was developed to test this collectors according to the Brazilian standard. With the results and knowing the behavior of this collectors it was possible to program the simulation software that was developed in the Laboratório de Energia Solar of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. This software aims at the simulation of water heating systems in different regions of the country. With the implementation of the vacuum collectors in the software, it was possible to simulate different climate conditions over the country and compare the behavior with the flat plate collectors. In this work the performance curves were compared in different climate situations, so that was possible to understand when the vaccum collector can be better. Also some comparisons where made between the occupied area and the costs in three different regions of the country. With the results of this comparisons it is evident that for cold climates the vaccum collector can obtain a better performance than the flat plate collectors, but its cost is still higher.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T13:55:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria_Cristina_Oliveira.pdf: 2955762 bytes, checksum: 7e3357be2a9ff2ea1db93c931082ef8f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In the contemporary world, there are major concerns how to "meet the needs of the current population without compromising the ability of future generations to meet" (LEFF, 2001). Thus, the aim of this study was to assess socioeconomic and environmental associations and centers of recyclable cardboard in the city of Manaus. According to Calderoni (2003), Brazil boasts a performance well below the already achieved by several countries. In this context, we emphasize the importance of associations of collectors of recyclable cardboard in the city of Manaus as a form of collective action model and standard functionality. In the associations, the collectors of cardboard, occupy the public space, creating a separate pole for survival in society and the constitution of new identities, such as environmental educators. Thus, the associations are complex and can be scored as labor, collective action and organization, people who come together to promote collective action. Thus, this study will contribute to knowledge about the complex system of production chain of cardboard in the city of Manaus and this could contribute to the formation of public policy organizations and social actors involved in this matter. The survey was conducted among the associations and clusters of scavengers who work in collecting and marketing scrap of cardboard being recycled in the city of Manaus - AM. The methodological approach of this research aimed to gather and articulate concepts and tools relevant to the development of a study of collective action and environmental associations and centers of recyclable cardboard from Manaus - AM, through the use of a theoretical and methodological basis based on the collection of quantitative and qualitative data through the application forms of socioeconomic and semi-structured interviews. These instruments have sought to contribute to the assessment of social, environmental and economic associations and core collectors. In this sense, recycling cardboard is a great system that revolves around a number of categories as an alternative income generation and environmental sustainability for certain actors in society. / No mundo contemporâneo, há grandes preocupações em saber como satisfazer as necessidades da população atual sem comprometer a capacidade de atender as gerações futuras (LEFF, 2001). Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi uma análise socioeconômica e ambiental, das associações e núcleos de catadores de papelão na cidade de Manaus. Segundo Calderoni (2003), o Brasil exibe um desempenho muito aquém do já alcançado por vários países. Nesse contexto, enfatiza-se a importância das associações de catadores de papelão reciclável na cidade de Manaus como forma de ação coletiva padrão e modelo de funcionalidade. Nas associações, os catadores de papelão, ocupam o espaço público, criando um pólo distinto como meio de sobrevivência no seio da sociedade e a constituição de novas identidades, como por exemplo, educador ambiental. Assim, as associações são complexas e podem ser pontuadas como trabalho, ação coletiva e organização, pessoas que se unem em prol do coletivo. Deste modo, este estudo contribuirá no conhecimento sobre o complexo sistema da cadeia produtiva do papelão na cidade de Manaus, podendo o mesmo contribuir para a formação de políticas públicas para as organizações e atores sociais envolvidos nesta questão. A pesquisa foi realizada junto às associações e núcleos de catadores que trabalham na coleta e comercialização de aparas de papelão a ser reciclado na cidade de Manaus AM. A abordagem metodológica desta pesquisa visou reunir e articular conceitos e ferramentas relevantes ao desenvolvimento de um estudo da ação coletiva e o ambiente nas associações e núcleos de catadores de papelão da cidade de Manaus - AM, mediante a utilização de uma fundamentação teórico-metodológica baseada na coleta de dados quantitativos e qualitativos, através da aplicação de formulários socioeconômicos e entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Estes instrumentos buscaram contribuir para a avaliação dos aspectos sociais, ambientais e econômicos nas associações e núcleo de catadores. Nesse sentido, a reciclagem de papelão é um grande sistema que gira em torno de várias categorias como uma alternativa de geração de renda e sustentabilidade ambiental para determinados atores na sociedade.

