Solar heating in SAM

Dear Paul,

DO the SAM have some solutions for solar district heating? My Phd project focuses on Large scale PTC collector field for district heating.

On the other hand, do the NREL have some plan to add the district heating to the SAM?

Maybe I want to have a visit to NREL about the application of PTC in solar heating field.

Best regards

Tian

Dear Tian,
SAM's solar water heating model is designed to model rooftop solar water heating systems that reduce the load of a conventional electric water heater. The financial model assumes that the value of solar energy is equal to the reduction in the building's electricity bill.
However, there is no limitation on the size of the system or load, so you may be able to use it for your district heating application.
For information about visiting NREL please see these websites: 
www.nrel.gov/about/visiting-nrel.html
www.nrel.gov/careers/internships.html
Best regards,

Paul.

Dear Paul,

Thanks a lot for your reply.Maybe SAM's solar water heating model focus on flat plane collector. The solar filed in my project is Large scale parabolic trough collector field.( about 10000 ?).I will check the Sam user guide carefully.

Thanks again.

Best regards

Tian

Dear Tian,
SAM's solar water heating model is for flat-plate or tubular collectors. It does not model parabolic trough collectors.
You may be able to use the physical trough model for your project. Please see this post for details about using the trough model for a thermal application:
sam.nrel.gov/node/69067
Best regards,

Paul.

Dear Paul,

Thanks a lot.I will check it.

Zhiyong Tian