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Simulation and economic analysis of an innovative indoor solar cooking system with energy storage

Zhou, Chang; Wang, Yinfeng; Li, Jing; Ma, Xiaoli; Li, Qiyuan; Yang, Moucun; Zhao, Xudong; Zhu, Yuezhao

Authors

Chang Zhou

Yinfeng Wang

Qiyuan Li

Moucun Yang

Yuezhao Zhu



Abstract

Solar energy technology and energy storage technology are promising to make a contribution to current energy and global climate issue. The energy demand of daily cooking is enormous, and conventional cooking methods use gas or electricity with large carbon emissions. This paper proposes an innovative solar cooking system (SCS) integrated with rock-bed thermocline storage. Thermal oils transfer heat from the collectors to the rocks in the charging process and release heat in cooktop unit for cooking. The energy consumption of a household is first assessed by a reasonable hypothesis. Mathematical models and simulation models are then established to analyze the heat transfer performance of the cooktop unit and the annual running performance of the SCS. The rock-bed thermocline storage, single-tank thermocline storage and two-tank storage are compared. The simulation results indicate that the rock-bed thermocline storage unit employed to SCS will enhance the annual running performance and acquire the minimum initial investment cost. The economic analysis shows that the lowest levelized cost of cooking energy (LCOC) of the SCS is 0.3884 $/kWh, while the corresponding levelized cost of cooking a meal (LCCM) is 0.953 $/Meal and the solar fraction (SF) is 71%. Compared to the electrical and natural gas cooker, the SCS saves 1.75 tons and 0.52 tons of carbon emissions annually, respectively.

Citation

Zhou, C., Wang, Y., Li, J., Ma, X., Li, Q., Yang, M., Zhao, X., & Zhu, Y. (2023). Simulation and economic analysis of an innovative indoor solar cooking system with energy storage. Solar Energy, 263, Article 111816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2023.111816

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 22, 2023
Online Publication Date Jul 20, 2023
Publication Date Oct 1, 2023
Deposit Date Sep 16, 2023
Publicly Available Date Sep 26, 2023
Journal Solar Energy
Print ISSN 0038-092X
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 263
Article Number 111816
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2023.111816
Keywords Solar cooking system; System performance; Configuration optimization; Economy
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4388674

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Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Solar Energy Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).




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