The HWS Laboratory is a facility at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) - UCF grounds in Cocoa, FL used to test a variety of hot water systems simultaneously side by side. The 160 Sq.ft. metal roof building currently houses seven hot water systems including electric, solar thermal, natural gas and tankless systems. The project is part of the Building America program funded by DOE. www.baihp.org/hwslab

The HWS Lab houses a 50-gallon electric tank, differential controlled flat plate collector system w/80 gallon electric assisted tank, 40-gallon Integrated collector system(ICS) backed-up by a 50-gallon electic, PV pumped flat plate collector system w/80 gallon electric assisted tank,a conventional 40-gallon natural gas tank,a natural gas tankless system, and a electric tankless heater. All auxiliary heating elements are rated to 4500W and the electric tankless is rated to provide up to 22kW of instantaneous heat. Natural gas tank is rated at 38,000 Btu/hr and the tankless can provide up to 190,000 Btu/hr. Details on the measurements and calculations are briefly covered in a calculations procedures link.

HWS Laboratory Event Log

Caution: Data being collected are preliminary and cannot be used to characterize relative performance without understanding changing experimental conditions. Valid data have been collected for the systems in final configuration since 10 March. Data on system performance prior to insulation of piping can be seen from 3 February - 2 March.