Cette thèse vise à mettre en lumière les déplacements des frontières artistiques à travers le cas de la céramique contemporaine, un monde périphérique parmi la nébuleuse des mondes de l’art. Au-delà de la rupture classique entre les modèles de l’art et de l’artisanat, cette recherche analyse comment s’édifie un monde avec une identité artistique et culturelle forte et dans lequel, les amateurs jouent un rôle significatif. De la cohabitation de deux versants au cœur de la céramique contemporaine — le régime patrimonial et le paradigme de l’art contemporain — résulte une situation de relative marginalité : d’un côté se trouve la faible reconnaissance de la céramique au sein de la scène artistique contemporaine (et de ses marchés) et de l’autre, l’attachement artistique des acteurs sociaux (céramistes, amateurs, collectionneurs, professionnels) ainsi qu’une double appartenance affirmée comme une valeur. Partant d’une enquête réalisée auprès des amateurs de céramique, nous analysons la céramophilie et les enjeux de la dimension affective de l’engagement et l’attachement artistiques sur les orientations de la céramique et son système de significations. C’est également à partir d’un état des lieux organisationnel, professionnel et symbolique, que nous étudions les basculements axiologiques opérés par le processus d’artification. Les espaces où se structurent les valeurs esthétiques et marchandes des objets (marchés potiers, galeries, musées, salons, etc.) mettent en évidence une économie artistique instable, mais constante. L’étude de la médiation — comme le territoire où se préfigurent les représentations — rend compte d’un monde régi par une forte proximité humaine plutôt que par les relations institutionnelles. Cette thèse aspire à montrer ainsi comment, malgré les multiples tensions présentes au sein de ce monde de l’art, celui-ci existe grâce aux valeurs différentielles entre l’art contemporain et l’artisanat d’art. Et que sa difficulté à (se) définir en art contemporain est traversée par l’existence même de ces paradoxes, lesquels s’inscrivent dans la pluralité des pratiques et dans l’instabilité des ambitions des acteurs. C’est alors que ces contradictions cohabitent au cœur de l’identité collective de cette communauté artistique, et s’affirment par l’attachement des amateurs et « céramophiles ». / This thesis aims to highlight the displacements of artistic borders through the case of contemporary ceramics, a peripheral world among the nebula of the worlds of art. Beyond the classic break between art and craft models, this research analyzes how a world with a strong artistic and cultural identity is built and in which amateurs plays a significant role. From the coexistence of two sides within the heart of contemporary ceramics - the patrimonial regime and the paradigm of contemporary art – gives birth to a situation of relative marginality: on the one hand there is the low recognition of ceramics within the artistic scene, on the other hand, the artistic attachment of social actors (ceramists, amateurs, collectors, professionals) who consider their double sense of belonging as a value. Based on a survey of ceramic amateurs, we analyze ceramophilia and the stakes of the emotional dimension of artistic commitment and attachment to the orientations of ceramics and the renewal of its system of meanings. It is also from an organizational, professional and symbolic inventory that we study the axiological changes affected by the process of artification. The spaces where the aesthetic and market values of objects (pottery markets, galleries, museums, exhibitions, etc.) are structured show an unstable but constant artistic economy. The study of mediation - as the territory where representations are prefigured - reflects a world governed by a close human proximity rather than by institutional relations. This thesis aspires to show how, despite the many tensions present within this art world, this one exists because of the differential values between contemporary art and arts and crafts and its difficulty to define itself in contemporary art, which is intersected by the paradoxical ambitions of its developers, who coexist and reaffirm themselves at the heart of the collective identity of an artistic community, thanks to the commitment of the same aforementioned amateurs and ceramophiles.

The main purpose of this research project was to do a comparative study, by identifying a testing methodology for transient conditions, through which to allow the expression of the relative thermal performance of two DSWH collectors in comparison. The study started off by considering literature about Solar Domestic Water Heaters and National Standards-based test methods, most of which were for Steady State testing conditions. Thereafter establishing a testing methodology and setup, identifying factors to be considered. The results were analyzed and conclusions drawn. The hypothesis was to allow the reduction in the complexity of testing equipment and methods, and by doing transient condition testing and still utilizing the Hottel-Whillier-Bliss relationship as a way of expressing efficiency, the hypothesis was proven.

