Year: 1979
Type: article
Abstract: The Miamisburg Solar Pond is the largest functional, salt-gradient solar pond in the US. It provides low-cost solar energy collection and low temperature heat storage. The heat in the pond is removed by use of a copper-tube heat exchanger which has a surface area of 138 m2 (1500 ft2). During the summer of 1979 the initial heat, 39,970 kW.hr (136 million BTU), was removed for heating an outdoor community swimming pool. Based upon the performance thus far, the pond could yield 381,000 kW.hr/yr (1300 million BTU/yr) of useful heat. An economic analysis based upon a 10-y amortization of the installation costs of the pond indicates that the cost of the heat, 1.8 cents/kW.hr/yr ($\$$5.40/million Btu), is already below the current price for heating with fuel oil.
Authors: M. Harris, L J Wittenberg
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W112809464