Abstract: Parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) are employed for a variety of applications including steam generation and hot water generation. This paper deals with the experimental results and an economic analysis of a new fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) based solar PTC with an embedded electronic controlled tracking system designed and developed for hot water generation in a restaurant in Madurai, India. The new collector performance has been tested according to ASHRAE Standard 93 (1986). The performance of a new PTC hot water generation system with a well mixed hot water storage tank is investigated by a series of extensive tests over ten months period. The average maximum storage tank water temperature observed was 74.91 °C, when no energy is withdrawn from the tank to the load during the collection period. The total cost of the new economic FRP based solar PTC for hot water generation with an embedded electronic controlled tracking system is Rs. 25000 (US$ 573) only. In the present work, life cycle savings (LCS) method is employed for a detailed economic analysis of the PTC system. A computer program is used as a tool for the economic analysis. The present worth of life cycle solar savings is evaluated for the new solar PTC hot water generation system that replaces an existing electric water heating system in the restaurant and attains a value of Rs. 23171.66 after 15 years, which is a significant saving. The LCS method and the MATLAB computer simulation program presented in this paper can be used to estimate the LCS of other renewable energy systems.

Key words: Economic analysis, Life cycle savings, Life cycle cost (LCS), Parabolic trough collector (PTC), Solar water heating system (SWHS)

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