Through creative practice research this thesis investigates the concept of touch and its application to museums with the process defined as ‘practice of touch’. The main practical outcome of this thesis is an interface between the museum visitor and an untouchable museum object as part of the object interpretation. The implementation of this idea is realised with the ‘Tactual Explorations’ project. The format of this project is a tactile exhibition consisting of virtual and conventional artworks combined. The subject of the study focuses on interaction between museum visitors and exhibits in order to create an accessible and tactile solution around museums’ ‘do not touch’ policy; without being limited to but being especially for blind and partially sighted visitors. The reason behind paying special attention to these members of the audience is the significance of the sense ‘touch’ in communicating with the world around them. While the main objective of this research is to gain more understanding of the concept of ‘touch’, on a deeper level it investigates whether or not a haptic interaction with untouchable visual information can be achieved with the aid of a creative interface between the museum visitor and an untouchable museum exhibit. By using this creative interface, the aim of the research extends to gaining a better understanding of touch through curating with information design and artistic methods. The purpose behind the idea is to form an inclusive museum experience free from assumptions of just one interpreter without rejecting the traditional methods of object interpretation. The practical outcome enhances dialogue with the existing information by paying special attention to tactile properties of a museum object through a set of artworks. The project is supported by other practical experiments in order to understand the value of visual/photographic information attached to an untouchable object and involve other scholars and artists in interpreting this information tactually. While accepting museums’ policy of ‘do not touch’, the praxis of this thesis is proposed as a method of interpretation that aims to bring in the ‘missing interactivity of touch’ through an engaging tactile exhibition of physical and virtual artworks made by various artists. In contrary to more common approaches of involving artists in interpreting museum objects, in this model created works are not inspired by the original, but directly based on its texture information in order to create haptic interaction, without using a direct replica or embossed copies. In other words, this interface is presented as an addition to the object’s formal interpretation, not to replace it. The research adopts creative practice research methodology in general; and realises it with a reflective and participatory approach borrowed from action research within interpretive research paradigm. The main research strategy deployed is practice-led. Rather than staying in the boundaries of qualitative research, the study takes guidance from the manifesto of performative research which is declared as an alternative to the qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, by offering creative approaches to conducting a research project.

The thermal effects of stitch welding the coolant conduits of a water-cooled flat plate solar collector to its absorber plate have been studied. A physical model of the heat transfer process from the plate to the fluid flowing inside the tube has been presented. The heat transfer coefficient based on the difference between bond temperature and fluid bulk mean temperature is an important factor in determining the collector efficiency factor F'. The upper and lower limits of the actual value of F' have been predicted by considering two extreme boundary conditions to which the fluid is subjected. For a thick and conductive tube wall, F' does not depend on spot size and spot spacing, and tends to an upper limit of 0.883. For a thin and non-conductive tube wall, the boundary condition comprises of a series of step changes in both the axial and circumferential directions of the heat flux. In this case, the heat transfer coefficient and hence F' approach their lower limits which are determined by the welding spot configuration. It was also found that F' increases with the following parameters: the spot angle; the percentage of tube length being welded; and the number of spots among which the welding is being distributed. Furthermore, the temperature distribution inside the fluid has also been computed for this case. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mechanical Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Doctor Educationis / Background: Since 2005 the Chronic Dispensing Unit (CDU) has been part of the Western Cape Government’s strategy to address increasing demand for chronic medication for patients with non-communicable diseases. However, some patients are unable to collect their pre-packed chronic medication parcels from health care facilities on the due date. Recent research reported that some patients utilise collectors or medicine agents to collect their prepacked chronic medication parcels. Currently little is known about this phenomenon of collectors. Aim and Objectives: This study explored the acceptability of collectors of CDU chronic medication parcels to improve access to medicines for patients with non-communicable diseases at Lotus River Community Day Centre (LRCDC). Methodology: An exploratory descriptive qualitative study using semi-structured interviews in English and Afrikaans was conducted with six purposively selected collectors, three patients who use collectors and three key informants who have intimate knowledge of the collectors and system at the health facility. