Solar Water Heater Using an IoT

Abstract

Traditional water heaters use a lot of electricity to heat water. Traditional water heaters require a heating coil to heat water, which uses at least 2000 watts. It also requires human intervention. For this reason, we utilize solar energy. Solar energy is not only a clean and renewable alternative to fossil fuels, but it is also environmentally friendly, has a wide range of applications, and has low maintenance costs. Therefore, the aim of this project is to convert solar energy into electrical energy and utilize solar energy to heat water. The solar hot water system includes IoT, solar panels, various modules and various sensors. Based on this measurement, we provide a smart hot water system through a combination of Internet of Things technologies and business processes and decision support systems. Maintaining a traditional water system is inconvenient but often effective when regular human intervention is required. In this project work, the complete workflow of the system is presented.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Conventional water heaters consume significant electricity for heating water. They typically use heating coils with a minimum power rating of 2000 watts and often require manual intervention for temperature control. This project addresses these limitations by introducing a smart solar water heating system powered by renewable solar energy. The proposed system eliminates the need for manual operation. It automatically regulates the water temperature using sensors and a microcontroller unit. Additionally, the system integrates with a mobile application, enabling users to monitor and control the heating process remotely. This translates to increased user convenience and potential energy bill savings through intelligent scheduling. The proposed system removes the necessity of manual intervention. It automatically regulates the water temperature using sensors and a microcontroller unit. Additionally, the system integrates with a mobile application, enabling users to monitor and control the heating process remotely. This translates to increased user convenience and potential energy bill savings through intelligent scheduling

II.RELATED WORKS

1. Monitoring and Controlling of Solar Watered Pumping using Arduino (B. Sujatha et al.) explores a similar system using Arduino for controlling water pumps in solar water heating applications.
2. Smart Water Heater System Monitoring and Controlling Using Arduino Board (Khalifa Dai Elnour) focuses on temperature monitoring and control for minimizing energy waste in water heaters with Arduino.
3. An Iot Based System for Improving the Solar Water Heater (Chanda Ellis et al.) investigates the impact of absorber plate design on solar collector efficiency in IoT-based solar water heaters.
4. Automating a solar water heating system (Wassima Ait Ahmed et al.) evaluates the effectiveness of adding controllers to manage key parameters in solar heating systems for improved efficiency.

These studies highlight the growing interest in developing smart and efficient solar water heating systems. They also identify areas for further research, such as optimizing sensor calibration, exploring alternative control algorithms, and integrating advanced features like predictive maintenance.

III.METHODOLOGY

A. System Components

The proposed system comprises several key components:

1. Solar Collector: Absorbs the solar energy and it converts into heat.
2. Temperature Sensor (DS18B20): Measures the water temperature in the storage tank.
3. ESP8266 Microcontroller Unit (MCU): Acts as the system's brain, processing sensor data and controlling the relay.
4. Relay Module: Switches the heating element on or off based on MCU instructions.
5. Mobile Application: Provides a user interface for remote monitoring and control.

Fig.8 shows the monitored (current temperature and required temperature) of solar water heater using IoT. The required temperature has been set to 35 degree Celsius and the current temperature of heater is 29 degree Celsius. Initially, the pump is in idle condition and the pumping time is also monitored and displayed on the LCD.

VI. APPLICATIONS

This smart solar water heating system holds promise for various applications, including:

1. Residential buildings
2. Hostels
3. Hospitals
4. Chemical industries (for monitoring and maintaining fluid temperatures in large tanks)
5. Nuclear power plants (for critical temperature control in fluid-filled tanks)

Conclusion

This smart solar water heating system holds promise for various applications, including: 1) Residential buildings 2) Hostels 3) Hospitals 4) Chemical industries (for monitoring and maintaining fluid temperatures in large tanks) 5) Nuclear power plants (for critical temperature control in fluid-filled tanks)

References

[1] “Monitoring and Controlling of Solar Watered Pumping using Arduino” by B. Sujatha, K. Srinija, B. Soumya, J. Pavithra, K. Sudha Srinidhi [2] “Smart Water Heater System Monitoring and Controlling Using Arduino Board”by Khalifa Dai Elnour [3] “An Iot Based System for Improving the Solar Water Heate”r by Chandla Ellis, R. Roshni Karen, D. Dharshini, M. Yashwanthi [4] “Automating a solar water heating system” by Wassima Ait Ahmed, Mohammed Aggou, Fayçal Bennan . [5] Khadija Tul Kobra, Arnab Debnath, Proteeti Prova Rawshan, “Temperature and Power Control of Water Geyser Using LearningTechnique”, 3rd International Conference for Convergence in Technology (I2CT), 2018. [6] Priyen P. Shah et al. “IoT based Smart Water Tank with Android application”, International conference on I-SMAC (IoT in Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud) (ISMAC 2017), [7] Elamari, Khalid, Luiz A. C. Lopes and Reinaldo Tonkoski. “Using Electric Water Heater (EWHs) for Power Balancing and Frequency Control in PVDiesel Hybrid Mini-Grids”. (2011). [8] Liang Hu, Feng Wang, Jin Zhou and Kuo Zhao “A Survey from the Perspective of Evolutionary Process in the Internet of Things”, International Journal of Distribued Sensor Networks, Article ID 462752, 2015.2 [9] R Kashyap – “Iot enabled water heating system” 2019 UG Project report Jaypee University of. Information Technology [10] “Home Heating Saving Energy tips: Water Heating” from Atcoenergysense.com [11] Sangeeta Sarkar, “Analysis, Design and Development of an IoT Based Water Management System for Residence”, GSJ: Volume 6, Issue 10, October 2018 ISSN 2320-918

Copyright

Copyright © 2024 Tashi Rapden Wangchuk, Reepsong Lepcha, Karma Gyatso, Debhora Rai, Tshering Yangchen Lepcha, Semika Sarki, Pema Dorjee Lepcha. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.