An Overview of the Development of Solar Water Heaters Systems in Cí´te d'Ivoire and Study of the Thermal Performance of a Locally Made Solar Water Heater

Abstract

Solar water heating systems (SWHS) in Cí´te d'Ivoire have a high share among the renewable energy sources in the total mix of the energy consumed. Studying the popularization of SWHS is significant for understanding Cí´te d'Ivoire's transition to green energy systems. The current number of installed SWHS in Cí´te d'Ivoire is negligibly small of all households. In this article, we compare the economic feasibility of an imported SWHS and an electric water heater, then SWHS designed locally versus the same electric water heater. A prototype of the study SWHS has been built and tested locally. The results show that the system is suitable for application in Cí´te d'Ivoire. The economic study confirms the viability and the real potential market of the locally manufactured SWHS. The purchase cost is 1.75 times lower than the imported ones