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated into English (where applicable) and thematically coded to derive themes from the data. Ethical approval was provided by the University of the Western Cape Bio-Medical Research Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained from all study participants. Results: Patients reported that their collectors exhibited positive characteristics such as trust, patience and reliability, as well as, a passion for helping the community and organisational skills. All patients acknowledged the benefits of utilising a collector and found them to be highly acceptable. Key informants, however, had some reservations about the characteristics of collectors and their role in medication distribution and were sceptical as to whether collectors were suitably equipped to perform this function. Patients were grateful when their collector had some knowledge about their condition and were able to converse with them regarding their medication. Key informants suggested that with sufficient training and skills development, collectors could potentially improve access to chronic medication parcels and impart basic knowledge about chronic medication adherence to patients. iv Conclusion: The collector system that has emerged at LRCDC is highly acceptable to patients, but health facility staff were more measured in their assessments. Health facility staff, however, acknowledged the potential of collectors to improve access to chronic medication parcels for patients with chronic conditions and the benefit of upskilling collectors to perform this function. Recommendations: As a short-term measure, collectors should be formally accepted at facilities as medicine agents. They should receive basic education about safe medication distribution practices. Patients should screen collectors to ensure that they have the desired positive attributes. Furthermore, future research is necessary to comprehensively understand the current scope of practice of collectors within communities

The influence of control strategies and storage tank sizes on the system performance of a solar thermal assisted ground source heat pump(SAGSHP) installation has been investigated. The system investigated is in the design stage and will be implemented in the project Slottsholmen in Västervik, Sweden during 2015. Using the simulation software TRNSYS the suggested system has been modelled in its entirety and the response of the system for different control strategies and storage tank size configurations have been investigated.The system is designed with a dual tank configuration where solar heat can either be used for direct domestic hot water(DHW) production(in a high grade tank) or utilized as additional source for the heat pumps(in a low grade tank) with the purpose of increasing evaporation temperatures of the heat pumps. Four different control strategies have been investigated. Two strategies where either tank is prioritized, one where the two tanks are run in series and heat can be delivered at two temperature levels simultaneously and one strategy where the low grade storage tank is by-passed and heat is only utilized directly for DHW production. For each control strategy a series of different tank size configurations have been tested. Results show that the influence of control strategies dominate the effect of different storage tank size configurations. Solar fraction for the system varies between 0.10 and 0.13 between control strategies while variations between storage tank sizes are close to negligible. The electricity use of the SAGHSP system has been compared to a reference system where the solar collectors are switched off. The results show that fractional energy savings of the SAGSHP system ranges from 0.066 to 0.099 between control strategies. Interestingly the fractional energy savings increases for cases with lower solar fraction. For control strategies which prioritize DHW production the temperature level in the solar collector loop increased thus leading to lower solar collector efficiency and less collected heat. However, solar heat used directly for DHW production leads to a higher electricity savings than using the heat as source for the heat pumps which explains the decoupling of fractional energy savings from solar fraction. An attempt to quantify the value of the harvested solar collected heat is done by introducing a performance figure named ''Solar Savings Efficiency'' which is the ratio of the electricity savings compared to the reference system to the collected solar heat. The Solar Savings Efficiency ranges from 0.23 to 0.46 with the higher value registered for strategies which prioritize DHW production. / Inverkan av strategier för styrning och ackumuleringsvolymer på systemprestandan hos en solkollektorassisterad bergvärmeinstallation har undersökts. Det undersökta systemet är i projekteringsstadiet och kommer att byggas i projektet Slottsholmen i Västervik under 2015. Genom att använda simuleringsmjukvaran TRNSYS har systemet modellerats i sin helhet och systemets respons på olika styrstrategier och konfiguration av ackumulatortankar har undersökts. Systemet är designat med två ackumuleringstankar för solkollektorkretsen där solvärme antingen kan användas för direkt beredning av varmvatten(en varm tank) eller som värmekälla för systemets värmepumpar(en kall tank) med syftet att då höja värmepumparnas förångningstemperatur. Fyra olika styrstrategier har undersökts. Två strategier där antingen den varma eller den kalla tanken är prioriterad, en strategi där båda tankarna är i serie och värme kan lämnas vid båda temperaturnivåer samtidigt samt en fjärde strategi där den kalla tanken alltid förbigås och solvärmen endast används för direkt beredning av varmvatten. För varje styrstrategi har en rad olika konfigurationer på ackumuleringstankarna testats. Resultatet visar att inverkan av styrstrategier dominerar över den effekt som olika ackumuleringsvolymer har. Andelen av systemets värmelast som betjänas av solvärme varierar mellan 0.10 och 0.13 mellan olika styrstrategier medan variation mellan olika ackumuleringsvolymer är nära försumbar. Elanvändningen i systemet har jämförts mot ett referenssystem där solkollektorerna är avstängda. Resultaten visar att besparingen i elektricitet relativt referenssystemet varierar mellan 6.6 % och 9.9 % mellan olika styrstrategier. Intressant är att elbesparingen är högre för fall med lägre andel solvärme. För styrstrategier som prioriterar varmvattenberedning ökar temperaturnivån i solkollektorkretsen vilket leder till lägre verkningsgrad för solkollektorerna och därmed lägre andel solvärme som förs in i systemet. Dock visas att solvärme som används direkt för varmvattenberedning leder till högre elbesparing än solvärme som används som källa för värmepumparna vilket förklarar den lägre elanvändningen vid lägre andel solvärme. Ett försök att kvantifiera värdet av den skördade solvärmen har utförts genom att introducera ett nyckeltal kallat ''Solbesparingsverkningsgrad (Solar Savings Efficiency)''. Nyckeltalet är definierat som kvoten av elbesparingen för en viss strategi/konfiguration jämfört med referenssystemet och total mängd solenergi som skördats. Solbesparingsverkningsgraden varierar mellan 0.23 och 0.46 med det högre värdet för strategier som prioriterar direkt varmvattenberedning.