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The Influence of Residential Solar Water Heating on Electric Utility Demand
Abstract
Similar sets of residences in Austin, Texas with electric water heaters and solar water heaters with electric back-up were monitored during 1982 to determine their instantaneous electric demands, the purpose being to determine the influence of residential solar water heating on electric utility demand. The electric demand of solar water hears was found to be approximately 0.39 kW lass than conventional electric water heaters during the late late afternoon, early evening period in the summer months when the Austin utility experiences its peak demand. The annual load factor would be only very slightly reduced if there were a major penetration of solar water heaters in the all electric housing sector. Thus solar water heating represents beneficial load management for utilities experiencing summer peaks.
Citation
Vliet, G. C.; Askey, J. L. (1984). The Influence of Residential Solar Water Heating on Electric Utility Demand. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6876.